How do I declare my winnings to the tax office?

As the public’s interest in cryptocurrencies increases, so does the affinity of the authorities – as does that of the tax offices. Crypto taxes have now also come into focus among intrepid traders. How do I declare my crypto taxes to the tax office?

What are Crypto Taxes?

Crypto taxes refer to the tax liabilities that come with profits from trading cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Bitcoin and other coins. Typically, for ordinary traders, they are treated as so-called private sales transactions.

When are my profits from Bitcoin and Co. tax-free?

There are two options where your cryptocurrency trading profits are tax-free:

• More than a year passes between buying and selling the cryptocurrency. This means you exceed the “speculation period”. But be careful: If you switch to another cryptocurrency in the meantime, this is also considered a sale and the period starts again. You have to declare every purchase and sale to the tax office.
• You fall below the exemption limit for your winnings with cryptocurrencies. This is 600 euros. There is something to consider here too. If, in addition to cryptocurrencies, you also trade stocks, precious metals, derivatives or similar, your profits also count towards this amount. The tax office does not differentiate here. However, you can also offset your losses if you realize them.

How do I declare my crypto taxes to the German tax office?

If none of these cases apply to you, you must document your trades carefully. You must be able to provide proof of each individual transaction when asked by the tax authorities; they will usually ask for corresponding proof.

For private sales transactions, there is attachment “SO” in the tax return, which you should find at Elster. To determine your profit (“surplus” in tax terms), you deduct the acquisition costs from the sales price. You then have to pay tax on the excess. The amount of tax depends on your personal income tax rate.

Tip: If you use crypto tax software, you can import your data from almost all exchanges and wallets and have automatic reports created for submission to Elster or other common tax tools.

How high is the crypto tax in Austria and Switzerland?

In Switzerland, crypto profits are generally tax-free. However, they count as total assets, which may be taxed.

In Austria, however, things don’t look quite so rosy. Here the tax authorities impose a capital gains tax of 27.5 percent.

Disclaimer: This article does not replace tax advice. All information has been thoroughly researched, but cannot claim to be complete.