New reporting regulations set to come into force in January 2026 will target crypto investors in Britain as the government ramps up its tax collection.
The new framework from the UK tax department (His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) specifically targets “tax-evading crypto bros,” reported finance outlet Money Week this week.
The government claims that its coffers will be filled with £315 million ($US428 million) over the next five years from this latest tax raid.
Reams of Personal Data
Crypto exchanges and service providers must collect and report users’ full personal details and transaction summaries to the tax department or face fines of up to £300 ($407) per user. Investors who don’t comply with the stringent reporting requirements can also be fined.
Crypto holders will need to provide details of their full name, address, date of birth, tax residence, National Insurance (social security) number, and a summary of their crypto transactions.
The taxman will use the data to identify whether or not crypto investors have been paying the correct amount of tax on their profits.
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, said the new rules show that the government is “going further and faster to crack down on tax dodgers” to close the tax gap, before adding that it will “make sure tax dodgers have nowhere to hide, helping raise the revenue needed to fund our nurses, police and other vital public services.”
“I urge all crypto asset users to check the details you will need to give your provider. Taking action now and having this information to hand will help you avoid penalties in the future,” warned Jonathan Athow, director general for customer strategy and tax design at HMRC.
HMRC also stated that it will “share your information with your country’s tax authority” for those who use crypto exchanges outside of the UK.
Other countries are also onboarding Crypto Asset Reporting Frameworks (CARFs) to enable their tax departments to share information on digital asset investors.
Crypto is ‘Property’
In September 2024, the UK government introduced the “Property (Digital Assets) Bill,” which meant that digital holdings, including crypto assets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), can be considered personal property under the law.
This also gave the government more leverage to impose capital gains taxes on digital assets.
