How do I calculate my crypto tax?+
Per sale or swap: sale price minus acquisition cost minus fees. The result is only taxable if no more than one year lies between purchase and sale. All taxable results of a year are added up; if the total is €1,000 or more, your personal tax rate of 14 to 45 percent applies, plus solidarity surcharge where applicable. The calculator on this page works out the taxable gain of every sale in your file.
When is crypto tax-free?+
When more than one year lies between purchase and sale (§ 23 EStG). The period ends one year after the purchase date at the end of the same calendar day; tax-free is the day after.
What is the exemption threshold?+
Gains from private sales within the holding period stay tax-free if they add up to less than €1,000 in the year, until 2023 less than €600. It is a threshold, not an allowance: once it is reached, the whole gain is taxable.
Do I have to declare crypto in my tax return, even under €1,000?+
If you file a German tax return, gains and losses from sales within the holding period go into Anlage SO, even if they total less than €1,000: the tax office applies the threshold, and it covers all private sales of the year together. Sales after the holding period do not need to be declared.
How is staking income taxed?+
As other income under § 22 Nr. 3 EStG, at its market value on the day it is received and at your personal tax rate. It stays tax-free if, together with other income of this kind, it totals less than €256 in the year. The coins you receive start their own one-year holding period from that day; there is no extension to ten years.
Can I claim crypto losses?+
Yes, but only against gains from private sales, not against salary or share gains. They are offset in the same year, then one year back or in later years. To do that, you have to declare the losses in Anlage SO, otherwise they are lost. The calculator shows the loss offset per year.
Which purchase counts if I bought several times?+
Per wallet or exchange account, the coins bought first count as sold first; that is how the BMF letter of 6 March 2025 (para. 61) describes it. So the oldest purchase still held decides the holding period.
Is the crypto tax calculator free?+
Yes. Both calculators on this page are free and need no sign-up.
What happens to my file and my entries?+
Without an account, everything stays in your browser: the file is read and calculated there, and none of it reaches our servers. Close the page and everything is gone. With “Save result”, your browser keeps the exchange exports in its own storage until you transfer them to your account, valid for 24 hours. With an account, your entries are stored in our database in Frankfurt am Main, readable only by your account.
Which exchanges can the calculator read?+
The transaction history of Coinbase, Bitpanda and Binance as CSV, the ledgers of Kraken and the transaction export of Trade Republic. For any other exchange or wallet, you fill in the CryptoTicker template or enter the purchases by hand. More formats will follow.
How does the calculator handle fees and swaps?+
A fee on purchase increases the acquisition cost, on sale it reduces the gain. A coin-for-coin swap is a sale at the market value of what you receive, and the holding period of the new coin starts again (BMF letter of 6 March 2025, para. 54 to 59).
