Do I need to pay tax on cryptocurrency gains from 2025?
I made about £3,200 profit from trading Bitcoin and Ethereum last year. Never reported it before. Do I actually have to declare this to HMRC, or is it only if you're a professional trader?
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as some answers noted you definitely need to declare this to hmrc - crypto gains are treated as capital gains tax regardless of whether your doing it casually or professionally, so that £3,200 would be taxable income. the good news is you've probably got a decent personal allowance buffer (£3,000 for the 2025/26 tax year) so depending on any other gains you had you might not owe much or anything, but have you had any other investment gains that year that would eat into that allowance? also are you planning to file a self-assessment return or would this be your first one?
James asker
Yeah, made a few quid on some index funds too, maybe another grand. First time doing self-assessment, bit nervous about it honestly.
You need to declare that to hmrc, even as a casual trader. capital gains tax applies to crypto profits whether your doing it professionally or just messing around on the side - the £3,200 you made counts as a chargeable gain. you've got until january 31st 2026 to file your self assessment tax return for the 2025 tax year, so id get on it soon since that deadline's coming up pretty quick. if your worried about penalties for not reporting it before now theres voluntary disclosure routes available but honestly just get it sorted asap.
You'll need to declare that to hmrc unfortunately - capital gains tax applies to crypto profits regardless of whether your a casual trader or doing it professionally, and the good news is you've got an annual exemption of around £3,000 for 2025 so you'd only owe tax on roughly £200 of your gains anyway. worth getting it sorted sooner rather than later though since they're pretty keen on crypto these days.
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