Warning to 'crypto bros' as new measures introduced to crack down on tax evaders

The UK tax collector has announced new measures to crack down on “crypto bros” involved in tax avoidance.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says cryptocurrency owners who aren’t paying their fair share of tax risk a £300 fine as new measures were outlined.

From January, people who own crypto – like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Dogecoin – must give personal details to every crypto service provider they use to make sure they are paying the right tax.

Once data is received from service providers, HMRC will be able to identify those who haven’t been correctly paying tax on their crypto profits.

The Government says this will bring in around £315m by April 2030 and help pay for frontline nurses, police, and teachers.

Service providers will begin collecting data on users’ activities from January 2026.

HMRC could also charge any service provider that fails to report this information or submits inaccurate or incomplete reports a penalty of up to £300 per user.

The new rules mean crypto service providers must collect and report:

Names, addresses, and dates of birth
Tax residence
National Insurance number or tax reference
A summary of crypto transactions

James Murray MP, Exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: “We’re going further and faster to crack down on tax dodgers as we close the tax gap and deliver on our Plan for Change.

“By ensuring everyone pays their fair share, the new crypto reporting rules will make sure tax dodgers have nowhere to hide, helping raise the revenue needed to fund our nurses, police and other vital public services.”

Jonathan Athow, HMRC’s director general for customer strategy and tax design, said: “Importantly, this isn’t a new tax – if you make a profit when you sell, swap or transfer your crypto, tax may already be due.

“These new reporting requirements will give us the information to help people get their tax affairs right.

“I urge all cryptoasset users to check the details you will need to give your provider. Taking action now and having this information to hand will help you avoid penalties in the future.”

The new rules – known as the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework – will help HMRC identify those who need to pay tax on their crypto transactions.

They will also bring the UK into line with the international standard developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), enabling tax authorities to share information across participating countries.

Crypto users should already include any crypto gains or income in their self-assessment tax returns.

HMRC has introduced new dedicated sections to the capital gain pages to be completed from the 2024 to 2025 tax year.

Capital Gains Tax may be due when selling or exchanging crypto, while Income Tax and National Insurance could apply to crypto received from employment, mining, staking or lending activities.

Anyone unsure about their tax obligations can check if they need to pay tax when they receive or sell crypto on gov.uk.

They can also tell HMRC about unpaid tax on crypto using the cryptoasset disclosure service.