- Revenue treats crypto as an asset. Selling it, swapping it or paying with it is usually a disposal for capital gains tax (CGT), calculated disposal by disposal in euros.
- The standard CGT rate is 31% for disposals on or after 7 October 2026 (Budget 2027) and 33% for earlier disposals. The first €1,270 of an individual’s gains each year is exempt.
- Losses are set against gains of the same year and can be carried forward. If you deal in crypto as a trade, income tax applies instead of CGT.
- Revenue publishes no guidance on staking, DeFi, airdrops or NFTs. It says mining is generally outside the scope of VAT.
- If you leave Ireland after being resident for three years in a row, you usually stay ordinarily resident, and liable to CGT, for three more tax years.
This page covers tax for private individuals who hold crypto in Ireland. When to pay and file is on filing and deadlines; companies are on business tax. It is general information, not tax advice.
How capital gains tax works
Ireland has no special tax rules for crypto. Revenue’s manual on crypto-asset transactions says the term “cryptocurrency” is not defined in tax law and that crypto’s characteristics “are more aligned to that of assets”. It also says that “the sale, transfer, or redemption of crypto-assets is most likely to be a disposal for CGT purposes unless … there is a trade of dealing in crypto-assets being carried on”. Using crypto to buy goods, for example in a café, is also a disposal. Revenue’s general CGT pages add that an exchange of one asset for another is taxed like a sale.
- Gain per disposal. Sale price (or market value, for example for a gift) minus what you paid and allowable costs, such as fees when you bought and sold. Each disposal is calculated separately, in euros.
- Total for the year. Add up the gains of the tax year (1 January to 31 December) and deduct losses of the same year and losses carried forward.
- Annual exemption. Deduct the personal exemption of €1,270. It can only reduce a gain: if your gains are €960, the unused €310 is lost. You cannot transfer it to your spouse or civil partner.
- Tax. Multiply the taxable gain by the CGT rate that applies on the date of each disposal.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Standard CGT rate, disposals on or after 7 October 2026 | 31% |
| Standard CGT rate, disposals before 7 October 2026 (from December 2012) | 33% |
| Annual personal exemption (2026) | €1,270 per individual |
| Exemption for transfers between spouses or civil partners | Usually exempt |
| Interest on late payment of CGT | 0.0219% per day |
The cut to 31% was announced in Budget 2027 on 6 October 2026, for disposals made on or after 7 October 2026. The 33% rate for development land does not change. Revenue’s CGT page already shows the new rate; the change still has to be passed in the Finance Bill that follows the Budget (see upcoming changes). Revenue’s table of historical rates shows 33% up to 6 October 2026 and 30% up to 5 December 2012.
Crypto can trade at different prices on different exchanges. Revenue accepts that there is not always a single rate and asks for “a reasonable effort” to use an appropriate valuation for each transaction.
A worked example
Our own example, following Revenue’s steps: in 2026 a single person sells bitcoin for €20,000 on 15 November 2026. She bought it in 2023 for €8,000. The exchange charged €100 when she bought and €100 when she sold. She has no other gains or losses.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Chargeable gain | €20,000 − €8,000 − €100 − €100 | €11,800 |
| Annual exemption | €11,800 − €1,270 | €10,530 |
| CGT at 31% (disposal on or after 7 October 2026) | €10,530 × 31% | €3,264.30 |
| For comparison: CGT at 33% (disposal before 7 October 2026) | €10,530 × 33% | €3,474.90 |
Because the sale falls in the initial period (1 January to 30 November), she pays the CGT by 15 December 2026 and declares the gain in her return by 31 October 2027 (see deadline calendar). This is an illustration, not a tax calculation for your situation.
Losses
- A loss on a disposal is an allowable loss if a gain on the same transaction would have been taxable. You deduct it from gains of the same tax year, before the €1,270 exemption.
- Losses you cannot use are carried forward to later years. You cannot carry them back, except losses in the year of death, which can be set against gains of the three previous years.
- If you are jointly assessed with your spouse or civil partner, unused losses are set against their gains automatically, unless one of you applies by 1 April of the following year to keep them.
Revenue’s manual shows a crypto example: a gain of €10,500, minus €2,500 of losses carried forward and the €1,270 exemption, leaves a taxable gain of €6,730.
Not domiciled in Ireland: the remittance basis
An individual who is resident or ordinarily resident in Ireland but not domiciled there (domicile broadly means the country you intend to live in permanently) pays CGT on gains from assets “situated outside the State” only when the proceeds are brought into Ireland. Revenue says this hardly helps with crypto: a crypto-asset that exists “on the cloud” is not situated anywhere, so it “cannot be viewed as ‘situated outside the State’”. If you cannot show where the crypto is located, the gain is taxed in Ireland under the residence rules. The burden of proof is on you.
Trading, mining and other situations
- Trading. Whether you are carrying on a trade of dealing in crypto is “a question of fact”. Calling it trading is not enough: Revenue compares it to trading in shares and refers to its guidance based on case law. Trading profits are taxed under income tax, and you may become a chargeable person who must register for income tax and file an annual return.
- Mining. Revenue’s crypto manual does not say how mining income is taxed for individuals. It only says mining is generally outside the scope of VAT, because it is not an economic activity for VAT purposes.
- Salary in crypto. Pay in crypto is valued at its euro amount when paid (or the employer’s cost, if higher) for PAYE. Crypto given to an employee free or cheaply is a benefit in kind.
- PAYE employees. If you only have a job but sold crypto at a gain, you still have to file a return for that gain (see who must file).
Gifts and inheritances of crypto can fall under Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT), at 33% above tax-free group thresholds, valued at the euro market value on the valuation date. Budget 2027 raised the Group A threshold (mainly children) to €420,000, Group B to €44,000 and Group C to €22,000 for gifts and inheritances taken on or after 7 October 2026. Ireland does not take part in the EU Succession Regulation; how crypto inheritance works across the EU is explained in this guide to crypto inheritance in the European Union.
Staking, DeFi, airdrops and NFTs
Revenue does not publish guidance on staking, lending, liquidity pools or other DeFi (decentralized finance) activity, on airdrops (free tokens sent to your wallet) or on NFTs (non-fungible tokens, unique tokens that stand for a digital or physical item). Its crypto manual, last reviewed in January 2026, covers income tax, corporation tax, CGT, VAT, payroll, valuation, CAT, record keeping and the remittance basis, and in October 2026 we found nothing else on these topics on revenue.ie. What it does say:
- Each case “must be considered on the basis of its own individual facts and circumstances”, applying the existing law and case law.
- Where any transaction involving crypto leads to a tax event, you must keep proper records of it.
- A later sale, swap or spending of tokens you received is a disposal under the normal CGT rules.
If you earn large amounts from staking or DeFi, ask a tax adviser or Revenue (through MyEnquiries) how to treat them before you file.
Moving to or from Ireland
CGT applies to individuals who are resident or ordinarily resident in Ireland (section 29 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997). Revenue’s tests:
- Resident. You are resident for a tax year if you are in Ireland for 183 days or more in that year, or 280 days or more over that year and the previous one together. A year with 30 days or less does not count toward the 280 days. Any part of a day counts as a day.
- Ordinarily resident. After three consecutive tax years of residence, you become ordinarily resident from the start of the fourth. If you then leave, you stay ordinarily resident for three more tax years. Because CGT also applies to ordinarily resident people, gains on crypto sold in those three years can still be taxed in Ireland, subject to any tax treaty with your new country.
- No exit tax on crypto. Ireland’s anti-avoidance rule for temporary non-residents (section 29A) applies only to Irish-domiciled individuals who are away for five years or less, and only to shareholdings of 5% or more or worth more than €500,000. Crypto held directly is not covered; crypto held through your own company can be, through the shares.
- Arriving. If you are not domiciled in Ireland, see the remittance basis above. Split-year treatment in the year you arrive or leave applies to employment income, not to capital gains.
The country you move to or from has its own rules. Crypto providers report your data to the country where you are tax resident (see DAC8), so tell them when you move.
Upcoming changes
Budget 2027, laid before the Oireachtas on 6 October 2026, reduces the standard CGT rate in section 28(3) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 from 33% to 31% for disposals on or after 7 October 2026, and raises the CAT group thresholds from the same date. These measures are put into law by the Finance Bill that follows the Budget (the Budget documents name Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026), which the Oireachtas had not yet passed at the time of writing (October 2026). The Budget contains no measure specific to crypto. DAC8 reporting by providers started on 1 January 2026, with the first exchange of data between tax authorities by 30 September 2027.
Sources
- Revenue: Tax and Duty Manual Part 02-01-03, Taxation of Crypto-Asset Transactions (reviewed January 2026) (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: How to calculate CGT (rates, published 7 October 2026) (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: What do you pay CGT on? (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: What is exempt from CGT? (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: If you make a loss (last checked October 2026)
- Department of Finance: Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes, sections 4.1 and 6.7 (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: CAT rates (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: How to know if you are resident for tax purposes (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: How to know if you are ordinarily resident for tax purposes (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: What is domicile and the domicile levy? (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: Moving to or from Ireland during the tax year (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: Tax and Duty Manual Part 02-03-02, Temporary non-residents (s.29A) (last checked October 2026)
- Revenue: Guidelines for charging interest on late payment (last checked October 2026)
- Your Europe: Planning your inheritance abroad (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above before you act.