If you’re trading, investing, or earning crypto in Ireland, you’re in the tax net. Revenue treats crypto like other assets: capital gains on disposals and income tax where you’re “earning” coins (mining, certain DeFi rewards, payments for services). There aren’t special crypto rules — existing Irish tax law applies. Revenue
🔎 How Revenue Classifies Crypto
- Crypto is an asset for Irish tax purposes. A sale, transfer, or redemption is most likely a disposal for CGT, unless you’re actually carrying on a trade in crypto (then it’s income). Businesses paid in crypto recognise revenue the same as if paid in euro. Keep proper records. Revenue
- Ireland’s CGT system applies generally to sale, gift, or exchange of an asset — so swapping one token for another is still a disposal. Revenue
đź’° Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
- Rate: 33% on chargeable gains. Revenue
- Annual exemption: First €1,270 of your total annual chargeable gains is tax-free. (It can’t create or increase a loss; unused exemption doesn’t carry over.) Revenue
- Disposals that trigger CGT:
- Selling crypto for EUR đź’¶
- Swapping one crypto for another 🔄
- Spending crypto on goods/services đź›’ (yes, that coffee counts)Â Revenue+1
Example:
You bought 2 ETH for €3,000 and sold for €6,200. Gain = €3,200. After your €1,270 exemption, €1,930 is taxable at 33%.
Deadlines (crucial!):
- Gains 1 Jan–30 Nov → pay CGT by 15 Dec (same year).
- Gains 1–31 Dec → pay by 31 Jan (following year).
- File the annual return (including crypto) by 31 Oct the following year (ROS users often get an extension). Revenue
🧾 When It’s Income (Not CGT)
Revenue hasn’t published staking-specific rules yet. Practice is to treat rewards you “earn” (e.g., staking, liquidity/yield rewards) as taxable income at EUR fair-market value on receipt, with CGT later when you dispose. Mining and being paid in crypto for goods/services are taxed as income on receipt. (In short: income first, CGT later.) RevenueSimmons & Simmons
TL;DR:
- Mining / being paid in crypto / many DeFi rewards → Income tax on receipt (plus USC/PRSI where relevant).
- Later sale of those coins → CGT on the difference from the value you recognised as income.
🎨 NFTs & DeFi — How They Fit
- NFTs you trade: usually CGT on disposals, same as other assets.
- NFTs you create as a business: receipts may be income, not CGT.
- DeFi: where you receive periodic rewards, those are commonly treated as income; subsequent disposals → CGT. (Revenue’s general manuals apply; staking guidance remains inferential.) RevenueSimmons & Simmons
📉 Losses (Don’t Leave Money on the Table)
- Capital losses offset capital gains (current year; excess carried forward). They don’t offset salary or other non-capital income. Revenue
🧠Non-Doms & the Remittance Basis (Important Nuance)
For non-domiciled individuals, foreign gains can be taxable only if remitted — but Revenue notes crypto often isn’t “situated outside the State” because it exists “on the cloud”. That can restrict use of the remittance basis for crypto gains unless you can prove situs. Handle with care. Revenue
🕵️ Enforcement & Reporting Trends (2025)
- No special crypto rules doesn’t mean no scrutiny — Revenue relies on existing law and has published a detailed manual for crypto. Revenue
- Ireland is aligning with the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) — expect broader exchange reporting to tax authorities. Oireachtas
🗂️ Records You Must Keep
Revenue expects normal books and records: dates, EUR values, costs, fees, wallet/exchange details — and to keep them for six years. Revenue
âś… Quick Compliance Checklist
- Track every disposal (sell/swap/spend).
- Apply the €1,270 exemption and 33% rate correctly. Revenue+1
- Treat earned crypto (mining/DeFi/fees/payments) as income on receipt; expect CGT on later disposal. RevenueSimmons & Simmons
- Hit CGT payment dates (15 Dec / 31 Jan) and the annual filing deadline. Revenue
TL;DR (Ireland)
- CGT 33% on crypto disposals; €1,270 annual exemption. Revenue+1
- Swaps count (crypto→crypto is a disposal). Revenue
- Income on receipt for mining/most reward flows; CGT later when you sell. (Staking: no explicit Revenue rule yet; practice treats like mining.) Simmons & Simmons
- Deadlines matter — 15 Dec/31 Jan for CGT payments; return by 31 Oct. Revenue