Crypto taxBeginner
Is swapping crypto taxed?
Swapping one coin for another, like BTC for ETH, is a taxable moment in some countries and not in others.
- What it means
- Where a swap counts as a sale, the gain on the coin you give up can be taxed even though no money reached your bank account.
- What to watch
- Whether your country taxes swaps or only cashing out to money, and any holding period or start date in its rules.
- How Compass-Alpha uses it
- The tax overview applies each country's published rules on swaps to your uploaded exchange files.
Free guides and tools
Crypto Fear & Greed IndexBitcoin DCA calculatorCrypto taxCrypto basics
More in Crypto tax
Why your full exchange history matters
The tax on a sale depends on what you paid for the coins, and that purchase is often in an older file or on another exchange.
DAC8: exchanges report to the tax office
DAC8 is an EU directive that makes crypto platforms collect data on their users' transactions and report it to tax authorities.
FIFO and cost basis
FIFO, first in, first out, matches each coin you sell with your earliest purchases, and that purchase price is the cost used to work out the gain.