Germany gives private crypto investors one of the best deals in Europe. Hold your Bitcoin for more than a year and the gain is tax-free, no matter how large it is.
That rule now sits on a deadline. A draft bill from the Federal Ministry of Finance would tax coins bought from January 1, 2027 at a flat 25 percent, and the purchase date, not the sale date, would decide which system applies to you.
This guide explains crypto tax in Germany as it stands in November 2026. It covers the 1-year rule, the 1,000 euro threshold, staking income, filing, and the reform timeline, with a worked example that shows exactly what a purchase two days apart would cost you.
- Key Takeaways
- How Germany Taxes Crypto in 2026
- The 1-Year Rule (Haltefrist): The Heart of the System
- The 1,000 Euro Freigrenze: A Cliff, Not an Allowance
- The 2027 Reform: What the Draft Bill Would Change
- The Grandfathering Rule: December 31, 2026 Is the Line
- The Worked Example: Two Days, 2,637.50 Euros Apart
- The Reform Timeline: What Has Happened So Far
- Staking, Lending and Airdrops: Taxed Differently
- How to File: Anlage SO, Deadlines and DAC8
- How Germany Compares With Other Countries
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Bitcoin tax-free in Germany after one year?
- What is the 1,000 euro Freigrenze?
- Will Germany really tax crypto at 25 percent from 2027?
- Do I pay tax on staking rewards in Germany?
- Do crypto-to-crypto swaps trigger tax in Germany?
- How do I report crypto on my German tax return?
- Conclusion
- Sources
Key Takeaways
- Private crypto gains are tax-free in Germany if you hold the coins for more than one year. The rule comes from Section 23 of the Income Tax Act (EStG).
- Sell within one year and the gain is taxable once your total private sale gains in the year reach 1,000 euros. At 1,001 euros the whole amount becomes taxable, not just the 1 euro above the line.
- Staking, lending and airdrop income is taxed separately as other income under Section 22 EStG, with its own 256 euro threshold, and it is taxed when you receive it.
- A BMF draft bill dated September 30, 2026 would tax crypto bought from January 1, 2027 at a flat 25 percent plus solidarity surcharge, or 26.375 percent in total, whatever the holding period.
- Coins bought on or before December 31, 2026 would keep the old 1-year rule under the draft. The cabinet meeting planned for October 14, 2026 did not take place, and no new date has been set.
- From 2026, EU exchanges report your crypto activity to the German tax office under DAC8. The first reports reach the Federal Central Tax Office by July 31, 2027.
How Germany Taxes Crypto in 2026
Germany treats crypto held by a private person as an “other economic good”, not as a capital investment like a share. That single classification shapes everything that follows.
Private sales fall under Section 23 EStG, the rules for private sale transactions. The tax office looks at two things: how long you held the coins, and how much you gained in the calendar year.
Hold for more than 365 days and the sale is tax-free. Sell sooner and the gain joins your taxable income at your personal rate, which runs from 0 percent up to 45 percent, plus a 5.5 percent solidarity surcharge on the tax itself.
That puts the top effective rate near 47.5 percent for short-term gains. Church members can also owe church tax on top.
Business holdings play by different rules. Crypto in business assets or in a company such as a GmbH is always fully taxable, with no holding period and no 1,000 euro threshold.
This guide covers private investors only.
For a wider view of how other countries treat the same sale, our Bitcoin tax guide for 2026 compares the rules across the major markets.
The 1-Year Rule (Haltefrist): The Heart of the System
The Haltefrist is the holding period that decides whether your gain is taxed at all. Buy Bitcoin on March 1, 2025 and sell it on March 2, 2026, and the gain is tax-free, even if it is 100,000 euros.
Sell one day earlier and the gain is taxable, subject to the 1,000 euro threshold below. The clock runs per coin, so each purchase starts its own one-year period.
Tax tools usually apply first-in, first-out to work out which coins you sold. Keep the purchase date and price for every lot, because the tax office can ask for proof years later.
One old trap is gone. Staking used to risk stretching the holding period to ten years.
The BMF letter of March 6, 2025 scrapped that extension, so staked coins now keep the same one-year clock as unstaked coins.
The rule rewards patience in a direct way. A holder who waits out the year keeps every euro of the gain, while a trader who flips coins inside the year can hand almost half of it to the tax office.
What Counts as a Sale?
A sale is not only a cash-out to euros. Swapping one crypto for another counts as a disposal, and so does spending crypto to buy goods or services.
Each swap starts a fresh tax event, even if no euros ever touch your bank account. Moving coins between your own wallets is not a sale, because nothing changes hands.
Gifts and transfers need care too. A gift can move the acquisition date to the recipient, so keep a written record of the date and the value at the time of the transfer.
The 1,000 Euro Freigrenze: A Cliff, Not an Allowance
Short-term gains get one break: the Freigrenze, or exemption limit, of 1,000 euros per calendar year. It applies to all your private sale gains added together, not per coin or per trade.
The word “limit” matters, because this is a cliff. Gains up to and including 1,000 euros stay completely tax-free.
Gains of 1,001 euros make the entire amount taxable, not just the 1 euro above the line.
The threshold rose from 600 euros to 1,000 euros in 2024, and it is unchanged for 2026. A small trader who books 900 euros of short-term gains in a year owes nothing on them.
A trader who books 1,100 euros owes tax on the full 1,100 euros at the personal rate. That cliff is the most common surprise in German crypto tax, and it is easy to cross by accident with one extra trade in December.
Losses help here. You can offset short-term losses against short-term gains in the same year, and unused losses carry forward.
Declare them on Anlage SO, or the carry-forward is lost.
Our guide on Bitcoin tax loss harvesting shows how to use losses before December 31 to stay under the threshold.
The 2027 Reform: What the Draft Bill Would Change
On September 30, 2026, the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) published a draft bill titled “Law on the Reform of the Taxation of Certain Crypto Assets in Private Holdings”. It is a Referentenentwurf, the earliest formal stage of German law, and it is not in force.
The draft moves exchange crypto assets, called Tauschkryptowerte, out of Section 23 EStG and into Section 20 EStG, the capital income rules that already cover shares and funds. With that move, the one-year holding period disappears.
Coins bought from January 1, 2027 would pay the flat capital gains tax of 25 percent, plus the 5.5 percent solidarity surcharge on the tax. That works out to 26.375 percent of the gain, before any church tax, however long you hold.
Platforms would withhold the tax themselves, but only from January 1, 2028. The draft gives exchanges a transition year to build the systems.
One detail in the draft deserves attention. If a platform does not know what you paid or when you bought, it assumes the coin was bought after December 31, 2026 and taxes 50 percent of the gross sale proceeds as a substitute basis.
Keep your own purchase records, because the platform default is expensive.
The Grandfathering Rule: December 31, 2026 Is the Line
The draft does not apply backwards. Crypto bought on or before December 31, 2026 keeps Bestandsschutz, or grandfathered status, and stays in the old Section 23 system with the one-year rule.
A coin bought on December 30, 2026 and sold in 2029 after a year of holding would still be tax-free. The same coin bought on January 2, 2027 would pay 26.375 percent whenever it is sold.
Two purchases three days apart would live under two different tax systems for the rest of their lives. That is why the purchase date, not the sale date, is the number that matters now.
The Worked Example: Two Days, 2,637.50 Euros Apart
The table below uses the draft rates to show what the same 10,000 euro gain would cost under each system. The numbers are simple arithmetic from the published rates, not a forecast.
| Scenario | Purchase date | Gain | Tax due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Held over 1 year, old rules | December 30, 2026 | 10,000 euros | 0 euros |
| Held over 1 year, draft rules | January 2, 2027 | 10,000 euros | 2,637.50 euros |
| Sold within 1 year, 42% personal rate | Any date in 2026 | 10,000 euros | 4,431 euros |
The short-term row assumes a 42 percent personal rate, with the 5.5 percent solidarity surcharge on the tax. At the top 45 percent rate the same gain would cost 4,747.50 euros.
The lesson is plain. Under the draft, a long-term holder who buys in 2027 pays more than a short-term seller pays today only in the worst cases, but pays far more than a patient holder who bought before the deadline.
The Reform Timeline: What Has Happened So Far
The draft has moved fast, then stopped. The timeline below pulls together the dated events, so you can see exactly where the reform stands and what comes next.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| May 5, 2026 | The Greens table a bill to abolish the holding period (Drucksache 21/5752). |
| September 30, 2026 | The BMF publishes its draft bill, with a 25 percent flat tax for coins bought from January 1, 2027. |
| October 6, 2026 | The six-day consultation window for industry comments closes. |
| October 8, 2026 | The Bundestag rejects the Greens bill by 445 votes to 132. The BMF draft is untouched by that vote. |
| October 12, 2026 | The Petitions Committee holds a public hearing on Petition 201716, signed by 44,439 people, which asks to keep the holding period. |
| October 14, 2026 | The cabinet meeting planned for this date does not take place. No new date has been set. |
| October 29, 2026 | Guides tracking the draft still list the cabinet decision as pending, with no new date. |
| December 31, 2026 | The grandfathering cut-off in the draft. Coins bought by this date keep the old rules. |
| January 1, 2027 | The draft rules would start, but only if the law passes first. |
| January 1, 2028 | Platform withholding would begin under the draft. |
Nothing is decided yet. The draft still needs cabinet approval, then the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, and the Bundesrat must consent at the end.
Any of those stages can rewrite or drop the crypto provisions.
One contradiction surfaced at the October 12 hearing. The BMF could not explain why gold keeps its one-year tax-free rule while Bitcoin would lose it.
That question now sits in the public record.
Until a law passes, the current rules apply for 2025 and 2026 exactly as before. Do not plan your taxes on a draft, but do keep the December 31, 2026 date in mind when you buy.
Staking, Lending and Airdrops: Taxed Differently
Rewards from staking, lending, mining and airdrops are not private sale gains. They count as other income under Section 22 No. 3 EStG, and the tax office values them at the euro price on the day you receive them.
The threshold here is separate and smaller: 256 euros per year. Below 256 euros of total other income, the rewards are tax-free.
At 256.01 euros, the whole amount becomes taxable, the same cliff logic as the 1,000 euro limit.
The rewards also start their own one-year clock. Sell a staking reward more than 365 days after you received it and the price gain since receipt is tax-free, even though the reward itself was taxed on arrival.
Keep a record of every reward with its date and euro value. Exchanges now report this activity, and a missing record is the fastest way to overpay.
Active airdrops and referral rewards usually fall in the same bucket. A passive airdrop with no action on your side can be treated differently, so check the facts of each drop with a tax adviser.
How to File: Anlage SO, Deadlines and DAC8
All crypto numbers go on Anlage SO, the “other income” annex of the German income tax return. Private sales within the holding period go in one part, and staking or lending income goes in another.
You file through ELSTER, the tax office online portal, or through a tax adviser. The 2026 return is due on July 31, 2027 if you file it yourself.
A tax adviser extends the deadline into early 2028.
Tax-free sales after the one-year period do not need to be declared. Keep the records anyway, because the tax office can ask for them and the burden of proof sits with you.
Keep every record for at least six years. That means exchange statements, wallet exports, purchase dates, prices, fees and any gift or transfer documents.
From 2026, hiding trades is no longer a realistic option. The DAC8 directive, implemented in Germany through the Crypto Asset Tax Transparency Act (KStTG), makes EU crypto service providers report your identity, year-end balances and all transactions to the tax authorities.
The first reporting period is the 2026 calendar year, and exchanges must send the data to the Federal Central Tax Office by July 31, 2027. The tax office will soon hold the same numbers you hold, so your return should match them.
A crypto tax software tool can pull your exchange and wallet history into one report, and our guide on how to calculate Bitcoin capital gains tax walks through the maths step by step.
How Germany Compares With Other Countries
Germany still looks generous next to its neighbours. The United Kingdom taxes crypto gains at 18 or 24 percent above a 3,000 pound annual allowance, with no holding-period escape at all.
Canada taxes only half of a capital gain, but it has no tax-free holding period either, and its inclusion rate has been the subject of its own confusion in 2026. Our Bitcoin tax in Canada guide settles that question from CRA sources.
Australia taxes crypto as a capital gains asset with a 50 percent discount after twelve months, which is close in spirit to the German rule but still leaves half the gain taxable. Our Bitcoin tax in Australia guide covers the ATO rules.
For the UK picture, see our Bitcoin tax in the UK guide. The comparison shows why the German 1-year rule has been so popular, and why the draft reform matters so much.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The first mistake is treating the 1,000 euro limit as an allowance. It is a cliff, and one extra trade can turn a tax-free year into a taxable one.
The second mistake is forgetting that swaps count as sales. A trader who swaps coins ten times in a year has ten taxable events, even if the portfolio never touched euros.
The third mistake is poor records. Without purchase dates and prices, you cannot prove the one-year rule, and under the draft the platform would assume the worst.
The fourth mistake is ignoring staking income. Rewards under 256 euros are tax-free, but above that line the full amount is taxable on receipt, and the tax office will see the numbers from 2026 onwards.
The fifth mistake is planning on the draft. It is not law, and the cabinet date has already slipped once.
Make decisions on the rules in force today, and treat December 31, 2026 as a date to watch, not a deadline to panic about.
If you are buying Bitcoin in Germany for the first time, our guide to buying Bitcoin in Germany covers exchanges, payment methods and ID checks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Six questions come up in almost every conversation about German crypto tax. Here are the short answers.
Is Bitcoin tax-free in Germany after one year?
Yes, for private investors. If you hold Bitcoin for more than 365 days and then sell it, the gain is completely tax-free under Section 23 EStG, whatever the size of the gain.
The rule only covers private holdings, not business assets or company holdings.
What is the 1,000 euro Freigrenze?
The Freigrenze is an exemption limit of 1,000 euros per year on gains from private sales made within the one-year holding period. Gains up to 1,000 euros are tax-free, but gains of 1,001 euros make the full amount taxable at your personal income tax rate.
Will Germany really tax crypto at 25 percent from 2027?
Not yet, and maybe never. A BMF draft bill dated September 30, 2026 proposes a flat 25 percent tax plus solidarity surcharge, or 26.375 percent, on crypto bought from January 1, 2027.
The cabinet meeting planned for October 14, 2026 did not take place, no new date has been set, and the draft still needs approval from the cabinet, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat before it becomes law.
Do I pay tax on staking rewards in Germany?
Yes, as other income under Section 22 No. 3 EStG. Staking, lending and airdrop rewards are taxed at their euro value on the day you receive them, with a separate 256 euro annual threshold.
The coins you receive then start their own one-year holding clock for any later price gain.
Do crypto-to-crypto swaps trigger tax in Germany?
Yes. A swap counts as a disposal of the coin you give away, so it is a taxable event if the sale falls within the one-year holding period and your total gains reach the 1,000 euro threshold.
Moving coins between your own wallets is not a sale.
How do I report crypto on my German tax return?
Report private sales within the holding period and staking or lending income on Anlage SO, the other income annex of your tax return, filed through ELSTER or a tax adviser.
The 2026 return is due on July 31, 2027 if you file it yourself.
Keep all records for at least six years.
Conclusion
Germany still offers one of the kindest crypto tax regimes in Europe, and the 1-year rule remains fully in force today. Hold for more than a year and the gain is yours in full.
The draft reform would change that for new purchases, and December 31, 2026 is the date that decides which system your coins live under. Watch the cabinet, keep your purchase records, and file on time.
Tax law changes fast, and this guide is general information, not tax advice. If your situation is complex, speak to a German tax adviser before you file.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not tax advice. Tax rules change, and your personal situation may differ, so consult a qualified German tax adviser (Steuerberater) before making tax decisions.
