Cryptocurrency tax guide: 2026/27
UK Crypto CGT Calculator 2026/27
Capital Gains Tax on UK cryptocurrency disposals for 2026/27: Section 104 pool average-cost basis, same-day and 30-day "bed and breakfasting" matching rules, £3,000 annual exempt amount, 18% basic / 24% higher and additional rate (post 30 October 2024), staking and mining rewards as Income Tax at marginal rate, airdrop "do something" test, NFT distinct-asset treatment, lost-key negligible value claims, Self Assessment triggers and £50,000 disposal threshold.
Overview - UK CGT on crypto
HMRC treats cryptoassets as chargeable assets for Capital Gains Tax under the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (TCGA). Disposals - selling crypto for GBP, swapping one crypto for another, using crypto to buy goods, gifting crypto to anyone other than a spouse, donating crypto - trigger CGT on the gain. The gain is calculated as proceeds minus cost basis, using the Section 104 pool average-cost method. The 18% basic / 24% higher rate from 30 October 2024 applies on the slice in the relevant tax band. The £3,000 annual exempt amount provides a tax-free first slice (cut from £6,000 in 2023/24 and £12,300 in 2022/23 - one of the most-tightened personal-tax allowances in recent UK history).
Mining rewards, staking rewards, DeFi yield, airdrops where you have done something to earn them, and other "received as a result of doing something" cryptoasset receipts are taxed as Income Tax at marginal rate at the time of receipt (the GBP-equivalent value is added to your taxable income for the year). The same receipt amount then becomes the cost basis for future CGT when you eventually dispose of the rewarded crypto.
Self Assessment registration is triggered by: (1) total disposals exceeding £50,000 in the year regardless of net gain, (2) net gains exceeding the £3,000 AEA, or (3) losses you want to claim against future gains. Most retail crypto investors with any meaningful activity now hit at least one trigger. Specialist UK crypto tax software (Koinly, Crypto Tax Calculator, CoinTracking, Recap) is essentially mandatory for any meaningful activity above ~30 transactions per year because manual reconciliation of Section 104 pool + same-day + 30-day rules is impractical at scale.
Worked example - BTC pool calculation
An investor accumulates Bitcoin via four purchases over 4 years, then disposes of 0.8 BTC at £65,000/BTC during 2026/27 (assumed higher-rate taxpayer). Section 104 pool computation:
| Date | Units | Total cost | Cumulative units | Cumulative cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-03-15 | 0.5 | £12,000 | 0.50 | £12,000 |
| 2021-11-08 | 0.25 | £12,000 | 0.75 | £24,000 |
| 2023-06-22 | 0.3 | £7,500 | 1.05 | £31,500 |
| 2024-12-10 | 0.2 | £14,000 | 1.25 | £45,500 |
| Final pool | 1.25 BTC | £45,500 | Average cost £36,400 per BTC. | |
Disposal in 2026/27: 0.8 BTC × £65,000 = £52,000 proceeds. Cost basis: 0.8 BTC × £36,400 = £29,120. Gain: £22,880. After £3,000 AEA: £19,880 taxable. At 24% higher-rate CGT: £4,771 tax. Net proceeds after tax: £47,229. The remaining 0.45 BTC stays in the pool with cumulative cost basis £16,380 (the proportion not yet disposed).
Same-day and 30-day matching rules
Two exceptions to the Section 104 pool average-cost method apply BEFORE the pool is consulted:
- Same-day rule - any disposal on the same UK tax day as a same-asset acquisition is matched against that acquisition first at acquisition cost, NOT against the pool. A trader who buys 1 BTC at £40,000 and sells 0.5 BTC at £42,000 on the same day uses £20,000 as the cost basis for the 0.5 BTC disposed (half of the £40k same-day buy), generating £1,000 of gain on that 0.5 BTC. The remaining 0.5 BTC enters the pool.
- 30-day "bed and breakfasting" rule - any disposal in the 30 days BEFORE a same-asset reacquisition matches against the future acquisition cost, NOT the pool. The rule was originally introduced for shares under section 105 TCGA 1992 to prevent harvest-and-rebuy CGT manipulation; it bites unexpectedly for crypto investors who regularly dollar-cost-average or rebalance positions across short timeframes.
Order of matching for any disposal: same-day matches first, then 30-day matches, then Section 104 pool. The 30-day rule applies across tax-year boundaries - selling at year-end and rebuying in the new tax year does NOT reset the matching window. Specialist UK crypto tax software handles the matching automatically; manual calculation across thousands of transactions per year is impractical.
CGT rates and AEA
| Tax band | CGT rate (cryptoasset) | AEA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rate (20%) | 18% | £3,000 | Applies on the slice of gain that sits in the basic-rate income band. From 30 October 2024 (was 10% before). |
| Higher rate (40%) | 24% | £3,000 | Slice in higher-rate income band. From 30 October 2024 (was 20% before for non-residential). |
| Additional rate (45%) | 24% | £3,000 | Same as higher-rate. The CGT rate does NOT step up to 28% or higher at additional-rate income. |
AEA cut from £12,300 (2022/23) to £6,000 (2023/24) to £3,000 (2024/25 onwards). The 76% reduction in two years materially increased the SA-administrative burden on small-scale investors who previously had de-minimis gains comfortably within the higher AEA.
Frequently asked questions
How is cryptocurrency taxed in the UK?
HMRC treats cryptoassets as chargeable assets for Capital Gains Tax under TCGA 1992. Disposals (selling crypto for GBP, swapping one crypto for another, using crypto to buy goods, gifting crypto to anyone other than a spouse) trigger CGT on the gain. The gain is calculated as proceeds minus cost basis (via the Section 104 pool average-cost method). Mining rewards, staking rewards, DeFi yield and airdrops where you have done something to earn them are typically taxed as Income Tax at your marginal rate when received - the GBP-equivalent at the time of receipt is added to your taxable income for the year. The same receipt amount then becomes the cost basis for future CGT when you eventually dispose of the rewarded crypto. Trading-business income (rare for retail investors but applicable for professional cryptocurrency traders) is taxed as self-employment Income Tax + Class 4 NIC rather than CGT.
What is the Section 104 pool and how does it work?
The Section 104 pool is the UK CGT cost-basis method for fungible assets like cryptocurrencies, listed shares and bullion. All purchases of the same crypto (e.g. all Bitcoin holdings) are pooled together with their total cost; the cost basis per unit is the weighted-average cost. When you dispose of any units, the cost basis used is the average cost at the time of disposal. The method is broadly equivalent to "average cost basis" in US tax terminology, but the UK does NOT permit FIFO, LIFO, specific-lot identification or any other alternative method for fungible cryptoassets. Two exceptions to the pool: (1) Same-day rule - any disposal on the same day as a same-asset acquisition is matched against that acquisition first, NOT the pool. (2) 30-day rule - any disposal in the 30 days BEFORE a same-asset reacquisition is matched against that future acquisition, NOT the pool. The 30-day rule (often called "bed and breakfasting") was originally introduced to prevent harvest-and-rebuy CGT manipulation; it bites unexpectedly for crypto investors who regularly buy and sell.
What are the UK crypto CGT rates for 2026/27?
For disposals on or after 30 October 2024 (Autumn Budget 2024 reform), CGT on cryptoasset gains is 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and 24% for higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers. The Annual Exempt Amount is £3,000 for 2026/27 (cut from £6,000 in 2023/24 and £12,300 in 2022/23). The applicable rate depends on your total taxable income for the year including the crypto gain - a basic-rate-band taxpayer (income below £37,700 above PA) pays 18% on crypto gains; once total income+gain pushes into the higher-rate band, the higher-rate 24% applies on the slice in the higher band. CGT reporting is via Self Assessment - the SA108 (Capital Gains supplementary pages) - submitted by 31 January following the end of the tax year. The "real-time CGT service" provides an alternative voluntary route for in-year reporting and payment.
How does the same-day and 30-day rule affect crypto investors?
Same-day rule: any disposal on the same UK tax day as a same-asset acquisition is matched against that acquisition first at acquisition cost, not against the Section 104 pool. A crypto trader who buys 1 BTC at £40,000 and sells 0.5 BTC at £42,000 on the same day uses £20,000 as the cost basis for the 0.5 BTC disposed (half of the £40k buy), generating £1,000 of gain on the 0.5 BTC. 30-day rule (bed and breakfasting): any disposal in the 30 days BEFORE a same-asset reacquisition matches against the future acquisition cost, not the pool. The rule was originally introduced for shares to prevent harvest-and-rebuy CGT manipulation; for crypto investors who frequently dollar-cost-average or rebalance positions, the 30-day rule creates substantial calculation complexity. Specialist UK crypto tax software (Koinly, Crypto Tax Calculator, CoinTracking, Recap) handles the Section 104 + same-day + 30-day calculation automatically across thousands of transactions; manual reconciliation is impractical above ~30 transactions per year.
Are crypto-to-crypto swaps taxable?
Yes - swapping one cryptocurrency for another (e.g. BTC for ETH, ETH for SOL, USDC for USDT) is a chargeable disposal of the cryptocurrency being given up. The gain is calculated as the GBP-equivalent of the crypto received minus the cost basis of the crypto given up (using Section 104 average cost). This is a significant operational difference vs the US where some crypto-to-crypto swaps qualify for "like-kind exchange" treatment (pre-2018). Every swap on a centralised or decentralised exchange triggers a CGT calculation. DEX swaps (Uniswap, SushiSwap, PancakeSwap) and bridging transactions between blockchains (e.g. ETH mainnet to Polygon) are similarly chargeable disposals. The GBP-equivalent value at the time of the swap is determined using the spot price on a recognised cryptocurrency price feed (CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko, exchange-quoted price); HMRC accepts reasonable consistent methodology.
How are staking rewards and mining income taxed?
Income Tax at marginal rate (20% / 40% / 45%) plus NI applies to staking rewards, mining rewards, DeFi yield and any other "received as a result of doing something" cryptoasset receipts. The GBP-equivalent value of the reward at the time of receipt is added to your taxable income for the year and reported via Self Assessment (SA100 main return for retail-investor scale; SA103 self-employment pages where mining is operated on a trade-quasi-business basis with substantial equipment and ongoing activity). The same receipt amount becomes the cost basis for future CGT when you eventually dispose of the rewarded crypto. Example: receiving 0.05 ETH worth £150 at the time of receipt creates £150 of Income Tax; if you later sell that 0.05 ETH for £200, the £50 difference is a CGT gain. Total tax = Income Tax on £150 + CGT on £50.
What about airdrops?
Airdrop tax treatment depends on whether you did something to earn the airdrop. (1) Airdrops received for nothing (no action required - the airdrop is sent to all holders of a particular token automatically) are NOT taxable on receipt under HMRC Cryptoassets Manual CRYPTO22150; the cost basis at receipt is zero (or near-zero), and the entire eventual disposal value is taxable as CGT gain. (2) Airdrops received for doing something (claim via a smart contract, social media engagement, providing liquidity, voting in DAO governance, holding for a snapshot date) ARE taxable as Income Tax at marginal rate on the GBP-equivalent value at receipt. The "do something" test has tightened in HMRC practice since 2022 as airdrop schemes have become more sophisticated - even a single click to claim an airdrop has been argued to qualify as "doing something" in recent HMRC enquiries. Conservative treatment for most airdrop investors is to declare as Income Tax at receipt; the alternative zero-cost-basis route requires defendable evidence of pure no-action receipt.
Can I claim a loss on stolen or lost crypto?
Limited circumstances. (1) Lost private keys with provable evidence (e.g. clearly documented loss of hardware wallet, written deceased estate evidence of forgotten passphrase): negligible-value claim under TCGA 1992 section 24(2) treating the crypto as having become "of negligible value", allowing a loss to be claimed against other CGT gains. HMRC requires substantial evidence of loss (not just claim of forgetting the password); written contemporaneous records and provable inability to recover are essential. (2) Theft from exchange or wallet hack: similar negligible-value claim treatment if the theft is provably documented and the recovery prospects are nil. (3) Exchange collapse / customer-fund loss (Mt Gox, FTX, Celsius): claim treatment depends on the specific creditor outcome - where customer funds were segregated and partially returned, the loss is the difference between cost basis and recovery amount; where customer funds were fully lost, full negligible-value claim available. Specialist crypto tax advice essential for any meaningful exchange-collapse claim because the recovery / creditor distribution timeline often spans years and triggers tax-year complications.
What about NFTs?
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are also chargeable assets for UK CGT. HMRC treats each NFT as a distinct asset (NOT pooled like fungible crypto). The cost basis is the GBP-equivalent paid to acquire the NFT including gas fees; the disposal proceeds are the GBP-equivalent received including any commission paid by the buyer. The 18% / 24% CGT rates apply on the same basis as other crypto gains. NFTs do NOT qualify for the chattels exemption (£6,000 below which gains on tangible movable property are exempt) because HMRC treats NFTs as intangible despite the artwork association. NFT creators selling their own NFTs receive Income Tax treatment on the sale rather than CGT (the activity is regarded as trading) - 20% / 40% / 45% Income Tax plus Class 4 NIC on net profits. Buying and selling NFTs as an investment is CGT-treated; creating and selling NFTs as an artist is Income Tax-treated.
What records must I keep?
HMRC requires records of: every cryptoasset purchase (date, amount, GBP-equivalent value, fees, transaction ID or wallet address); every disposal (date, proceeds, fees, GBP-equivalent value, transaction ID); the cost basis at each Section 104 pool snapshot; bank account or fiat-payment trail linking GBP to crypto purchases; mining and staking reward receipts with GBP-equivalent at time of receipt; airdrop receipts with the same. Records must be retained for 5 years after the relevant tax year - so 2026/27 records until 31 January 2032 (or 6 years from the end of the accounting period if you trade as a business). Specialist UK crypto tax software (Koinly, Crypto Tax Calculator, CoinTracking, Recap) automates the record-keeping by importing transactions from supported exchanges and wallets. Manual record-keeping is impractical for any meaningful crypto activity above ~30 transactions per year.
How does the £3,000 annual exempt amount work?
The £3,000 CGT Annual Exempt Amount is applied across ALL your chargeable gains for the year - crypto, shares, second property, collectibles, etc. - in aggregate. You cannot get a separate £3,000 for each asset class. The AEA is applied at the most-beneficial rate (typically against the highest-rate slice of gain). Once used in a tax year, the AEA cannot be carried forward or backward. A married couple has two AEAs (£3,000 each), and crypto holdings can be transferred between spouses without triggering a CGT disposal (TCGA 1992 section 58) - allowing both AEAs to be used. The AEA was cut from £12,300 in 2022/23 to £6,000 in 2023/24 to £3,000 in 2024/25 - a 76% reduction in two years that has materially increased the CGT-administrative burden on small-scale investors who previously had de-minimis gains comfortably within the higher AEA.
When do I need to file Self Assessment for crypto?
Three triggers. (1) Total disposals exceed £50,000 in the year regardless of gain - so a £50,001 of disposals with no net gain still requires SA registration. (2) Net gains exceed the £3,000 AEA. (3) Losses you want to claim against future gains - the loss claim itself must be reported on SA in the year of disposal (or within 4 years of the end of the loss year), not the year you eventually utilise the loss. Most retail crypto investors with any meaningful activity now hit at least one of the three triggers and must file SA. The annual SA deadline is 31 January following the end of the tax year - so 2026/27 disposals must be reported by 31 January 2028. Alternative: the "Real Time Capital Gains Tax service" allows in-year reporting and payment for those who want to clear the position before year-end (rare for crypto investors but available). Specialist UK crypto tax software produces the SA-ready output report with all required figures.
Related calculators and guides
- CGT calculator - general UK CGT computation across all asset classes.
- UK CGT rules guide - full framework including BADR schedule.
- UK crypto tax guide - broader cryptocurrency tax overview.
- Business Asset Disposal Relief guide - 18% rate from 6 April 2026 for qualifying business disposals (not crypto).
- Self-employed calculator - if your crypto activity rises to trading-business status, Income Tax + Class 4 NIC apply.