Crypto tax in the UK: how much will you actually pay?
Sold some Bitcoin? Swapped one token for another? Spent crypto on a purchase? Each of those is a disposal for UK capital gains tax, and 2026/27 is the worst possible year to guess your way through it, because HMRC now receives your exchange data automatically. Here is what you will actually pay, and how to pay less of it legally.
What counts as a taxable disposal
Selling crypto for pounds is the obvious one, but swapping one coin for another, spending crypto, and gifting it to anyone other than your spouse or civil partner are all disposals too. Simply buying and holding triggers nothing. Transfers between your own wallets trigger nothing either.
The rates for 2026/27
Your first £3,000 of total gains in the year is covered by the annual exempt amount. Above that, gains are taxed at 18% where they fall within your unused basic rate band and 24% above it. Your other income, salary or self-employment for example, fills the band first, so a higher earner pays 24% on the lot.
Losses are worth money, register them
Losses on crypto offset gains in the same year, and anything left over carries forward indefinitely, but only if you claim them with HMRC, normally within four years. A bad year properly registered can shelter a good year later. Most people never do this, and it costs them real money.
HMRC already knows
Since 1 January 2026, UK crypto platforms collect and report user details and transaction data to HMRC under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, and overseas exchanges in participating countries do the same. The days of crypto flying under the radar are over. If you have undeclared gains from earlier years, a voluntary disclosure is dramatically cheaper than a letter from HMRC.
Estimate your bill in seconds
Our free crypto and shares CGT calculator applies the £3,000 allowance, your income, and both rates to show your estimated bill for 2026/27, including what your losses are worth.
Mind that the calculation of the gain itself, with pooling rules, the 30-day rule, and hundreds of transactions across wallets, is where it gets hard. That is exactly what our crypto and stock trader service handles, in English, Romanian or Spanish. The consultation is free.
