From the Handelsblatt archive: Since 2026, crypto exchanges have had to comply with new regulations. What the tax office will know about owners of cryptocurrencies in the future and where anonymous transactions are still possible.
Symbolic Bitcoin: Transaction data will be automatically reported to the tax authorities in the future. Photo: action press
Frankfurt. The time when crypto investors could operate in secret and hide their profits from the tax office is coming to an end. Since 2026, providers have been obliged to report information about their users and their transaction data to the tax authorities. Germany is thus implementing the EU directive DAC8. The risk of being caught as a tax evader increases many times over.
All crypto providers that come from Germany or operate here with German users must report the information to the tax authorities and are also dependent on the self-disclosure of their users. For example, Bison, Bitpanda, Kraken, Binance and Coinbase are affected.
Handelsblatt answers the most important questions.
What do I have to disclose to my crypto exchange?
Crypto trading was not completely anonymous anyway. The major crypto providers have already required proof of identity when registering. In addition to the name, address and date of birth, you now also have to record the tax residence, i.e. the countries in which your customer is subject to tax, and their tax identification number.
The crypto providers in Germany forward the information to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) or a comparable authority in other European countries. The same happens with the balances and transaction data for all deposits and withdrawals in wallets. Purchases and sales in another cryptocurrency or in fiat money (e.g. euros) are also among the information that the providers pass on. The BZSt then transmits this data to the user's responsible tax office.
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What happens if I don't provide my tax identification number?
If the user does not respond, the provider must remind them and then issue a warning. “If the information is still missing, the provider must prevent the user from carrying out transactions that need to be reported,” explains Hendrik Arendt, a tax law specialist and tax consultant at CMS. The ban must be implemented no later than 90 days (at the earliest 60 days) after the first request. “The business relationship can be continued as soon as the information has been submitted,” says Arendt.
What happens if I provide false information to my crypto provider?
You should not take self-disclosure lightly. “If the user intentionally or carelessly does not provide the self-disclosure, there is a risk of an administrative offense with a fine of up to 50,000 euros,” warns Arendt. The same applies if this self-disclosure is incorrect or incomplete. Late submission could also be punished with such a fine.
What penalties does the provider face if it does not pass on the data or passes it on incorrectly?
Providers can also be fined up to 50,000 euros per case if they fail to report.
They must also try to pass on the data as correctly as possible. “You are obliged to check the plausibility of your users’ information,” says Arendt. “The EU provides the TIN-on-the-Web interface for this,” adds Matthias Steger, a tax consultant specializing in Bitcoin. The tool checks whether the structure of the tax identification number according to type and number of characters is valid for the respective country of residence.
An entry consisting of 12345 should therefore be noticed quickly, a number transposition will only be noticed at the BZSt. For example, if the tax identification number does not match the taxpayer's other information. Or if the user declares crypto winnings in their tax return under a different tax identification number.
In which cases do I receive mail from the tax office?
The reported transaction data gives the tax offices information about who is actually trading in crypto assets and whose tax returns the officials should take a closer look at.
“Anyone who trades a lot but does not declare any corresponding profits in their tax return must be prepared for inquiries from the tax office,” says Arendt.
The crypto providers must submit the data for 2026 to the BZSt by July 31, 2027. It is currently impossible to estimate how quickly the tax offices will be able to evaluate these technically. But they are in no hurry. They have ten years to catch tax evaders, and in particularly serious cases even 15 years.
When are crypto profits taxable?
Anyone who trades crypto assets privately is conducting private sales transactions. Anyone who does not make more than 1000 euros in profit per year or holds the coins for more than a year does not have to pay taxes.
Income from staking is considered other income and must be taxed as soon as the exemption limit of 256 euros per year is exceeded. Mining, on the other hand, is usually viewed as commercial, so trade and sales tax may apply.
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Does the data exchange eliminate the need for documentation for the tax return?
No. Anyone who makes taxable profits and declares them to the tax office must document the underlying transactions accordingly so that the tax office can understand them. “A reference to the fact that the tax office already has all the information because of the data exchange is not enough,” says Arendt.
If you trade a lot, you should use professional reporting tools such as Coin Tracking, Blockpit or Pekuna.
Do crypto exchanges also report transactions from previous years?
No. The law only applies to transactions from 2026. “But if crypto transactions are suddenly noticed on a large scale for the first time, even if they appear properly in the tax return for 2026, the tax offices can ask questions about the origin and previous years,” says Arendt.
At the same time, the tax authorities can request information from crypto providers at any time. Major tax evaders from the crypto exchange Bitcoin.de have already been targeted in recent years.
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Are there still options for crypto investors to remain anonymous?
Outside the EU, countries such as the US and UK have joined CARF regulations on crypto information sharing. However, CARF is voluntary.
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FintechBitcoinGermanyEuropean UnionCoinbase
“As things currently stand, it will still be possible to trade anonymously on exchanges in Panama, for example,” says Steger. Emigrant destinations such as Georgia, Vietnam, the Philippines or the Bitcoin Mecca El Salvador have not yet joined CARF.
CARF and DAC8 also do not apply in the area of self-custody and direct trading without an exchange. Providers such as UniSwap or PancakeSwap also enable crypto users based in Europe to trade directly between wallets.
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