What is Cryptocurrency Capital Gains Tax?

Do you know how crypto is taxed? In most countries, crypto is subject to Capital Gains Tax. You'll pay Capital Gains Tax on any profits you make from selling, trading, spending or (sometimes) gifting crypto. Let's dive in to what you need to know.

Crypto is seen as property

While most of us understand crypto to be a currency in its own right, this is not the way our governments have decided to view things. Cryptocurrencies are not considered legal tender in most of the world. The exception is El Salvador which became the first country to accept Bitcoin specifically as legal tender in June 2021.

Instead, crypto is classified as property in most countries, and property is an ‘asset’ for tax purposes.

What is an asset?

Now that we know that cryptocurrencies are assets and not currencies, let’s look at what defines an asset. 

An asset is anything - tangible or intangible - of value that can be converted into cash. An asset is typically acquired as some sort of investment, with the intention to cash out one day in the future. Assets can be owned by individuals, and these are called personal assets. Assets can also be owned by a business, as fixed or current assets, for example. 

Either way, an asset can be tangible or intangible: 

Examples of intangible assets include goodwill, copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property, savings accounts, insurance policies… and cryptocurrency.

Examples of tangible assets include investment property, personal property like a boat or jewelry, collectibles such as art, antiques, wine, shares, and office equipment.

How are assets taxed?

We know that your crypto investment is viewed as an asset by most tax authorities around the world.

When that asset changes hands - this event is what's known as a disposal. If there is a profit at the point of disposal, the profit can be taxed as a capital gain. When it comes to crypto, disposals include:

• Tax on selling crypto for fiat currency like USD.
• Tax on trading crypto for another crypto.
• Tax on spending crypto on goods or services.
• Tax on gifting crypto (depending on where you live).

How do you calculate your capital gain or loss on crypto? It all comes down to cost basis.

Cost Basis

Your cost basis is simply how much your crypto cost you plus any fee involved in buying it. For example, you buy 1 BTC for $40,000 and you pay a $200 transaction fee. Your cost basis is $40,200.

You calculate your capital gain or loss by subtracting your cost basis from the price of your crypto at the point you disposed of it.

Capital Gains Tax on crypto

A capital gain is the profit or loss you make from trading or selling any asset, including crypto:

Let's take the example above where our cost basis for 1 BTC was $40,200. You sold that BTC for $42,000 and you realize a capital gain of $1,800. You will have to pay a capital gains tax on this amount - we will go deeper into how much tax you will have to pay in the next section.

When do you pay CGT?

In order to pay Capital Gains Tax on crypto you need to realize a gain, which typically happens when you sell your crypto asset and make a profit. But a sale is not the only way that you might realize a gain. Each time an asset changes ownership it triggers a taxable event called a disposal. CGT kicks in at the point of disposal - when there's a profit.

In most, but not all countries, you could pay CGT on your crypto disposals in these situations:

• Selling crypto for fiat currency.
• Trading crypto for crypto.
• Spending crypto on goods and service
• Gifting crypto (depending on where you live).

Gifting crypto is taxed in Australia, Ireland and the UK, unless the crypto gift is given to a spouse or civil partner. Gifting is tax free in the US.

How much do you pay?

In most countries, the amount of Capital Gains Tax owed on crypto depends on how long you’ve held your assets, and in which income tax bracket you are. Typically, the higher your income, the greater the percentage of tax you'll pay on capital gains. But if you've held your crypto for more than a year, you might benefit from a lower long-term Capital Gains Tax rate.

Allowances

Some countries will allow a certain amount of capital gains to be tax-free. For example, in the UK, all taxpayers get a £12,300 tax free allowance on capital gains, so they only pay tax on gains over this amount. Meanwhile, in Australia, you'll get a 50% Capital Gains Tax discount on crypto held for a year or more.

Short term Capital Gains Tax

Typically, any gain made from the disposal of a crypto asset - held less than a year - is taxed at the same rate as your personal Income Tax rate.

Long term Capital Gains Tax

Many countries allow special treatment for gains made on assets that were held for at least one year for example.

• USA applies a reduced capital gains tax rate from 0%, 15% or 20% tax depending on individual or combined marital income.
• Australia allows a 50% capital gains discount
• Germany does not tax capital gains on crypto held for more than 1 year.

What is a capital loss?

Just as your crypto disposals can raise a profit, they can also introduce a loss. Most countries allow investors to carry their capital loss forward, to offset against capital gains in later years. Koinly can track this for you, potentially saving you on future tax bills.

Crypto Capital Gains Tax in the USA

In the United States, how much capital gains tax you owe for your crypto activity depends on how long you’ve held your assets and in which income tax bracket you are. 

• Allowances: If your income is under $40,000 a year, you'll pay no Capital Gains Tax. For married couples filing jointly, the limit is $80,000 a year. For the head of household, this limit is $53,600 a year.
• Short-term capital gains: Any gain made from a crypto asset held less than a year is taxed at the same rate as you Federal Income Tax bracket. You could pay between 10% to 37% tax.
• Long-term capital gains: Any gains or losses made from a crypto asset held for longer than a year incurs a much lower 0%, 15% or 20% tax depending on individual or combined marital income.
• Losses: If your capital losses exceed your capital gains, the amount of the excess loss that you can claim to lower your income is the lesser of $3,000 ($1,500 if married filing separately) or your total net loss shown on line 21 of Schedule D (Form 1040). If your net capital loss is more than this limit, you can carry the loss forward to later years.

In the US, CGT is paid on these crypto disposals:

• Profits from selling crypto for fiat like USD.
• Profits from swapping crypto with crypto.
• Using cryptocurrency to purchase goods and services.

Crypto Capital Gains Tax in Australia

In Australia, the amount of capital gains tax owed on crypto depends on how long you’ve held your assets and in which income tax bracket you are. 

• Allowances: There are no specific allowances for Capital Gains Tax in Australia. However, if your total income is less than $18,200 a year, you won't pay any Income or Capital Gains Tax.
• Short-term capital gains: Any gains or losses made from a crypto asset held less than a year are taxed at the same rate as whatever Income Tax bracket you’re in.
• Long-term capital gains: Any gains from a crypto asset held for longer than a year receives a 50% Capital Gains Tax discount.
• Losses: Losses can be carried forward and deducted from capital gains in later years. There is no time limit on how long you can carry forward a net capital loss.

In Australia, CGT is paid on these crypto disposals:

• Profits from selling crypto for fiat like AUD.
• Profits from swapping crypto with crypto.
• Perceived profits made from gifting crypto.
• Using cryptocurrency to purchase goods and services (unless as a Personal Use Asset).

Crypto Capital Gains Tax in the UK

In the United Kingdom, the amount of capital gains tax owed on crypto depends on how long you’ve held your assets and on your individual Income Tax Rate.  

• Allowance: UK residents get a personal tax free allowance of £12,300.
• Losses: You can carry losses forward indefinitely, but you must register them with HMRC within 4 years.

In the UK, CGT is paid on these crypto disposals:

• Profits from selling crypto for fiat like GBP.
• Profits from swapping crypto with crypto.
• Perceived profits made from gifting crypto (excluding to spouse).
• Using cryptocurrency to purchase goods and services.

How to calculate capital gains with Koinly

A crypto tax calculator like Koinly will show you gains from coins that were sold after 1 year of purchase as long-term capital gains in your tax report. This makes it easy to apply a reduced capital gains tax rate or discount on such assets.