Tax news · June 2026
Crypto exchanges must start sharing user data with HMRC from 2026. Here is what is changing and how to get your tax in order before they do.
For years many crypto investors assumed that, because exchanges sat outside the normal banking system, HMRC could not easily see their gains. That assumption is now ending. Under an international agreement called the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, crypto exchanges and platforms operating in the United Kingdom must begin collecting information about their users and sharing it with HMRC. The tax office is about to receive crypto data on a scale it never had before.
From 2026, exchanges have to gather identifying details about their users and report transaction information to HMRC, in much the same way that banks already report interest. HMRC can then match that data to individuals and check it against the tax returns people have filed. In short, crypto is moving from the shadows into the same reporting world as ordinary financial assets.
This affects anyone who has bought, sold, swapped, spent or earned cryptocurrency. It is worth remembering that crypto is already taxable, usually through capital gains tax when you dispose of it and sometimes as income when you earn it. The change is not the tax, which already exists, but the visibility, because gains that might once have slipped through are now far more likely to be picked up.
The sensible response is to get your crypto tax in order before the data starts flowing. Pull together your full transaction history from every exchange and wallet, because exchanges sometimes lose or restrict access to old data. Work out your gains correctly using the pooling rules, claim any losses, and report what is due. If you have gains from earlier years that you did not declare, a voluntary disclosure now is far cheaper and calmer than waiting for HMRC to come to you. Our full guide to crypto tax in the UK explains how the calculations work.
Our view is that this is the moment the casual era of crypto tax ends. We are not saying this to alarm anyone, but the direction of travel is clear, and the people who get ahead of it will be in a far better position than those who wait for a nudge letter. The calculations can be fiddly, especially the pooling, but they are manageable, and the cost of getting it right is small compared with the penalties and stress of being caught out. If you hold crypto and have never thought about the tax, now is the time.
We reconstruct crypto transaction histories, work out the gains and income correctly, claim every loss, and file your return, including bringing earlier years up to date through a disclosure where needed. Book a free call back and we will sort it before HMRC comes asking.
Increasingly, yes. From 2026 crypto exchanges operating in the UK must report user and transaction data to HMRC under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, and HMRC will match it against tax returns.
Get your transaction history together, work out the gains, and consider a voluntary disclosure to HMRC, which carries much lower penalties than waiting to be caught.
We will work out your gains, claim your losses and bring you up to date before HMRC receives the data. Book a free call back.