New rules that come into force on Thursday in Ireland and more than 40 other countries will make it harder for crypto investors to hide their gains from international tax authorities.
From January 1st, major cryptocurrency exchanges will be required to collect full transaction records for customers – including how much they paid, how much they sold their assets for and any profits made. Crypto exchanges will also collect and report information to tax authorities about the tax residency of users.
Ireland and Britain are among the first wave of 48 countries implementing the global rules developed by the OECD, known as the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (Carf).
As part of the rules, from 2027 tax authorities across the European Union, as well as the UK, the Channel Islands, Brazil, the Cayman Islands and South Africa, will automatically share information received from exchanges.
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“This is the beginning of the end for crypto investors who thought they could invest and gain from crypto in secrecy from tax and other law enforcement agencies,” said Andrew Park, tax investigations partner at Price Bailey.
“Crypto investors living in signatory jurisdictions like the UK need to be aware that their crypto data is going to be routinely shared with their tax authorities and need to carefully consider whether they are fully tax compliant.”
Overall, 75 countries have committed to implement the Carf rules, with crypto hubs such as the UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland set to implement the rules from 2027 and start exchanging information from 2028. The US is set to implement the rules from 2028 and start exchanging information from 2029.
Seb Maley, chief executive of tax insurance provider Qdos, said the rule change marked “a major shift in how crypto trading is monitored from a tax perspective”.
“HMRC will soon know exactly who is making gains – and how much,” he said.
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The tax rules for crypto assets can be complex but, in general, in Ireland, anyone selling or disposing of crypto assets is subject to capital gains tax on profits above their annual allowance of €1,270. In the UK, the figure is £3,000.
However, in circumstances where tax authorities consider buying and selling crypto assets to be “trading”, they can be subject to income tax and social insurance.
Individuals must keep records of their transactions and report and pay any tax due on an annual self-assessment return. As well as selling a cryptocurrency, disposals include exchanging one coin for another, paying for a product or service using cryptocurrency or giving away tokens to another person, unless they are a spouse or civil partner.
“HMRC has been concerned for some time about high levels of noncompliance among crypto investors,” said Dawn Register, a tax dispute resolution partner at accountancy firm BDO.
Joining the international exchange would give the tax agency access to a “richer data set” and allow it “to better target those UK tax residents it suspects of failing to correctly declare their gains”, she said.
The UK tax authority has taken several steps to crack down on tax evasion and avoidance involving crypto assets in recent years, including issuing guidance about when you need to pay tax when selling such assets.
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This has included the introduction of a voluntary disclosure facility that allows crypto investors to come clean on undeclared gains and unpaid tax made before April 2024.
HMRC trebled the number of letters it sent to individuals suspected of owing tax on their cryptocurrency holdings to 65,000 in the 2024-25 tax year, up from 27,700 the previous year.
Meanwhile, for the first time, this year’s UK self-assessment tax return form has a specific section where taxpayers can declare their crypto gains and losses.
“Those who made crypto gains in the 2024-25 tax year may be required to file a tax return before January 31st, 2026,” Ms Register added. She recommended anyone wanting to use the disclosure facility take professional advice before doing so. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
