Crypto Tax Austria: Ultimate Guide 2025

Wondering how Austria taxes Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? The Austrian Bundesministerium für Finanzen (Ministry of Finance) released updated kryptosteuer guidance, reforming crypto tax. We've got everything you need to know about crypto tax in Austria in our ultimate Austria crypto tax guide for 2025.

Is there a crypto tax in Austria?

Let’s get the simple question out the way first - do you pay crypto tax in Austria? Yes. You pay tax on cryptocurrency in Austria. The BMF views cryptocurrency as an intangible asset, not a fiat currency. But it taxes cryptocurrency-like income under the Austrian Income Tax Act.

However, this all changed back in 2022 - under the Austrian crypto tax reform. The reform comes with some pros and cons, but in brief, crypto is now taxed the same as stocks in Austria.

Can the BMF track crypto?

Yes. The BMF can track your crypto. Like many other European tax offices including Germany and the UK, the Austrian Ministry of Finance will be working with large crypto exchanges to share KYC data to ensure tax compliance.

As well as this, there is a new EU directive on data sharing - Dac8. Under the proposed directive - it's likely that the BMF will have the ability to check whether someone owns crypto, as well as have the authority to look into crypto companies' accounts and gain insight into crypto assets.

How is crypto taxed in Austria?

It’s important to note that how crypto is taxed in Austria depends on when you purchased your crypto. The Austrian crypto tax reform came into effect on the 1st of March 2022 and changed the way crypto is taxed from then on, but legacy holdings have slightly different rules.

Unlike many countries - Austria doesn’t have a specific Capital Gains Tax. So despite viewing cryptocurrency as an intangible asset, prior to the crypto tax reform, you paid Income Tax in Austria anytime sold, spent, or traded crypto (although long-term gains were tax free). Some crypto transactions were subject to the 27.5% interest-bearing tax rate.

Under the new rules, everything is simplified. you'll pay a flat 27.5% tax on crypto transactions. The reform also means that long-term gains will be subject to tax - with the exclusion of so-called legacy holdings.

Crypto acquired or bought after the 28th of February 2021 is subject to the new tax rules. Crypto you acquired or bought before the 28th of February 2021 is still subject to the previous tax rules.

This means you’ll pay 27.5% tax when you:

• Sell crypto for fiat currency

• Spend crypto on goods or services

• Mine crypto

• Earn interest from crypto

These weren't the only changes under the crypto reform bill. One of the big changes is trading one crypto for another is now tax free.

As well as this, while interest-earning crypto transactions will remain taxed at the special tax rate of 27.5% - staking rewards from participation in a consensus algorithm will now be tax free at the point you receive them, whereas previously rewards were taxed at 27.5%. So if you're staking using a non-custodial wallet like Yoroi or Kelpr and receiving direct rewards - this wouldn't be taxed at the point you receive it, only when you later sell coins/tokens you earned. However, staking rewards from third parties - like Coinbase or Binance, or indeed staking via a DeFi protocol - would still be taxed at 27.5% at the point you receive them.

Finally, with crypto now being viewed as more similar to stocks from a tax perspective - you can now offset losses against other income from capital assets such as:

• Equities

• Bonds

• Dividends

• Derivatives

It’s important to note that the new crypto tax rules don’t apply retrospectively. So if you’ve held crypto long-term, you don’t need to panic sell to ensure you don’t pay tax on it. Any crypto you acquired before the 28th of February 2021 will still be subject to the former tax rules.

Short and long-term crypto gains tax Austria

Under the old crypto tax rules - you only paid Income Tax on crypto short-term gains. Under the new rules, long-term gains are taxed the same as short-term gains at 27.%%. The old rules still apply to legacy holdings.

How does this affect my tax return?

You need to factor in when you acquired or bought your crypto as to how it'll be taxed and the gains and losses you'll need to report in your tax return.

According to actus ag, cryptocurrencies acquired prior to the 28th of February 2021 are subject to the previous regulations - so taxable if sold within one year, or tax free after one year. These legacy holdings will remain tax free upon disposal if held for more than one year.

Meanwhile, crypto acquired after the 28th of February 2021 and sold or exchanged prior to the 1st of March 2022 will most often be treated as other income - they remain taxable even if not sold within this year as they are not legacy holdings.

Finally, crypto acquired after the 28th of February 2021 and sold or exchanged after the 1st of March 2022 will be taxed at the new 27.5% tax rate, regardless of any holding period. From the 1st of March 2022, staking (as part of a PoS consensus mechanism) is now viewed as an acquisition from a tax perspective (tax free!), and crypto to crypto trades will no longer be taxable, while yielding income will also be taxed at the 27.5% tax rate - including disposals and income from lending and liquidity pools. It is also important to note that NFTs and other assets are not covered by these new provisions.

How to calculate crypto gains in Austria?

To calculate crypto gains, you need to first figure out your cost basis. This is how much it cost you to buy your crypto - including any transaction fees. If you’ve acquired your crypto another way - for example, through mining - you’ll instead take the fair market value of your crypto in euros on the day you acquired it.

Once you’ve got your cost basis, simply subtract your cost basis from the price you sold your crypto for. If you didn’t sell it, but instead traded it or spent it - instead take the fair market value of your crypto in euros on the day you traded/spent it and subtract your cost basis from this.

If you have a profit - you have a capital gain and this is what you’ll pay Income Tax on. If you have a loss, you have a capital loss and you won’t pay tax. Remember - under the old rules trades are taxable and you can’t offset losses. Under the new rules - trades aren’t taxed and you can offset losses.

Another important point to remember is that some crypto transactions are subject to Income Tax at the point you receive them. This would include any time you’re earning crypto - for example through mining. In this instance, you’ll pay tax on the entire fair market value of your crypto at the point you receive it, like any other income.

Austria crypto tax breaks

There are some tax breaks available for Austrian crypto investors.

1. Gains from legacy holdings are tax free: If you’ve held your crypto for more than 1 year and you acquired it before the 28th of February 2021, when you sell your crypto it will be tax free

2. Speculative trades allowance: If you made less than €440 in profit annually in crypto gains, this would be tax free, but if you exceed this limit the entire amount is taxable

3. Crypto to crypto trades are tax free: Under the new rules, trading one crypto for another is a tax free event

Austria crypto capital losses

Under the new tax reform, you count crypto losses as a capital loss and offset losses against your capital gains.

You can only offset losses against gains that are subject to the same taxation in Austria. This means you can only offset crypto losses against capital gains that are subject to the same 27.5% tax rate. This would include crypto capital gains as well as:

• Equities

• Bonds

• Dividends

• Derivatives

Private investors cannot carry capital losses forward in Austria. If you’re holding capital assets as business assets, you may carry forward half your net capital loss forward to future financial years.

Tax on lost or stolen crypto in Austria

The BMF has not yet released specific guidance on whether capital losses as a result of theft or lost crypto assets are allowable as a capital loss. However, with the new crypto tax reform, provided you could give enough evidence to prove a theft or loss occurred, lost and stolen crypto could theoretically be considered a capital loss. You should speak to the BMF or a tax advisor for more advice.

When is crypto taxed as income in Austria?

Under the new tax rules, you’ll pay the flat 27.5% tax rate at the point you receive any coins/tokens from:

• Mining crypto

• Staking crypto through a third-party or DeFi staking (staking as part of a consensus mechanism is tax free).

• Lending crypto

• Bounty rewards

• Affiliate rewards

As with many tax offices - the BMF is a bit behind the curve when it comes to the huge variety of crypto investments available. For example, they haven’t released any clear guidance on the huge variety of DeFi protocols that offer investors new ways to earn crypto.

Many newer crypto activities may be considered income by the BMF. This includes:

• Yield farming

• Liquidity mining

• Learn to earn

• Play to earn

• Watch to earn

• Shop to earn

• Crypto faucets

The new crypto tax rules make this quite simple. Any time you’re earning crypto - you’ll pay the 27.5% flat tax based on the fair market value of any crypto at the point you receive it. Remember, even when you pay tax on crypto at the point you receive it - you’ll still pay the same 27.5% tax when you later sell or spend your crypto.

Tax free crypto Austria

Some crypto transactions are totally tax free in Austria - so it’s not all bad news.

• Buying crypto with fiat currency

• HODLing crypto

• Selling or otherwise disposing of crypto acquired before the 28th of February 2021

• Moving crypto between wallets

• Gifting crypto

• Trading crypto for crypto

• Staking rewards from PoS

Do you pay tax when you buy crypto in Austria?

No - you won’t pay tax when you buy crypto with euros or another fiat currency in Austria. And under the new rules, buying crypto with crypto is tax free too.

Buying crypto with EUR

You don’t pay tax when you buy crypto with any fiat currency - like EUR - in Austria.

But it’s important you keep records of how much you purchased your crypto for. This is so you can keep records of your cost basis, so you can calculate any subsequent gains and losses accurately.

Buying and HODLing crypto

HODLer? Great strategy. In even better news, it’s also tax free to buy and HODL crypto.

Just make sure you keep records of how much it cost you to buy your crypto (including transaction fees!) so you can accurately calculate any capital gains and losses once you’ve reached the moon.

Buying crypto with crypto

Under the new tax rules, buying crypto with crypto is tax free.

To calculate your capital gain, you'd use the cost base of your crypto you disposed of and subtract it from the fair market value for that asset on the day you traded it for another crypto.

Do you pay tax when you sell cryptocurrency in Austria?

Yes. You’ll pay tax whenever you sell cryptocurrency for euros in Austria. Under the new crypto tax rules, you’ll pay a flat 27.5% tax on any capital gain.

Selling crypto for EUR

Any capital gain from selling crypto acquired after the 28th of February 2021 for fiat currencies like EUR is subject to tax - although it matters when you bought and sold it.

If you bought crypto prior to the 28th of February March 2021 and you’ve held it for more than 1 year - you’ll pay no tax on it when you sell, regardless of the new rules.

Selling crypto for crypto

Under the crypto tax reform - selling crypto for crypto is now tax free.

Do you pay tax when transferring crypto?

No - you won’t pay tax on your crypto when you’re transferring it between the various wallets and exchanges you use. However - it is unclear how transfer fees may be viewed from a tax perspective.

Moving crypto between wallets

Moving crypto between your own wallets is tax free! However, you need to keep good records of your crypto transactions - including transfers - because the tax treatment of transfer fees isn’t quite so clear-cut.

Transfer fees

Whenever you transfer crypto - you’ll normally pay a fee to do so, whether that’s a gas fee or a fee from the exchange or wallet provider.

If that fee is paid in fiat currency - it would be tax free. However, in most instances, when you pay a transfer fee you’ll pay it in cryptocurrency. This could be seen as spending your crypto and therefore subject to tax.

Until the BMF gives clear guidance on transfer fees, one of the safest approaches to transfer fees from a tax perspective is to treat it as a cost with no realised gain or loss. Your cost basis remains the same, but you don’t have as much crypto as you had previously.

Adding or removing liquidity

If you’re using DeFi protocols - there’s a good chance you’re investing in liquidity pools as part of this. The BMF hasn’t yet given any clear guidance on liquidity pools, where liquidity pool tokens are involved this is akin to a crypto-to-crypto trade. This means when you add or remove liquidity to a pool - like you would to a staking pool - you won’t pay tax. You’d only pay tax on any interest as a result.

How are airdrops and forks taxed in Austria?

The BMF has good guidance on how both airdrops and forks are taxed in Austria and it’s good news for both.

Hard forks

With a soft fork - you don’t receive any new coins, so there’s nothing to tax.

With a hard fork - you’ll receive new coins or tokens, but it’s good news - sort of. While forks are considered income by the BMF - they’re clear that the value of new coins from a hard fork on the day you receive them is €0. So this means you won’t pay tax at the point you receive coins/tokens from a hard fork.

However, the zero cost basis has a downside. It means when you sell coins/tokens from a hard fork - your entire proceeds will be considered a capital gain. So you’ll pay the 27.5% flat tax on the entire proceeds of your sale.

Airdrops

Airdrops are considered “capital inflows” by the BMF. Bit of a mouthful but what this means is that even though airdrops are seen as a kind of income - the cost basis of any airdrop is €0. So you won’t pay tax on airdropped coins/tokens at the point you receive them.

However, when you later sell your airdropped coins/tokens - your entire proceeds will be viewed as a capital gain because your cost basis is zero. So you’ll pay the flat 27.5% tax on the entire proceeds of your sale.

Crypto gifts and donations tax Austria

It’s good news if you’re feeling generous - there is no gift tax in Austria and donations to a registered charity may be tax deductible.

Gifting crypto

Austria has no gift tax, so gifting crypto to a friend or family member is tax free. The only stipulation is that gifts to relatives that are more than €50,000 in value should be reported to the BMF. Meanwhile, for friends or third parties, this is set at €15,000.

Donating crypto

The BMF doesn't have clear guidance on crypto donations specifically. However, donations to a registered charity in general are tax deductible.

In better news, there are no forms to do this - your donations are submitted to the BMF by the charitable organisation you donated to and automatically transferred to your employee tax assessment.

Crypto mining tax Austria

Mining is considered a type of income by the BMF and is taxed based on the fair market value of the mined coins in euros on the day you receive them.

Mining crypto

You’ll pay a flat 27.5% tax rate on your mined coins upon receipt.

You’ll also generally pay the 27.5% tax on any gain when you sell or spend mined coins.

But if you mined coins before the 28th of February 2021 and held them - they'll be considered legacy holdings and you'll pay no tax on profits when you sell, trade, or spend them.

Crypto day trading tax Austria

The BMF has no clear guidance for the tax treatment of trading activities such as crypto margin trading, futures, and other CFDs. However, in general, capital gains from financial assets like derivatives are in general subject to the same 27.5% tax rate that crypto is. You should speak to a tax advisor for professional advice on how crypto derivatives and other CFDs may be taxed.

DeFi crypto taxes Austria

DeFi is a relatively new concept and the BMF is yet to issue any clear guidance on DeFi tax in Austria. This doesn’t mean you won’t pay tax - it just means you need to interpret the current tax guidance and apply it to your DeFi transactions.

Under the current guidance, the tax you’ll pay depends on the specific type of transaction and whether you’re seen to be earning crypto or selling/trading crypto. It is advisable to speak to an experienced crypto tax accountant for these transactions.

Earning from DeFi protocols

Anytime you’re seen to be ‘earning’ from DeFi - whether that’s new coins or tokens, it’s likely that - like mining and staking - the BMF will view this as income and you’ll pay the 27.5% tax rate based on the fair market value of the crypto in euros on the day you received it.

Selling coins and tokens on DeFi protocols

Whenever you sell coins/tokens on DeFi protocols - this would be subject to the 27.5% tax rate, even if you’ve already paid that rate at the point of receipt.

Trading tokens on DeFi protocols

Crypto to crypto trades are tax free, so exchanging tokens - for example adding capital to a liquidity pool and receiving LP tokens - would be tax free. Similarly, purchasing or selling NFTs for crypto would also be tax free.

Do you pay tax when spending crypto?

Want to grab a Tesla with your DOGE? You might be in for a surprise tax bill.

Spending crypto on goods or services

When you spend your crypto, you’ll need to pay the 27.5% tax rate on any capital gain. You can calculate this by subtracting your cost basis from the fair market value of your crypto in euros on the day you spent it.

What kind of records might the BMF ask for?

Austrian tax returns aren’t too convoluted - but if you’re facing a crypto tax audit, you’ll need good records of your crypto transactions. As a minimum, this should include:

• The date of your transactions

• The fair market value of your crypto in EUR the day you acquired it

• The fair market value of your crypto in EUR the day you disposed of it

• The capital gain or loss you made from each transaction

• What the transaction was and the parties involved

• Receipts of purchase and sale

• Records of transfers and transactions from all your crypto wallets and exchanges

Using crypto tax software like Koinly ensures you have excellent records of your crypto transactions should the BMF ever need further information.

Austria Cost Basis Method

Provided you have good records at the time of purchase and sale, you can specifically identify each crypto asset you sold and use that cost basis to calculate your crypto gains and losses. If you’re unable or don’t want to do this, you can use FIFO instead.

When do you need to report your crypto taxes to the BMF?

You report your crypto taxes in your annual tax return.

The Austrian financial year runs from the 1st of January to the 31st of December every year. The deadline to file your taxes is the 30th of April the following year for paper forms or the 30th of June the following year for online tax returns.

This means the current financial year you’re reporting on is the 1st of January 2024 to the 31st of December 2024 and you need to submit your taxes by the 30th of April 2025 for postal tax returns or the 30th of June 2025 for online tax returns.

How to calculate your crypto taxes

Calculating your crypto taxes so you can report them to the BMF is time-consuming. You can do it all manually, or you can use a crypto tax calculator like Koinly to save you hours.

If you want to calculate your crypto taxes manually, follow these steps:

1. Identify all your taxable crypto transactions for the entire financial year you're reporting on

2. Identify which transactions are subject to Income Tax, which are subject to the 27.5% tax rate, and any legacy holdings that may be tax free

3. Identify the cost base for each transaction using the approved cost basis methods

4. Calculate your subsequent capital gains and losses, income, and expenses

5. Report your capital gains, losses, and income to the BMF in your annual tax return by the 30th of June

How to report crypto taxes to the BMF

You report your crypto taxes as part of your annual tax return. You must submit this electronically using FinanzOnline before the 30th of June. Individuals need to report their crypto investments under “other income” on their Income Tax Return - E1.

How to pay tax on cryptocurrency in Austria

Once you’ve filed your annual tax return with the BMF - they’ll let you know how much tax you owe on your crypto in your tax assessment. You have one month to pay the taxes due after you receive your tax assessment.

How to reduce your crypto tax bill in Austria

There are ways to strategically - and legally - reduce your crypto taxes in Austria. You’ll need to make these moves before the end of the financial year. To potentially pay less tax on crypto in 2024 you can:

• HODL crypto you bought before the 28th of February 2021: Any crypto you bought before February 2021 is a "legacy holding" and still benefits from the long-term capital gains tax free allowance. So provided you acquired your crypto before the 28th of February 2021 - you’ll pay no tax on it. Shoot for the moon!

• Trade crypto for crypto: Trading crypto for crypto is now tax free - so the next time you’re thinking of selling for EUR, reinvest instead.

• Make a donation: Gifts to registered charities are tax deductible. So if you sell your crypto and donate that amount to charity - you may be able to offset it against your income and reduce your overall tax bill.

• Harvest your losses: Under the crypto tax reform, crypto capital losses can now be offset against capital gains of a similar kind. Use a crypto portfolio tracker (like Koinly) to track your unrealised losses and reduce your tax bill.

  Calculate your taxes with Koinly today!