Yes. If you sell, swap or spend cryptoassets and make a gain, you normally owe Capital Gains Tax, at 18% or 24% depending on your income, after your £3,000 tax-free allowance for the 2026/27 tax year. This applies whether you cash out to sterling or not: exchanging one cryptoasset for another, or using crypto to pay for goods or services, both count as a disposal in HMRC's eyes, and HMRC now receives data directly from UK cryptoasset exchanges.
What counts as a taxable disposal?
HMRC treats four things as a disposal of a cryptoasset for Capital Gains Tax purposes: selling it, exchanging it for a different type of cryptoasset, using it to pay for goods or services, and giving it away to another person (other than a gift to your spouse, civil partner or a charity). This is set out directly in HMRC's guidance on tax when you sell cryptoassets.
This surprises a lot of people. Swapping bitcoin for ether is a disposal of the bitcoin, even though no sterling changes hands. Paying for a laptop with crypto is a disposal of whatever you spent. Only moving your own coins between your own wallets, or transferring to a spouse, civil partner or charity, falls outside this.
If you receive cryptoassets, for example through staking, mining or as employment income, that can also trigger Income Tax rather than Capital Gains Tax; HMRC covers this separately in its guidance on receiving cryptoassets, which sits outside the scope of this article.
How much tax do I pay?
Once you know you have a taxable gain, the rate depends on your total income and gains for the tax year. The table below sets out the 2026/27 position.
These are the same rates that apply to other chargeable assets such as shares and property; cryptoassets are not taxed separately or more harshly. You can see the current figures on gov.uk's Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances page.
Working out the gain itself is not just "sale price minus purchase price" once you have made more than one purchase of the same token. HMRC requires you to "pool" the cost of each type of token you hold and calculate an average cost, with separate same-day and 30-day rules if you buy and sell the same token close together. Keeping a running record of every transaction, in pounds sterling, is the only practical way to get this right.
Does HMRC actually know about my crypto?
Increasingly, yes. UK cryptoasset exchanges are required to collect and report information about their customers to HMRC, and HMRC cross-references this against Self Assessment returns. Where a mismatch shows up, HMRC has been sending "nudge letters" to crypto holders, prompting them to check their tax position before HMRC looks further. Our guide to HMRC nudge letters explains what to do if you receive one and how the disclosure process works.
If your crypto affairs are not correct for earlier tax years, HMRC has a dedicated route for putting this right: the Cryptoasset Disclosure Service. Using it to come forward voluntarily is treated more favourably than waiting for HMRC to write to you first.
What records do I need to keep?
HMRC can ask to see your records if it opens a compliance check, and exchange-generated reports are usually not enough on their own. For each pool of tokens you must be able to show the type of token, the date of each disposal, the number of tokens involved, the sterling value at the time, and the pooled cost before and after each transaction. Some exchanges provide transaction histories, but these are not tax calculations and will not track your pooled cost for you; you are responsible for keeping your own records.
Worked example
Example. Daniel bought 1 bitcoin for £20,000 in 2022. In August 2026 he swaps half of it for ether when bitcoin is worth £45,000 (so his half-bitcoin is worth £22,500), and later that year spends the rest of his bitcoin holding on a car when it is worth £24,000.
Both the swap and the purchase are disposals. His pooled cost for the full bitcoin was £20,000, so each half has a cost of £10,000.
Spend: proceeds £24,000 less cost £10,000 = gain of £14,000.
Total gain for the year: £26,500.
After his £3,000 annual exempt amount, £23,500 is chargeable. If Daniel is a higher-rate taxpayer, this is taxed at 24%, giving Capital Gains Tax of £5,640, even though he never converted anything to sterling.
What this means in practice
Start by pulling together a full transaction history from every exchange and wallet you have used, not just the ones you still use. Work out which transactions were disposals under HMRC's definition, including swaps and spending, not only cash-outs.
Calculating pooled costs correctly, particularly across multiple exchanges, several token types, and same-day or 30-day matching rules, is where most people need help. If you think earlier years may be wrong, deciding whether to use the Cryptoasset Disclosure Service, and how to categorise your behaviour, is worth doing with an adviser before you contact HMRC.
Talk to us before you file
If you hold cryptoassets and are not sure whether your past filings are correct, or you want your 2026/27 disposals calculated properly before you file, speak to one of our senior managers. The first conversation is about understanding what you have done, what HMRC can see, and what your options are. Call 020 8554 2135 or email info@visionconsulting.co.uk, or get in touch via our contact page.
By the Vision Consulting team.
This is general information, not advice. Your position depends on your circumstances.