New EU tax rules for crypto: This is what DAC 8 will change from January 1st, 2026
- From January 1, 2026, crypto service providers in the EU will report all relevant crypto transactions to the tax authorities.
- Crypto investors must fully document their trades.
With DAC 8, a new reporting regime for crypto transactions has been in effect in the EU (and therefore also in Germany) since January 1, 2026: Crypto service providers must record tax-relevant usage and transaction data and exchange it across the EU via the national authorities. The aim is to systematically make tax evasion and avoidance in cross-border crypto transactions more difficult.
What crypto owners need to know now
The direct obligation does not apply to private Bitcoin or crypto holders, but to “Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers”, i.e. providers such as exchanges and brokers who enable transactions in crypto assets for customers.
The EU Commission explicitly says that these service providers should start collecting data for reportable transactions from users based in the EU from January 1, 2026.
In Germany, this specifically means that service providers will have to collect transactions from 2026 and submit them to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) in the following year official website confirmed.
This is not just about identification data, but also about all transactions. Purchases and sales, swaps between crypto assets as well as deposits and withdrawals are mentioned. In addition, providers should obtain tax self-disclosures from users; If there is no cooperation, account blocks or transaction blocks are also planned.
At the EU level, the scope is deliberately broad: DAC 8 is based on the MiCA definitions and, in addition to decentrally issued crypto assets, also includes stablecoins and certain NFTs.
The EU Commission names 2026 as the first reporting year. The report is due “within nine months” after the end of the first covered fiscal year, specifically between January 1st and September 30th, 2027, and should then be exchanged between the EU states.
For Germany, this means that from 2027, the data collected in 2026 will be reported to the BZSt, no later than July 31 for the previous year. The Federal Central Tax Office then forwards the information to the local tax offices.
What practically changes for crypto users
The key effect is transparency, not a new tax rate. Anyone who trades through reportable providers must expect that transaction activity will be recorded in a structured manner from the 2026 reporting year and officially processed from 2027.
This increases the pressure on users to accurately document transaction histories and correctly tax profits. On the one hand, if you provide false information or conceal relevant data, you risk being accused of tax evasion, which is known to be severely punished; on the other hand, stock exchanges and the like can request additional self-disclosures; Failure to cooperate may result in restrictions on the use of the platform.
No Comments