Crypto Tax Guide Germany 2026

The BZSt is clear that crypto is subject to income tax in Germany, but it pays to hodl. Learn everything you need to know about crypto tax in Germany in our 2026 guide.

Do you pay cryptocurrency taxes in Germany?

Yes. Crypto is taxed in Germany. The BSZt is clear that short-term capital gains from crypto held less than one year and any additional income from crypto, like mining or staking rewards, are subject to income tax.

How much tax do you pay on crypto in Germany?

The tax rate you'll pay is the same as your regular Income Tax rate of up to 45%, plus potentially the 5.5% Solidarity Tax. But if you hodl for a year, you'll pay no tax at all on your capital gains from crypto.

Can the BZSt track crypto?

Yes, the BZSt can track crypto. If you have an account with a European digital currency exchange, the BZSt probably already has your data.

Germany is a member of CARF (the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework). This framework means that by 2027, the BZSt will receive automatic information on users from crypto exchanges (including names, addresses, and transaction details) to ensure tax compliance.

How is crypto taxed in Germany?

Cryptocurrency is viewed as a private asset in Germany, as opposed to property, which has some distinct tax implications. It means crypto attracts an individual income tax, but only in specific circumstances

When you dispose of a private asset, like crypto, the tax rules change depending on how long you've held the asset for. Long-term gains from crypto held more than a year are tax-free.

If you've held your crypto for less than a year, you'll pay income tax on any profits from a disposal. Disposals include:

• Selling your crypto for EUR (or any other fiat currency)

• Trading your crypto for another cryptocurrency

• Spending your crypto on goods and services

However, if you have an annual short-term gain of less than €1000, this is tax-free.

As well as the above, there are some crypto transactions considered income, like mining or staking rewards, that you'll need to pay income tax on, too. But, you only need to file a tax return if you earn above the €256 threshold each year for additional income.

German income tax rate

In Germany, your individual income tax rate is used to tax short-term cryptocurrency gains, as well as any additional income from crypto. The tax rates for the 2025 FY (for 2026 filing) are:

For 2026, the personal allowance has increased to €12,348.

As well as income tax, everyone has to pay solidarity tax (Solidaritätszuschlag or 'Soli'). This surcharge is imposed as a percentage of all individual income taxes, but has been substantially reduced in recent years.

Crypto losses in Germany

If you've sold, swapped, or spent crypto within one year and made a loss, you can offset this loss against your short-term taxable gains to reduce your overall tax liability.

If you have no profits against which to offset losses, the German Tax Act allows taxpayers to carry forward losses to future financial years to offset future gains, but only if you report your losses on your tax return.

Lost or stolen cryptocurrency

You may be able to claim lost or stolen crypto as a loss with the BZSt. To claim this loss, you need to be able to provide certain evidence. This includes:

• The wallet address that the key belongs to

• When you acquired the key and when you lost it

• The cost of acquiring the stolen/lost cryptocurrency

• The fact that the wallet was controlled by you

• The amount of cryptocurrency at the time that you lost the key

• That you possess the hardware where the wallet is stored

• The transactions to the wallet from an exchange that is linked to your identity

For financial losses relating to collapsed exchanges or platforms, it's unlikely investors would be able to claim a capital loss until such a time that bankruptcy proceedings have come to a close, as there is still a chance that investors may see some or all of their funds returned to them as part of the proceedings. You should keep good records of your assets held on these platforms, should you need them in the future.

DeFi tax

Like many other tax offices, the BZSt is yet to release detailed guidance on DeFi, but that doesn't mean you won't pay tax on your DeFi investments. Instead, you need to interpret the current guidance on crypto tax from the BZSt and apply it to your DeFi transactions (or better yet, have an experienced crypto accountant do it for you).

We have an entire guide dedicated to navigating DeFi tax in Germany, but in brief, there are a couple of potential tax implications:

• Earning new tokens via DeFi protocols: Whether you're staking, liquidity mining, or yield farming, it's likely the BZSt will view new tokens or coins as additional income, and therefore your tokens will be subject to income tax upon receipt if you're over the €256 additional income threshold.

• Trading tokens that accrue value: Many DeFi protocols use liquidity pool tokens, which represent a given capital in a pool. These tokens generally accrue value based on the rewards you receive from your investment. It isn't until you withdraw your capital by trading your liquidity pool tokens back that you'll realise a profit. In these instances, you may have made a taxable transaction depending on how long you've held your original capital and your liquidity pool tokens.

NFT taxes

Although they're unique by nature, NFTs are largely treated the same as any fungible coin or token in Germany from a tax perspective.

Selling or swapping NFTs? Or even buying NFTs with crypto? It all depends on how long you've held the asset; if it's less than one year, any profit is subject to income tax, if it's more than one year, it's tax-free.

Meanwhile, if you're minting and selling NFTs as an artist, this income may be considered income from artistic activity or commercial income, and you will need to pay income tax, plus potentially trade tax. The BMF has no guidance on this yet, so it's best to consult with a crypto accountant.

Mining tax

The BZSt is clear that crypto mining rewards are additional income and subject to income tax, less expenses.

To calculate what you owe, take the fair market value of your coins on the day you received them in EUR.

You'll also need to calculate any expenses, for example, electricity or equipment costs. You'll pay tax at your income tax rate on any profit after subtracting your expenses.

You'll also pay tax on any profit when you dispose of any mined coins if you've held the coins for less than a year.

Staking tax

The BZSt says you'll pay income tax on staking rewards based on the fair market value of any coins in EUR on the day you received them.

If you later dispose of your staking rewards, you'll pay tax on any gains from tokens held less than a year. Any gain from tokens held more than a year is tax-free, as staking does not extend the speculation period.

Tax-free crypto Germany

Germany is one of the most crypto tax friendly countries in Europe. You won't pay tax on crypto profits when:

• You sell, swap, or spend your crypto after owning it for 1 year or more.

• The net gain from your short-term investments is less than €1000 for the financial year, as you don't need to file a tax return to report this. However, if your profits are over this amount, you'll pay tax on all your gains.

• You earn less than €256 in additional income from crypto (and other sources) throughout the financial year, as you don't need to file a tax return to report this. However, if your additional income is over this amount, you'll pay tax on all your additional income.

How specific crypto transactions are taxed

Here's a breakdown of the most common crypto scenarios and the type of tax liability they result in:

Selling crypto held for less than a year

In Germany, if you sell bitcoins or any other cryptocurrency within twelve months of buying, you will need to pay income tax unless you're under the €1000 exempt amount.

Whenever you sell something that you have owned for more than one year, the profits are tax-free.

Trading or exchanging crypto held for less than a year

Trading one crypto for another is a taxable event in Germany if a profit is made exceeding €1000, and if that gain is made in the same year as the initial crypto purchase was made.

Participating in an ICO/IEO

ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) or IEOs (Initial Exchange Offerings) refer to a situation where investors can purchase tokens/coins in a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency/company. This purchase usually happens via an existing cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

From a German tax perspective, this could amount to a crypto-to-crypto trade. The taxable event is triggered on the date of the ICO transaction when you receive the new tokens. When you sell the new tokens at a later date, the cost base of that transaction will be the value of the cryptocurrency that you paid for it on the date of the ICO/IEO.

You will only be taxed if you dispose of the new coins within a year of purchase.

Crypto margin trading and derivatives

It's important to note that the BZSt has not released guidance on the tax implications of crypto margin trading, crypto derivatives, and crypto futures yet. However, there is guidance on these products in traditional markets.

Profits from margin trades can only be classified as capital income if no crypto is delivered, but the difference is settled. Meanwhile, if crypto is delivered, this would be viewed as a private sales transaction instead. These two have different tax treatments:

• Capital income is taxed at a flat 25% rate (known as a withholding tax)

• Private sales transactions are taxed at your regular Income Tax rate if the income is from an asset held for less than one year. For more than one year, your profits are tax-free

Meanwhile, for derivatives, the tax paid depends on the specific product. Similar to margin trades, it depends on whether the investor ends up acquiring the underlying crypto asset. If your product does not result in you acquiring crypto and instead you end up with the settlement of the difference, the profits will be viewed as capital income and taxed at a flat 25% rate.

Meanwhile, if you end up acquiring crypto at the point you close your position, this will be viewed as a private sales transaction, and profits will be subject to the Income Tax rate.

Speak to an experienced crypto accountant to navigate tax liabilities from margin trading, derivatives, or futures.

Spending crypto within a year

Purchases of goods and services with crypto are treated the same as trading crypto in Germany. For example, if you acquire €7,000 worth of ETH and purchase a gaming PC with that crypto when it’s now worth €9,000, you will be taxed on the €2,000 net gain on that crypto as if it were income.

You could, however, avoid this tax if you held the crypto for a year before making your purchase. Gains after one year of purchase are tax-free.

Getting paid in Bitcoin or cryptocurrency

Whether you are freelancing or working for a company that pays employees in crypto, you can't escape Income Tax.

Any crypto received as income is taxed at market value at the time you received it, so make sure you declare this income on your annual tax return.

Sign-up and referral bonuses

Any crypto you get in return for signing up or referring users to a service is taxed as income upon receipt.

Receiving an airdrop

The BMF has clarified that there are some specific circumstances in which private investors may be taxed upon receipt of an airdrop of crypto. This includes when you receive an airdrop in exchange for a service, such as sharing a social media post or personal information.

If you don't receive your airdrop in exchange for a service or action, this would not be subject to income tax.

Mining crypto

The BMF is clear that many mining operations may be viewed as commercial operations and subject to income tax net expenses (i.e., electricity costs, equipment costs, and so on).

Mining rewards may not be subject to income tax when they do not exceed the threshold limit (Freigrenze) of €256 per calendar year as per Section 22 no. 3 sentence 2 German Income Tax Act (EStG). If you exceed this limit, you'll need to file a tax return, and all your additional income is taxable.

Staking rewards

Like mining, the BMF is clear that staking rewards may also be subject to income tax for private investors. This includes both staking as part of a PoS mechanism and staking pools.

Staking rewards under the threshold limit (Freigrenze) of €256 per calendar year per Section 22 no. 3 sentence 2 German Income Tax Act (EStG). This refers to all additional income, however, so your staking rewards plus any other additional income from other avenues. If you exceed this limit, you'll need to file a tax return, and all your additional income is taxable.

Selling, trading, or spending crypto held for over a year

In Germany, if you've owned crypto for over a year, any profits are tax-free whether you sold, traded, or spent it.

Gifting crypto to friends & family

Giving Bitcoin or other crypto to your family or friends as a gift is regarded as any other gift in Germany. Gifts are tax-free up to a value of €20,000 for friends and up to €500,000 for spouses.

Any higher value is taxable under the “Schenkungssteuer”, which has different tax rates depending on who you gift it to (i.e., spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings, or friends). The tax rates for gifts range from 7% up to 50%. The tax exemption limits are renewed after 10 years.

To calculate how much you've gifted or received, take the fair market value of your crypto on the day you gifted it.

Buying cryptocurrency with EUR

There are no taxes on buying or HODLing cryptocurrencies in Germany. However, keeping accurate records of the purchase is very important so that you can calculate the cost basis of the transaction when you decide to sell or 'dispose' of your crypto.

Transferring crypto between wallets

Moving crypto between different exchanges, wallets, or accounts is not a taxable event and doesn't trigger income tax. Having said that, it's important to keep track of these movements (Koinly can help with this).

While transferring crypto may be tax-free, transfer fees may not be. You can learn more about transfer fees and how to deal with them in our guide.

Hard forks

The BMF has clarified that for private investors, you do not need to pay Income Tax upon receipt of crypto as a result of a hard fork. However, if you sell this crypto within one year of receipt, you'll need to file a tax return and report any gain over €1000.

Receiving and redeeming utility tokens

The BMF's updated guidance makes it clear that the type of token is important when considering the tax implications. In the instance of utility tokens, receiving and redeeming utility tokens would not be subject to income tax. For example, if you received Brave's BAT tokens and used them to tip a content creator, this may not be subject to income tax. However, as many utility tokens hold real-world value, this would not always be the case.

German cost basis method

BMF guidance states that when determining the “sequence of use” of sold units, a ‘wallet-by-wallet’ analysis is required.

If units cannot be specifically identified, FIFO is the preferred method. This means you sell the coins you bought first and use this to calculate your subsequent proceeds and profits.

The Ministry also mandates average market prices to determine acquisition/sale values, even though German tax law (§ 23 EStG) typically requires actual transaction prices. This can distort taxable gains/losses, especially with volatile assets.

German tax deadline

The German tax year runs from January 1 to December 31. The tax deadline is on the 31st of July each year, although this is generally extended to the next working day if this falls on a weekend.

How do you report crypto tax in Germany?

You'll need to report any profits or income from crypto in your annual tax return (Einkommensteuererklärung).

The easiest way to file your taxes is via Elster, the BZSt's online tax platform (Elektronische Steuererklärung) in Schedule SO of form ESt 1 A. There is now a dedicated section for crypto assets (kryptowerte).

You also have the option of declaring your crypto activity on paper and posting your tax forms to your local tax office (Finanzamt).

German crypto tax filing forms

To file your German crypto tax declaration, there are three potential application sections for your tax return:

• Profits and losses from crypto trading in the Kryptowerte section of Schedule SO (form ESt 1 A):

• Other income from crypto in the Leistungen section of Anlage SO.

• Income from futures trading is declared in Schedule KAP for income from capital assets.

Keep records of crypto investments

The BMF released updated guidance about record-keeping for crypto investors. Investors must now maintain detailed records of:

• Full transaction histories from all centralized exchanges (CEXs)

• Wallet addresses and timestamps for every transaction

• Screenshots from crypto exchanges as supplementary evidence

• Precise price data at the time of acquisition and sale

For decentralized exchanges (DEXs), where standardized reports are often lacking, the burden of proof lies entirely with the taxpayer. The new guidance also states that if documentation is incomplete or missing, tax authorities can:

• Demand raw data from tax software

• Independently trace blockchain transactions

• Apply flat-rate estimations, which often lead to higher tax burdens

Koinly can help with record-keeping. By syncing your wallets and exchanges to your Koinly account, you will have one central dashboard from which to record and view all of your crypto activity. Portfolio tracking is available on a free Koinly plan.

How to reduce your crypto tax in Germany

There are a few ways you can reduce your tax bill in Germany. Read our how to avoid crypto taxes guide, but here are some quick tips:

1. HODL to benefit from tax-free disposals after 1 year.

2. Utilise exemption limits under the German Income Tax Act (€1000 on short-term investments and €256 in additional income). But remember, if you earn over this amount in either respect, the entire sum is taxable.

3. Track, harvest, and offset losses against gains to reduce your overall tax bill.

4. Be strategic with the assets you use in DeFi investments in regard to the holding period.

5. Gift crypto to your spouse if they're in a lower tax bracket.

6. Deduct expenses like gas fees, tax software preparation costs, and mining expenses like electricity costs.

What happens if I don't file my cryptocurrency taxes?

The BZSt is focused on ensuring all taxpayers meet their tax obligations. If you’re not sure whether you’ve correctly reported your crypto taxes over previous years, it’s best to be proactive and amend your previous tax reports.

Tax evasion in Germany is a criminal offense punishable with a penalty or even a prison sentence of up to five years, depending on the intent and severity of the offense.

Binance, eToro & more with Koinly

Whether you prefer to use heavy-hitter exchanges like Binance and eToro, or you're all about self-custody and use wallets like MetaMask and Ledger, Koinly can help. Just connect your exchange, wallet, or blockchain, and Koinly will get calculating. Here's how it works in 7 steps:

1. Sign up for a free Koinly account.

2. Select your base country (Germany), currency (EUR), and cost basis method (FIFO).

3. Connect Koinly to your wallets and exchanges. Koinly integrates with Binance, Coinbase, eToro, and 1,000 more. (See all)

4. Let Koinly crunch the numbers. Make a coffee.

5. Ta-da! Your data is collected, and your full crypto tax report is generated!

6. To download your crypto tax report, upgrade to a paid plan from €39 per year.

7. Send your report to your accountant, or complete your ELSTER submission yourself using the figures from your Koinly report.

Want to learn more about Binance, eToro & more? Check out our guide to the best German crypto exchanges.