How to Report Crypto Taxes with Elster in 2026

Follow our step-by-step guide to declaring crypto gains/losses, income, and derivatives in your German tax return using Elster by July 31, 2026.

How to report crypto in Germany

In Germany, crypto taxes are reported as part of your annual income tax return, submitted either electronically via Elster or by post.

Most taxpayers use Elster, where crypto may be reported across several forms depending on the transaction:

Schedule SO (Sonstige Einkünfte): For private sales transactions such as selling or trading crypto within one year, as well as crypto-related income (e.g., staking or mining) in Anlage SO.
Schedule KAP: Required for crypto derivatives such as futures or derivatives, as these generally fall under capital income (provided the underlying asset is not delivered).
Main form (ESt 1 A): The main tax return that includes your summary details.

For the 2025 tax year filed by 31 July 2026, there are dedicated crypto asset reporting sections in Schedule SO.

A quick note before we start: reporting crypto accurately is more important than ever.

With new CARF rules requiring exchanges and wallet providers to collect and share user data with tax authorities from 2027, tax offices will have more visibility into your holdings and transactions than ever before.

How to report crypto with Elster

Just follow 5 simple steps to report your crypto to the BZSt with Elster.

Step 1: Prepare your crypto taxes

Before you start your tax return, you need the info to file. You can do this manually, or use a crypto tax calculator like Koinly to do it for you.

With Koinly, just sync your exchanges and wallets via API or by uploading a CSV file of your transaction history and let it calculate your gains, losses, income, and PnL from futures and margin trading.

Make sure you have the ‘treat other gains as capital gains’ setting in Koinly off if you have futures or derivatives PnL.

Once it’s done, download the Complete Tax Report from Koinly. You’ll use the figures from this report to complete your Elster return.

Step 2: Report crypto gains and losses (Schedule SO)

Short-term profits and losses from selling or trading crypto are reported in Schedule SO under private sales transactions.

In the 2025 tax return, use the “crypto assets” section on page 2. Use the Capital Gains Summary section of your Complete Tax Report to fill out this section.

Line 45 (Field 108): Enter “1” to indicate crypto income (Field 109 for spouses).
Line 46: Description: “Cryptocurrencies” or “See attached tax report” if many trades.
Line 47: Reporting period (e.g., 01/01/2025 to 31/12/2025).
Line 48: Total selling price of all assets sold. Use the figure from the profits before losses section in your Koinly report.
Line 49: Total acquisition costs. Use the figure from the acquisition cost section in your Koinly report.
Line 50: Fees (if not already included in profit calculations). Allowable fees will generally already be included in your Koinly calculations.
Line 51: Profit/loss (Line 48 minus Lines 49 and 50).
Line 58 (Field 114): Carry over the result from Line 51.
Line 59 (Field 116): Other private sales (e.g., gold, art).

If you incurred losses, you should still report them. The tax office will issue a loss assessment notice, which can be used to offset future gains. Crypto losses can only be offset against other private sales transactions.

Step 3: Report crypto income (Schedule SO)

Income from crypto activities like staking or mining rewards is also reported in Anlage SO (Schedule SO), but on page 1 under: “Services – Information on activities related to crypto assets.”

Use the income summary of your Koinly Complete Tax Report to fill out this section.

Key fields:

Line 14 (Field 162): Enter “1” to indicate income from services.
Line 15: Add type, for example, crypto income, and the total value. Use the total figure from your income summary.
Lines 16–17: Additional income types if applicable.
Line 18: Total income (sum of Lines 15–17).
Line 19: Related expenses (e.g., mining costs).
Line 20: Net income (Line 18 minus Line 19).

Step 4: Report crypto futures and derivatives (Schedule KAP)

If you traded crypto derivatives such as futures, report these in Schedule KAP. Use the Futures Summary section of your Koinly Complete Tax Report to complete this section.

Line 19: Total gross profits from futures trading (e.g., from exchanges). Use the net gain figure from your futures summary section.
Line 22: Losses from futures transactions (already included in Line 19 totals). Use the loss figure from the futures summary section. You may also need to add in futures fees and funding fees.

Step 5: Submit your tax return via Elster

Your crypto is reported! You just need to add your Schedule SO and Schedule KAP attachments to your ESt 1 A using the “Add/Remove Attachments” feature.

Once complete, submit your return electronically via Elster.

How Koinly can help

Koinly simplifies crypto tax reporting for German investors by making crypto tax simple. Just sync your exchanges and wallets via API or by uploading a CSV file and let Koinly calculate your short-term gains and losses, capital income from derivatives, and additional income from crypto. When you’re ready to file, simply generate the Complete Tax Report and file via Elster using your Koinly report.