The UK government’s first official report on taxable crypto asset gains has identified 240 crypto millionaires who each declared more than £1 million in capital gains during the 2024-25 tax year.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published the figures on Aug. 27. The 240 taxpayers reported £717 million in capital gains collectively.
The figures appear in HMRC’s annual Capital Gains Tax statistics, which now include a dedicated table covering crypto asset taxpayers, disposal proceeds and taxable gains. HMRC stated:
“It is the first time HMRC has published this specific data, following the introduction of a dedicated part of the Self Assessment return for cryptoasset capital gains.”
Across all taxpayers, 17,600 individuals reported £13.8 billion in crypto asset disposal proceeds and £1.38 billion in taxable gains, an average of approximately £78,000 per person. About 87% of those declaring taxable crypto gains were male, while approximately 13% were female.
Crypto sales, swaps and spending can trigger tax
Crypto asset disposals can include selling tokens, exchanging one cryptocurrency for another, using digital assets to purchase goods or services, and giving crypto to another person outside specified exemptions. Crypto received through employment, self-employment, mining, staking or lending may also be taxable as income under wider cryptocurrency tax rules.
HMRC has increased direct outreach to investors whose tax returns may not reflect their cryptocurrency activity. Accountancy group UHY Hacker Young said on Aug. 20 that the agency had sent 81,000 crypto tax letters during the previous 12 months. That represented a 25% increase from approximately 65,000 letters and was nearly three times the 27,714 letters sent during the 2023-24 tax year.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General James Murray said the statistics support efforts to improve compliance and raise awareness among people who profit from crypto asset transactions:
“Taxes are due on cryptoasset gains just like any other gains, and we want to make sure people making gains from crypto know about what taxes they owe.”
He added:
“This important work is supporting the Government’s efforts to close the tax gap, so that everyone pays their fair share towards our vital public services.”
Separate reforms will change the tax treatment of certain decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions from April 6, 2027. Under HMRC’s planned rules for crypto lending and liquidity pools, capital gains tax will generally be deferred until an economic disposal occurs. The government estimates that approximately 700,000 individuals could be affected by the changes.
International reporting will expand HMRC’s crypto data
The United Kingdom began implementing the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Cryptoasset Reporting Framework in January. Under HMRC’s crypto asset user and transaction reporting requirements, service providers must submit their first reports between Jan. 1 and May 31, 2027. The reports will cover qualifying customer information and transactions from the 2026 calendar year.
Crypto service providers must collect information on all users but report transaction summaries only for users who are tax residents in participating jurisdictions. Inaccurate, incomplete, unverified, late or missing submissions may result in penalties of up to £300 per user. International information exchanges will also give HMRC greater visibility into crypto activity conducted through providers outside the United Kingdom.
Taxpayers with undeclared crypto income or gains can use HMRC’s Crypto Disclosure Service. Amounts above the tax-free allowance for the 2025-26 tax year must be declared on a Self Assessment return by Jan. 31, 2027, with any tax due paid by that date.
HMRC estimated that its crypto compliance and education efforts generated an additional £168 million in capital gains tax during 2024-25.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to understand and meet their tax obligations when it comes to cryptoassets,” HMRC Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive John-Paul Marks said.
Highlighting the importance of reviewing crypto asset tax obligations as international reporting expands, the permanent secretary concluded:
“As new international reporting rules come into force, it’s more important than ever for people to check they are paying any tax owed.”
