Crypto tax in Germany
Rules verified in September 2026.
Short term
Marginal rate (up to 45% + Soli)
Long term
Exempt
Threshold
More than 1 year
Annual allowance
Freigrenze €1,000/year
Cost method
FIFO, per wallet/exchange
Legislation
EStG § 23 Abs. 1 Nr. 2; BMF-Schreiben Kryptowerte (10.05.2022, 06.03.2025)
In short
Germany is among the most favourable: gains on crypto held more than 1 year are exempt. For shorter holding, the personal marginal rate applies (up to 45%, plus the 5.5% Soli on the tax, where due). €1,000 Freigrenze per year: below it nothing is taxed, from there everything is. Note: in 2026 the government presented a bill to end the 1-year exemption for crypto bought from 2027; until it is published, the rules above stand.
Key points
- 0% rate for holding > 1 year
- Personal marginal rate (up to 45% + 5.5% Soli) for < 1 year
- €1,000 Freigrenze per year (was €600 until 2023): from €1,000 everything is taxed
- FIFO per wallet (allowed by the BMF; the default rule is average cost)
- Staking/lending: taxable income above €256/year; the 1-year period still applies (the 10-year rule was ruled out by the BMF in 2022)
- Declare in Anlage SO
- Reform under discussion (2026): end of the 1-year period and a flat rate of ~25% for purchases from 2027, not yet law
How to show you have held the crypto for more than one year
In Germany, the gain on a private sale of crypto is exempt only if the crypto was held for more than one year (§ 23 EStG). Below that, the gain is taxed at your marginal rate, with the €1,000 Freigrenze per year for all private sales together. As in Portugal, the rule is the easy part; showing the date of each purchase is the hard one.
What the law says
The taxpayer has a duty to cooperate and to clarify the facts declared (§ 90 AO), and it is the taxpayer who has to show what works in their favour, such as the holding-period exemption. The Federal Ministry of Finance's circular on crypto (BMF letter of 10 May 2022, updated on 6 March 2025) describes record-keeping duties and what the tax office expects to see: for each transaction, the date, the amount, the euro value and the wallet or platform involved. The circular accepts platform reports and statements and blockchain records as documentation, provided they are plausible and complete (para. 90), and states expressly that missing records, for example after a platform's insolvency, are at the taxpayer's expense (para. 89).
What to keep, for every purchase
Date, amount and euro value. In practice: the platform's order history (export it as CSV while the account exists), the bank receipt for the deposit and, if you moved the crypto to your own wallet, the transaction id on the blockchain, public and dated. A bank statement alone proves the money left, not that the crypto was bought that day.
Savings plan or DCA: regular buys and everything is mixed up
For the holding period FIFO applies, wallet by wallet: within each wallet or account, what was bought longest ago is treated as sold first (para. 61 of the circular). For the cost, the circular provides for the average cost by default, with FIFO allowed as a simplification; the choice is fixed per wallet until it is emptied (para. 62). Sort that wallet's purchases by date and add up from the oldest until you reach the amount sold. Whatever has more than one year is exempt; the rest is taxed, and one sale can have both parts. Because the count is per wallet, moving crypto between your own wallets does not make it 'older' or 'newer'.
The platform closed or will not give you the history
Gather what is left: confirmation emails, dated bank statements of the transfers and the blockchain record of the withdrawal to your wallet. If the platform still exists in the European Union, request the full history in writing under the GDPR. With no record at all, the holding period is unproven; talk to a Steuerberater before filing.
The crypto came from my own wallet, no platform
The blockchain proves the date the crypto entered the address, not the price or whether the purchase was earlier. Pair the on-chain record with proof of origin. Note: if the crypto was used for staking or lending, the one-year period still applies; the ten-year rule was ruled out by the 2022 circular.
What ChainFolioAI does
It records every purchase with date, amount and price, from the platform CSV or by hand, applies FIFO across all wallets (see the note below) and shows, for each sale, which purchases it came from, with dates, and whether it passed the year. You export to PDF or Excel for Anlage SO or for your Steuerberater.
The BMF circular describes record-keeping duties and examples of documentation, but the assessment is made case by case by the Finanzamt. The above is the law and good record-keeping practice; if part of your purchase history is missing, review the case with a Steuerberater before filing.
Frequently asked questions
How much tax do you pay on crypto in Germany?
Marginal rate (up to 45% + Soli) · Exempt. Germany is among the most favourable: gains on crypto held more than 1 year are exempt. For shorter holding, the personal marginal rate applies (up to 45%, plus the 5.5% Soli on the tax, where due). €1,000 Freigrenze per year: below it nothing is taxed, from there everything is. Note: in 2026 the government presented a bill to end the 1-year exemption for crypto bought from 2027; until it is published, the rules above stand.
Is there an annual allowance on crypto gains in Germany?
Yes, but it is a threshold, not an allowance (Freigrenze): if your total private-sale gains for the year stay below €1,000 you pay nothing; from €1,000 the whole gain is taxed.
Which method is used to match buys and sells?
It depends on the country: FIFO (the first unit bought is the first sold) in Portugal, Spain, Germany or Belgium; weighted average cost in France, Luxembourg or Brazil; LIFO in Italy; the Section 104 pool in the UK. ChainFolioAI applies the chosen country's method to your history (in some countries with a simplification, stated on this page) and exports the result.
How do I prove to the Finanzamt that I have held the crypto for more than a year?
With the record of each purchase: date, amount and euro value. In practice, the platform history, the bank receipt and the blockchain transaction id if you moved it to your own wallet. The BMF circular on crypto (2022, updated 2025) describes record-keeping duties and accepts platform statements and blockchain records as documentation; the final assessment is the Finanzamt's.
I have a crypto savings plan and it is all mixed up. How do I know what has passed the year?
Through FIFO, within each wallet: what was bought first counts as sold first. Sort purchases by date and add up from the oldest until you reach the amount sold. Whatever has more than one year is exempt; the rest is taxed at your marginal rate, and one sale can have both parts.
The platform closed and I cannot get the history. What now?
Gather confirmation emails, bank statements of the transfers and the blockchain record of the withdrawal to your wallet. If the platform still exists in the EU, request the history in writing under the GDPR. With no records, talk to a Steuerberater before filing.
Calculate on your own history
The rate is only half the problem. To file, you need to match each disposal to the right acquisition under the country's method (FIFO, average cost, LIFO…), convert to your currency at the date of each transaction, and separate short-term from long-term. ChainFolioAI does this from your transactions — connect wallets read-only or import a CSV from your exchange — and exports to PDF or Excel.
This country's method: FIFO, per wallet/exchange. FIFO is applied per exchange or wallet, using the name given on each trade. Transfers between wallets are not recorded: when a sale has too few purchases in the same wallet, the calculator uses the oldest ones from the others. Confirm the figure to declare with an accountant.
Other countries
⚠️ General information, not tax advice. Rules change and your situation may have specifics (residency, professional activity, staking, mining). Confirm with an accountant or your tax authority before filing. ChainFolioAI is not an exchange or a crypto-asset service provider and does not report your data to any tax authority: reporting duties (DAC8, CARF) fall on exchanges. The reports you export are yours alone.