Crypto Country GuideCrypto rules and tax, country by country

Canada

Last reviewed: October 2026

On this page
  1. Legal status
    1. Securities regulators
    2. FINTRAC registration
    3. The Stablecoin Act
  2. Tax for individuals
    1. Capital gain or business income
    2. What counts as a disposition
    3. Inclusion rate and losses
    4. Federal income tax rates
    5. Mining and staking
    6. GST/HST
  3. Tax for companies
  4. Reporting and filing obligations
    1. Crypto reporting by providers (CARF)
  5. Exchanges and KYC
  6. Self-custody
  7. Sources
  • Crypto trading platforms must register with FINTRAC as money services businesses, and those that trade securities or derivatives need authorization from a provincial securities regulator. The Stablecoin Act became law on 26 March 2026 and is expected to come into force in 2027.
  • The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) taxes crypto gains either as capital gains or as business income, depending on the facts. Half of a capital gain is taxable. The planned increase of that share was cancelled in March 2025.
  • Swapping one crypto for another is a disposition. So is paying for goods or services with crypto, which the CRA treats as barter.
  • Companies pay a federal rate of 15% after the general tax reduction, or 9% for Canadian-controlled private corporations that claim the small business deduction, plus provincial tax.
  • Draft law for the OECD crypto reporting framework (CARF) applies from 2026, with the first returns due before 2 May 2027, but it was still going through parliament when we checked.

This page covers private individuals and companies that hold, trade or accept crypto in Canada. It is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Canada regulates crypto through securities law, anti-money-laundering law and, from 2027, a new stablecoin law. Provinces and territories run securities regulation, so there is no single national securities regulator.

Securities regulators

According to the British Columbia Securities Commission, crypto trading platforms that facilitate trades of securities or derivatives in Canada must be authorized by a provincial or territorial securities regulator, as a dealer, a marketplace or a clearing agency. In a notice of 22 February 2023, the Canadian Securities Administrators said that fiat-backed stablecoins could continue to trade on conditions, such as holding a reserve of assets with a qualified custodian and publishing information on governance, operations and reserves.

FINTRAC registration

Dealing in virtual currency, such as exchange or transfer services, is a money services business activity. FINTRAC, the financial intelligence unit, says that before you begin to operate in Canada you must register your money services business, or foreign money services business, with it.

The Stablecoin Act

The Stablecoin Act was enacted as part of Bill C-15 (the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1), which received Royal Assent on 26 March 2026. The Bank of Canada will administer it: it will register stablecoin issuers, supervise compliance and take enforcement action. The Department of Finance is developing the regulations. It expects that work to continue for 12 to 18 months from early 2026, with the framework coming into force in 2027. Issuers will have to hold reserve assets equal to the value in circulation, as high-quality liquid assets in the reference currency with a qualified custodian, and redeem at par under a published policy.

Tax for individuals

Capital gain or business income

The CRA says that generally, if a crypto-asset transaction is not made on account of business income, it is capital in nature. It also says that income from crypto-asset transactions may be business income when your activities are consistent with those of a person carrying on a business.

What counts as a disposition

  • Selling crypto for Canadian dollars or another currency.
  • Exchanging one crypto-asset for another. The CRA’s example treats it as disposing of one asset in exchange for the other at the value received.
  • Paying for goods or services with crypto, which the CRA treats as a barter transaction for income tax purposes.

Your gain or loss is the proceeds minus your adjusted cost base (usually what you paid, plus expenses to acquire it) and the outlays and expenses of the disposition. For tax reporting, the CRA accepts a crypto-asset’s fair market value, using a reasonable method that you apply consistently.

Inclusion rate and losses

You include half of your capital gains (taxable capital gains) in your income for the year. In March 2025 the Prime Minister announced that the government would cancel the proposed increase of the inclusion rate, so it remains one-half. You can deduct half of your capital losses (allowable capital losses), but only against taxable capital gains. Net capital losses can be carried back three years or carried forward indefinitely.

Federal income tax rates

Taxable capital gains and business income are added to your other income and taxed at the rates for your bracket. The federal brackets for the 2026 tax year, which you file in 2027, are below. Provinces add their own tax.

Taxable income (2026)Federal rate on that part
Up to CAD 58,52314%
CAD 58,523 to CAD 117,04520.5%
CAD 117,045 to CAD 181,44026%
CAD 181,440 to CAD 258,48229%
Above CAD 258,48233%

Each rate applies only to the part of your income in that bracket, not to all of your income.

Mining and staking

  • Mining. In most cases, the CRA considers mining to be carrying on a business because of the scale and resources involved. The value of the crypto you receive is included in your business income when it is earned.
  • Staking on a centralized platform. Rewards are generally income at the time they are credited to your wallet on the platform.

The CRA page on mining and staking does not mention airdrops, so we do not describe them here.

GST/HST

According to the CRA, crypto that meets the definition of a virtual payment instrument, such as bitcoin and ether, is an exempt financial service when sold. If you accept crypto as payment for goods or services, you work out the GST/HST value from the crypto’s fair market value at the time of the transaction.

Tax for companies

Federal corporate taxNet rate
General rate, after the general tax reduction15%
Canadian-controlled private corporations claiming the small business deduction9%

Provinces and territories add their own corporate tax, and Quebec and Alberta run their own systems. The CRA page lists the provincial business limits, which differ by province. We could not confirm the federal small business limit from an official page, so we do not give it here.

A company’s crypto gains are business income or capital gains under the same test as for individuals. GST/HST works as described above.

Reporting and filing obligations

Individuals. Capital gains go on Schedule 3 of your T1 return, in the section for bonds, debentures, promissory notes, crypto-assets and other similar properties. The CRA expects you to keep records for at least six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, including the addresses of each digital wallet you used. We found no separate crypto question on the T1 return.

Foreign property (T1135). You must file a T1135 if you own specified foreign property costing more than CAD 100,000 at any time in the year. The deadlines on the CRA page are 30 April for individuals, 15 June for the self-employed, and six months after the year-end for corporations. The CRA page does not say whether crypto is specified foreign property, so ask the CRA or an adviser if this may apply to you.

Crypto reporting by providers (CARF)

The Department of Finance’s draft Income Tax Act amendments (a new Part XXI) apply to the 2026 and later calendar years, with returns filed before 2 May of each year, so the first return would be due before 2 May 2027. Reporting providers are those that operate as a business offering services that facilitate exchange transactions for or on behalf of customers. The measure is in Bill C-31 (the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2), introduced in May 2026. When we checked, the bill was at committee stage in the House of Commons and had not received Royal Assent, so the details may change.

Large transactions. FINTRAC requires a report when a reporting business receives virtual currency of CAD 10,000 or more in a single transaction. The report is due within five working days after the day the amount is received. Receiving two or more amounts that together reach CAD 10,000 within 24 hours can also trigger it.

Exchanges and KYC

Before you use a platform, check that it is registered with FINTRAC and, if it trades securities or derivatives, authorized by a securities regulator. Registered businesses must identify their customers under the anti-money-laundering rules.

FINTRAC’s travel rule guidance says that financial entities and money services businesses must include originator and beneficiary information with virtual currency transfers. For the originator that means the name, address and account number or other reference number, if any, of the person or entity who requested the transfer. The guidance has applied since 1 June 2021. We did not find a FINTRAC page that explains what is required when a customer sends crypto to or from a private wallet.

Self-custody

We found no Canadian rule that restricts holding crypto in a private wallet. For tax, the CRA expects you to keep records of each wallet address and of the opening and closing balance of each wallet. We found no CRA statement on lost or stolen keys, and we could not confirm whether such a loss counts as a disposition.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above before you act.