How to Report Crypto on Your Tax Return: 2025/26 UK Guide

If you sold, swapped or spent crypto between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, you may need to report it on your 2025/26 Self Assessment tax return. With the paper deadline on 31 October 2026 and the online deadline on 31 January 2027, now is a good time to get your figures in order. This guide explains who needs to report crypto to HMRC, where it goes on the return, what numbers HMRC asks for, and how to avoid the most common mistakes.

Do you need to report crypto to HMRC?

HMRC treats most cryptoassets as property, not currency. That means Capital Gains Tax applies when you dispose of them, and a disposal is more than just selling for pounds. According to GOV.UK, you dispose of crypto when you:

• sell it for pound sterling or another currency
• exchange it for a different cryptoasset, including stablecoins
• use it to pay for goods or services
• give it away to someone other than your spouse or civil partner

Buying crypto and holding it, or moving it between your own wallets, is not a disposal.

The HMRC notes for the Capital Gains Tax summary pages (SA108) say you need to fill them in if any of these apply for 2025/26:

• your chargeable gains, before taking off losses, were more than £3,000
• you sold or disposed of chargeable assets worth more than £50,000
• you want to claim an allowable loss or make another capital gains claim or election

The £50,000 rule catches many active traders by surprise. It is based on disposal proceeds, not profit, and every crypto-to-crypto swap counts as a disposal at its market value. Someone who trades the same £5,000 back and forth between tokens can pass £50,000 of proceeds without making much gain at all.

If you are not sure whether your activity counts, our guide to crypto Capital Gains Tax in the UK covers disposals, rates and the allowance in more detail.

Where crypto goes on the Self Assessment tax return

Since the 2024/25 tax year, the Capital Gains Tax summary pages have had a separate cryptoasset section. For your 2025/26 return, that means:

Box	What to enter
13.1	Number of disposals in the year
13.2	Total disposal proceeds, before any reliefs, claims or elections
13.3	Total allowable costs, including purchase price
13.4	Gains in the year, before losses
13.5	Losses in the year
13.6	Code for any claim or election you are making
13.7	Total gains or losses already reported through the "real time" Capital Gains Tax service
13.8	Tax already paid on the gains in box 13.7

All figures must be in pound sterling. HMRC also asks you to send your computations with the Capital Gains Tax summary pages, showing how each gain or loss was worked out. For crypto, this is usually a calculation report that applies HMRC's pooling rules across all your disposals. Do not write "see attached" in the boxes; fill in every box that applies to you.

If you file online through HMRC's service, the cryptoasset questions appear when you say you have capital gains to report. If you use commercial filing software, look for the "cryptoassets" section within capital gains.

How to work out the figures

The boxes are simple. Getting the numbers that go in them is the hard part. In outline:

1. Gather every transaction for the tax year from every exchange, wallet and DeFi protocol you used, including accounts you have since closed.
2. Match transfers between your own wallets so they are not mistaken for disposals.
3. Value each disposal in pounds at the time it happened, including swaps where no pounds changed hands.
4. Apply HMRC's matching rules: tokens bought on the same day are matched first, then tokens bought in the following 30 days, then the "section 104 pool" average cost of the rest.
5. Total up the number of disposals, proceeds, costs, gains and losses for the boxes.

Allowable costs include what you paid for the tokens and transaction fees, such as exchange trading fees and network (gas) fees, directly linked to buying or selling. Our crypto tax calculator gives a quick estimate of the tax on a gain, but the full calculation needs every transaction to apply the pooling rules correctly.

A worked example

If Sam had been a basic rate taxpayer, some or all of the taxable gain could fall within the unused basic rate band and be taxed at 18% instead. Gains are added on top of your taxable income to decide which rate applies.

Reporting crypto losses

Losses are only useful if HMRC knows about them. You report them in box 13.5 for the year, and they are set against gains of the same year first. If you have more losses than gains, the unused amount can be carried forward to reduce gains in later years.

GOV.UK says you can claim a loss up to 4 years after the end of the tax year you made it. For example, losses made in 2022/23 must be claimed by 5 April 2027. Tokens that have become worthless may also qualify through a negligible value claim. Our guide to crypto losses and tax in the UK explains the options.

Staking, mining and other crypto income

Not all crypto activity is a capital gain. Staking rewards, mining income, some airdrops and crypto received for work are generally treated as income when you receive them, valued in pounds at that time. They go in the income sections of your return rather than the SA108 cryptoasset boxes:

• crypto paid by an employer is normally dealt with through PAYE
• crypto earned through a trade, such as a mining business, goes on the self-employment pages
• most other crypto income, including typical staking rewards, is reported as other taxable income

When you later sell or swap tokens you received as income, that is a separate disposal for Capital Gains Tax. The value already taxed as income becomes part of your cost, so it is not taxed twice. See how to report crypto staking and DeFi income to HMRC for the detail.

The "real time" Capital Gains Tax service

If you are UK resident and only need to report gains, you may be able to use HMRC's "real time" Capital Gains Tax service instead of a full tax return. GOV.UK says it can be used for disposals in 2025/26 and 2026/27, and gains must be reported by 31 December in the tax year after the sale. For 2025/26 gains, that is 31 December 2026. You will need to attach your calculations.

If you are already registered for Self Assessment, you must still include those gains on your tax return. They go in box 13.7, with any tax you already paid in box 13.8, and the submission reference numbers go in box 54.

2025/26 deadlines and penalties

Deadline	What is due
5 October 2026	Register for Self Assessment if you need a return and have not sent one before
31 October 2026	Paper tax returns
30 December 2026	Online returns, if you want an amount you owe collected through your tax code
31 December 2026	Reporting 2025/26 gains through the "real time" Capital Gains Tax service
31 January 2027	Online tax returns and payment of tax owed for 2025/26

Missed the 5 October registration date? Register now. GOV.UK says HMRC will then give you 3 months from the date of its letter or email to file your return, but the tax must still be paid by 31 January 2027. If you register late and do not pay in full by then, you may get a "failure to notify" penalty.

Late filing penalties start with an initial £100, then £10 a day after 3 months (up to £900), then the greater of 5% of the tax due or £300 at 6 months, and again at 12 months. Late payment brings separate penalties of 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months, plus interest.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Leaving out crypto-to-crypto swaps. Each swap is a disposal, even if you never cashed out to pounds.
• Ignoring the £50,000 proceeds rule. If you are in Self Assessment, you may need to report even when your gains are under £3,000.
• Treating transfers as sales. Moving tokens between your own wallets is not a disposal, but software often flags it as one if wallets are not linked.
• Using simple "buy price minus sell price". HMRC requires the same-day, 30-day and pooling rules, which often give a different answer.
• Not claiming losses. Unreported losses cannot be carried forward, and the 4-year claim window does run out.
• Missing exchanges. From 2026, UK platforms collect user and transaction data for HMRC under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, so gaps are getting easier to spot. Read do crypto exchanges report to HMRC? for more.

If you realise an earlier return was wrong, you can usually amend it within 12 months of the 31 January filing deadline, so the 2024/25 return can generally be amended until 31 January 2027. For older years, see our guide to HMRC crypto disclosure.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to report crypto if I made a loss?

You do not have to, but you should if you want to use the loss. A loss only reduces future gains if you report it to HMRC, and you have up to 4 years after the end of the tax year to claim it. You also need to complete the capital gains pages if your disposal proceeds were over £50,000 and you are registered for Self Assessment.

Do I need to report crypto if I just bought and held it?

No. Buying crypto with pounds and holding it is not a disposal, so there is nothing to report for Capital Gains Tax. Keep your purchase records, though, because you will need them to work out the gain when you eventually sell, swap or spend it.

Where do I put crypto on my tax return?

Crypto gains and losses go in the cryptoasset section of the SA108 Capital Gains Tax summary pages, boxes 13.1 to 13.8. Crypto income, such as staking rewards or mining, is reported in the income sections of the return instead.

Is crypto tax due if my gains are under £3,000?

For 2025/26, the annual exempt amount is £3,000, so there is no Capital Gains Tax if your total net gains are at or below that. You may still need to fill in the capital gains pages if your gains before losses were over £3,000, or if you are registered for Self Assessment and your total disposal proceeds were over £50,000.

What is the deadline for reporting crypto for 2025/26?

Paper returns must reach HMRC by 31 October 2026. Online returns are due by 31 January 2027, which is also the date the tax must be paid. If you use the "real time" Capital Gains Tax service instead, 2025/26 gains must be reported by 31 December 2026.

Can HMRC see my crypto?

Increasingly, yes. HMRC has used its information powers to obtain data from crypto platforms, and since 1 January 2026 UK platforms have been collecting user and transaction data under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, with the first reports due to HMRC in 2027.

Get help with your crypto tax return

Reporting crypto correctly is less about the form and more about the calculation behind it. If you have used several exchanges, swapped between tokens, staked or used DeFi, it is easy for software reports to double count or miss transactions. Koin Keepers prepares crypto tax returns for UK individuals, including full gains and losses calculations in line with HMRC's rules. Get in touch well before 31 January to give yourself time to gather records.

This article is general information based on HMRC guidance for the 2025/26 tax year and is not personal tax advice. Your position will depend on your circumstances.