Capital Gains Tax / Lesson 5 of 7
Crypto disposals
You never cashed out to pounds. You still made forty taxable disposals.
The short answer
- ✓ Swapping one token for another is a disposal, even with no pounds involved
- ✓ Spending crypto on goods is also a disposal
- ✓ Pooling and 30 day matching work exactly as they do for shares
- ✓ Mining and staking rewards are usually income rather than gains
What counts as a disposal
The most expensive misunderstanding in crypto is that tax only arises when you convert back to pounds. It does not.
| Action | Disposal? |
|---|---|
| Selling crypto for pounds | Yes |
| Swapping one token for another | Yes |
| Using crypto to buy goods or services | Yes |
| Gifting crypto to anyone but your spouse | Yes |
| Buying crypto with pounds | No, an acquisition |
| Moving between your own wallets | No |
Swapping token A for token B is a disposal of A at its sterling value on that day, and an acquisition of B at the same value. An active trader who never touches sterling can still generate hundreds of disposals.
The same pooling rules apply
Buy 2 tokens at £8,000 cost £16,000
Buy 1 token at £14,000 cost £14,000
------------
Pool 3 tokens cost £30,000
Average cost per token £10,000
Swap 1 token for another, worth £13,000 that day
Proceeds £13,000, cost £10,000, gain £3,000
Taxable even though no pounds were received.Same day and 30 day matching apply too, in the same order.
Income rather than gains
Some crypto activity is taxed as income, not capital gains, and is charged at your income tax rate instead.
- Being paid in crypto for work
- Mining rewards, in most circumstances
- Staking rewards, generally as income when received
- Some airdrops, depending on whether anything was required in return
Where an asset is received as income, the sterling value at receipt becomes its acquisition cost, so a later disposal is measured from there.
The bit HMRC does not spell out
The record keeping burden is the real problem, and it falls on you. You need the sterling value of every transaction on the date it happened, across every exchange and wallet you have used, including ones that no longer exist.
People discover this years later, when the exchange has closed and the export is gone. Export your transaction history at least annually, from every platform, while you still can. No amount of tax knowledge helps if the underlying data has vanished.
Common mistakes
- Believing tax only arises on cashing out. Swaps are disposals.
- Treating staking rewards as capital. They are usually income.
- Not exporting exchange history. It disappears when platforms do.
- Ignoring small transactions. Each one is a disposal.
Try it on your own numbers
This is the same calculator as the full tool page, using 2026/27 rates.
Your transactions
Add every buy and sell of the same share or coin. We apply the same-day, 30-day and pool rules for you.
| Date | Type | Quantity | Price each (£) | Fees (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tip: enter one asset at a time. Pooling is per-asset, so don't mix different shares or coins in the same table.
Total capital gain
- Net gain
- Annual exempt amount
- Taxable gain
- CGT due
Remaining Section 104 pool: units at cost .
How each sale was matched
| Sale date | Matched via | Quantity | Gain / loss |
|---|---|---|---|
Estimate only. Assumes all transactions are the same asset and standard rules apply (no gifts, bonus/rights issues, or non-UK complications). For large or unusual portfolios, get professional advice.
Key takeaways
- ✓ Swapping one token for another is a disposal, even with no pounds involved
- ✓ Spending crypto on goods is also a disposal
- ✓ Pooling and 30 day matching work exactly as they do for shares
- ✓ Mining and staking rewards are usually income rather than gains
Check you have got it
3 quick questions. No score is kept, and you can change your mind.
1. You swap Bitcoin for Ethereum and never convert to pounds. Is there a disposal?
2. How are staking rewards usually taxed?
3. What is the biggest practical difficulty with crypto tax?
Sources
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