New Bitcoin tax coming from March 2022

 New Bitcoin tax coming from March 2022

The details of the future taxation of cryptocurrencies are in. As reported, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Co. are to be taxed like shares in the future: regardless of the holding period, a capital gains tax (Kest) of 27.5 percent is to be incurred for realized price gains. A corresponding draft law is available for assessment.

The change is scheduled to come

into force on March 1, 2022. There is currently no explicit legal regulation on the taxation of cryptocurrencies, the Ministry of Finance emphasizes. So far, it has been handled in such a way that cryptocurrencies (like gold) could be sold tax-free after more than a year. With a shorter holding period, however, any gains had to be declared in income tax.

Long-time Bitcoin:

Investors are now wondering whether old stocks are exempt from the new regulation. The good news: Yes, old stocks are excluded. The bad news: only those cryptocurrencies that were purchased by the end of February 2021 - i.e. one year before the new regulation came into force - are considered old stocks. There is no point in quickly realizing the profits that have been made since then because then they fall under the old rules and income tax is due on the profits.

Compensate with loss of shares:

After all: Loss compensation with other capital income that is subject to the special tax rate of 27.5 percent is possible. So you can offset Bitcoin gains with stock losses that have been realized in the same calendar year. You can also offset crypto losses with dividends, but not with interest on savings accounts.

Domestic crypto exchanges such as Bitpanda must deduct capital gains tax (and carry out any loss compensation) for income from cryptocurrencies, but this obligation will only come into force from 2023. Until then - as with foreign service providers - the investor must do the taxation himself via the annual assessment.

There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon: the government program promises to reintroduce a holding period for shares. If this comes, it should probably also apply to cryptocurrencies. For the time being, however, it was put on the back burner. It is also unclear whether it will be just one year or several.