Crypto Tax

Crypto tax is ordinary tax law applied to extraordinary record-keeping. Every disposal is a taxable event — including swapping one token for another, spending crypto, and some DeFi transactions that feel nothing like a sale — and the calculation rules pool acquisitions in ways no exchange statement shows. Meanwhile HMRC receives data directly from exchanges under international reporting frameworks and writes nudge letters to holders whose returns show nothing.

Acumon brings the two halves together: chartered tax advisors who know the legislation, working with transaction data from all your platforms to produce calculations, returns and — where past years went unreported — disclosures that settle the position on the best available terms.

Capital Gains Across Wallets and Exchanges

UK CGT applies share-pooling rules to crypto: same-day and 30-day matching first, then a section 104 pool per token across every wallet and exchange you use. No platform's tax report does this correctly for a multi-platform holder, which is why self-calculated figures are so often wrong in both directions. We consolidate the complete transaction history, apply the matching rules properly, and produce gains calculations that reconcile — and that stand up if HMRC asks how the number was built.

Income or Gains: Staking, Mining, Airdrops and DeFi

Not everything is CGT. Staking and mining rewards, many airdrops and some earning products are taxed as income on receipt — then again under CGT on later disposal, from a base cost fixed at receipt. DeFi lending and liquidity provision can trigger disposals at the moment tokens change hands, under analysis HMRC has set out in detail. We classify each activity on its facts, because the difference between income and gains treatment changes the rate, the timing and the reporting.

Unreported Years and HMRC Disclosures

If past years contain unreported gains or income, the calm route is disclosure before contact: HMRC operates a dedicated cryptoasset disclosure facility, and unprompted disclosure attracts materially lower penalties than responding to a nudge letter — which itself is materially better than an opened enquiry. We reconstruct historic positions from whatever records survive, prepare the disclosure, and negotiate the settlement. If a nudge letter has already arrived, do not answer it informally; the reply frames everything that follows.

Traders, Businesses and Companies Holding Crypto

High-frequency activity raises the trading question — genuine financial trading is income-taxed, though HMRC sets that bar high for individuals — and businesses accepting or holding crypto face corporation tax, accounting and VAT questions of their own. We advise on where the boundaries actually sit, structure holdings sensibly where choice exists, and handle the company-side accounting and tax where crypto sits on a balance sheet.

What You Get With Acumon

• Full CGT calculations with share pooling across all exchanges and wallets
• Income classification for staking, mining, airdrops and DeFi activity
• Self assessment returns including the dedicated cryptoasset reporting
• Historic reconstruction from exchange exports, wallet data and block explorers
• Voluntary disclosures through HMRC's cryptoasset facility
• Nudge letter responses handled by ex-HMRC specialists
• Trading-status analysis for high-frequency and professional activity
• Corporation tax and accounting for companies holding cryptoassets

Why Acumon for Crypto Tax?

• Many of the firm's qualified tax advisors previously worked for HMRC
• In-house Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA), qualified by the Chartered Institute of Taxation
• All 90 of the firm's professionals are based in the UK
• Handles self assessment, 60-day property returns and complex CGT reporting as core practice

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.