Total amount received when you sold or disposed of your crypto
Your salary or other taxable income
CGT annual exempt already used on other disposals
Reg. 07380272 · England & Wales · Est. 2010
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Total Gain
£10,000.00
Capital Gains Tax
£700.00
Net Proceeds
£14,300.00
Effective Rate
7.0%
Exempt Used
£3,000.00
Basic Rate Band
Higher Rate Band
Everything you need to know about cryptocurrency taxation
How is crypto taxed in the UK?
HMRC treats cryptocurrency as property, not currency. When you dispose of crypto assets — by selling, swapping, gifting, or spending them — any gain above the annual exempt amount is subject to Capital Gains Tax. The rate you pay depends on your total taxable income: 10% for basic rate taxpayers or 20% for higher and additional rate taxpayers. Mining and staking rewards may be treated as income rather than capital gains.
What counts as a disposal?
A disposal includes selling crypto for fiat currency (e.g. GBP), exchanging one cryptocurrency for another (e.g. Bitcoin to Ethereum), using crypto to pay for goods or services, and gifting crypto to someone other than your spouse or civil partner. Simply transferring crypto between your own wallets is not a disposal. Each disposal is a separate CGT event and must be tracked individually.
What is the annual exempt amount?
For the 2025/26 tax year, the CGT annual exempt amount is £3,000. This means the first £3,000 of your total capital gains in the tax year are tax-free. The exempt amount applies across all your disposals — not per asset. If you have already used some of your exempt amount on other disposals (e.g. shares), enter that in the "Other gains used" field above.
Can I offset crypto losses?
Yes. If you sell crypto at a loss, you can use that loss to reduce gains on other disposals in the same tax year. If your losses exceed your gains, you can carry unused losses forward to future tax years — but you must report them to HMRC within four years of the end of the tax year in which the loss arose. Losses cannot be carried back to earlier tax years.
Share-pooling rules for crypto
The same share-pooling rules that apply to shares and securities also apply to cryptocurrency. Rather than tracking individual coins, HMRC requires you to calculate an average cost basis across all tokens of the same type. The same-day rule and the 30-day "bed and breakfast" rule also apply, meaning if you repurchase the same token within 30 days of selling, special matching rules override the pooled cost basis.
Record keeping requirements
It is important to keep detailed records of every crypto transaction, including dates, amounts, values in GBP at the time of each transaction, and associated fees. HMRC can request these records, and crypto exchanges are increasingly sharing data with tax authorities. If your total gains exceed the annual exempt amount (£3,000 for 2025/26), you must report them on your Self Assessment tax return and pay the appropriate CGT.
HMRC-Aligned: This calculator uses official 2025/26 CGT rates and thresholds. For complex scenarios involving DeFi, staking rewards, airdrops, or hard forks, consult a qualified tax adviser with crypto expertise.
This calculator uses official rates and thresholds from:
Last verified: February 2026 · Tax year 2025/26. Results are indicative — consult a qualified accountant for personalised advice.
Reviewed by M. Samiuddin Quadri, ACCA — Chartered Certified Accountant at Gladstone & Co. · Updated for the 2025/26 tax year.
Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates based on current HMRC rates and thresholds for the 2025/26 tax year. It does not constitute professional tax, financial, or legal advice. Your actual liability may differ depending on your individual circumstances. Always consult a qualified accountant or tax adviser before making financial decisions. Read our terms