Match with UK firms who do this every day — share-pool reconciliation, DeFi yield, NFTs, staking, mining, airdrops, HMRC nudge-letter response. Worked numbers, defensible audit trails.
The guides below cover practical UK crypto tax for 2025/26 — HMRC manual rules, post-October-2024 rates, share-pool matching, DeFi, NFTs, mining, airdrops, losses, software comparison. Worked examples and HMRC citations throughout.
CGT rates 18%/24% post Oct 2024, £3,000 AEA, share-pool matching, what's a disposal, income vs CGT. The complete reference.
→ FilingStep-by-step SA108 mechanics — when to file, which boxes, the proceeds-not-gains trigger, with a complete worked example.
→ SoftwareKoinly, Recap, CryptoTaxCalculator, CoinTracking compared — UK share-pool accuracy, DeFi coverage, pricing, defensibility.
→ PillarThe CGT pillar — disposal events, share-pooling rules, 30-day rule, the 30 October 2024 rate change in detail.
→ PillarHow HMRC taxes staking rewards, yield farming, LPs and lending — income vs capital, double-tax timing.
→ NFTBuying, selling, minting, royalties, gas fees, the trader-vs-investor line for flippers, loss treatment for worthless NFTs.
→ MiningHobbyist / miscellaneous / commercial-trading thresholds, deductible expenses, £1k trading allowance, Ltd-co structures.
→ AirdropsThe 'did you have to do anything' question, retroactive airdrops, hard fork cost-basis splits, the worthless-token unfair case.
→ LossesDisposal losses, TCGA s.24(2) negligible value claims, lost/stolen crypto, FTX/Celsius treatment, the 4-year deadline.
→ StatusBadges of trade applied to crypto, what changes (CGT 24% vs income tax + NI 42%), when trader status is actually better.
→ ToolQuick estimate of your 2025/26 crypto tax bill — both CGT and income components. Run your own numbers in a minute.
→ ContactIf your situation doesn't fit a guide, email Charlie directly and we'll match you to the right UK specialist.
→Free, no obligation. Accountants pay us — you pay only their professional fees, typically from £248 one-time.
If your question isn't here, email info@gocryptotax.com.
UK crypto-tax specialist accountants typically charge from £248 one-time for a simple CEX-only return (1-3 exchanges, under 500 transactions), £450-£900 for a return with DeFi or NFT activity, and £1,200-£3,500 for complex multi-year reconciliations, voluntary disclosures or HMRC nudge-letter responses. The fee usually includes crypto tax software output review, SA108 figures, and a written position on contested items (airdrops, trader-vs-investor).
From 30 October 2024 onwards: 18% CGT in the basic-rate band, 24% CGT in the higher/additional-rate band, with a £3,000 annual exempt amount. Before that date the rates were 10% / 20% / £6,000 AEA. Disposals across the 30 October boundary need both rate columns on self-assessment. Staking, mining, action-required airdrops and creator royalties are taxed as income at 20%/40%/45% with the £1,000 trading allowance available.
Don't ignore it, don't panic-amend. The letter isn't an assessment, but ignoring it usually escalates to formal enquiry. Reconcile your full wallet history with crypto tax software, apply UK share-pool matching properly, calculate any past underpayment, and use the Worldwide Disclosure Facility for voluntary disclosure if there's a shortfall. Voluntary disclosure attracts lower penalties (10-30%) than discovery after enquiry (30-100%).
Yes — every crypto-to-crypto swap (BTC to ETH, ETH to USDC) is a disposal for UK CGT purposes. You're disposing of one asset and acquiring another, both priced in GBP at date of swap. This catches almost every UK retail crypto user the first time. Crypto tax software handles the GBP conversion automatically.
Yes — either dispose of the asset (sell at floor, send to a burn address) or make a negligible value claim under TCGA 1992 s.24(2) which treats the asset as disposed at £nil at a chosen date. Claims must be made on SA108 within 4 years of the end of the tax year of the loss. Losses offset capital gains in the same year first, then carry forward indefinitely. Capital losses cannot offset income tax.
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