Cryptocurrencies are no longer a grey area for tax: the authorities exchange data with platforms, the Federal Fiscal Court’s case law is becoming more concrete, and the 2022 Ministry of Finance circular has resolved many questions. We advise private investors, active traders and Web3 startups.
For private investors § 23 EStG applies: sales within one year are taxable, after that tax-free. The exemption limit has been €1,000 per year since 2024 — and it is treacherous: €1,001 in gains and all of it is taxable. Swapping one cryptocurrency for another counts as a sale plus purchase and restarts the holding period. The FiFo method per wallet is decisive.
Staking and lending income are other income (§ 22 No. 3 EStG), taxable at market value on receipt; the subsequent holding period is one year, not ten. With liquidity pools, every step — deposit, reward, exit — must be assessed separately. Mining can tip into commercial income given scale and profit intent.
NFTs count as their own economic assets; for private speculation § 23 EStG applies by analogy, for creators usually §§ 18 or 15 EStG. Web3 startups bring their own topics: balance-sheet valuation of token holdings, token launches, founder vesting, DAO structures. We know the relevant case law and integrate crypto software such as CoinTracking, Accointing or Blockpit into the accounting.
When moving abroad, the local crypto rules matter — for instance Portugal, where gains held for at least a year generally remain tax-free for private investors. Exit taxation (§ 6 AStG) only captures crypto if it is held through a GmbH. Anyone who has declared nothing for years can regularise via a voluntary disclosure (§ 371 AO) — here we coordinate with specialist tax-criminal lawyers.
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