Cryptocurrency Taxes
How crypto is taxed in Canada: dispositions, capital vs business income, cost averaging, losses, mining, staking and records.
The short version
- CRA treats crypto-assets like a commodity, not money. Selling crypto, trading one coin for another, spending it and gifting it are all dispositions that can create a gain or loss.
- For most investors, gains are capital gains: half is taxable. If your activity looks like a business (frequent trading, short holding periods, expertise, lots of time), the full profit is business income; see capital gains vs business income.
- Your cost is the average cost of all identical coins you hold (adjusted cost base), in Canadian dollars, including fees.
- Mining is usually business income. Staking rewards are generally income when credited to your wallet, at their fair market value.
- Moving crypto between your own wallets isn't a disposition. Keep records of every transaction, and expect more reporting from platforms under the new crypto-asset reporting rules.
Cryptocurrency Taxes in Canada
The most common crypto tax mistake isn't hiding gains. It's believing nothing is taxable until you cash out to dollars. Trade Bitcoin for Ether, and CRA sees a sale of Bitcoin at market value and a purchase of Ether. Buy a coffee with crypto, same thing, though nobody has yet been audited over the coffee. Here are the rules, how to calculate the numbers, and how to keep the records CRA expects.
What Counts as a Disposition
| Transaction | Taxable event? |
|---|---|
| Selling crypto for Canadian or foreign dollars | Yes |
| Trading one crypto-asset for another | Yes, at the fair market value of what you received |
| Paying for goods or services with crypto | Yes |
| Gifting or donating crypto | Yes, generally at fair market value (a gift to a spouse can roll over at cost) |
| Moving crypto between your own wallets or exchanges | No |
| Buying crypto with dollars | No; it sets your cost |
Capital Gain or Business Income?
| Points to capital (investor) | Points to business (trader) |
|---|---|
| Held for months or years | Many trades, short holding periods |
| Occasional sales | Systematic trading, bots, margin |
| Little time spent | Significant time and expertise; it looks like a job |
| Half of the gain is taxable; losses offset only capital gains | All of the profit is taxable; losses offset other income |
It's a question of facts, not a choice. Trading as a business also brings CPP on self-employment profit; see self-employed taxes.
Not sure how your crypto is taxed?
Describe what you bought, traded, sold, staked or mined, and how often. The assistant tells you whether it's likely capital or business income, how to calculate the gain, and what to report.
Calculating the Gain
- Cost (adjusted cost base): average cost of all units of the same coin you held, in Canadian dollars at the time of each purchase, plus fees.
- Proceeds: what you received, in Canadian dollars at the time; for a crypto-to-crypto trade, the fair market value of the coin received.
- Gain or loss: proceeds minus the cost of the units sold, minus selling fees.
- Report it: capital gains on Schedule 3; business income on form T2125.
Example: you bought 1 BTC for $40,000 and later traded it for ETH worth $70,000. That's a $30,000 capital gain, $15,000 taxable. At a 29.65% marginal rate in Ontario, about $4,450 of tax, owed even though you never touched a dollar. Your ETH now has a $70,000 cost. The capital gains calculator works out the tax at your income.
Losses
- Capital losses offset capital gains this year, the previous three years, or any future year.
- Superficial loss rule: sell at a loss and buy the same coin back within 30 days before or after (you, your spouse or a company you control), and the loss is denied for now and added to the new cost.
- Lost or stolen crypto, collapsed exchanges: a loss may be claimable, but the rules depend on the facts; keep evidence.
Mining, Staking and Other Income
- Mining is usually a business: the value of coins earned is income when earned, and equipment is depreciated (Class 50 for mining rigs and computers); see capital cost allowance.
- Staking rewards are generally income at their fair market value when credited to your wallet; that value becomes their cost.
- Airdrops, interest-type rewards and pay in crypto are generally income too; salary paid in crypto is employment income at its value.
Records and Reporting
- Keep for six years: dates, amounts, Canadian dollar values, wallet addresses, exchange statements and the purpose of each transaction; see keeping tax records.
- Exchange records disappear when exchanges close. Download your history every year.
- Reporting by platforms: Canada's crypto-asset reporting framework, based on the OECD model, has crypto platforms reporting customer transactions to CRA starting with the 2026 calendar year, with the first reports due in 2027. It was released as draft legislation in 2025.
- Foreign property: crypto held outside Canada may count toward the $100,000 threshold for form T1135. Check before you file.
- Unreported crypto from past years? The Voluntary Disclosures Program is cheaper than waiting.
Crypto can't be held directly in a TFSA or RRSP, but crypto ETFs can; see TFSA. More on investments is on investment taxes in Canada.
Crypto Tax Questions
Is crypto taxable in Canada?
Yes. Gains from selling, trading or spending crypto are taxable, usually as capital gains with half included in income, or as business income if you trade like a business. Mining and staking income is also taxable.
Is trading one crypto for another taxable?
Yes. A crypto-to-crypto trade is a disposition at the fair market value of the crypto you receive.
How do I calculate my crypto cost basis in Canada?
Use the average cost of all identical units you hold, in Canadian dollars, including fees. Each purchase changes the average; each sale uses the current average.
Are staking rewards taxable?
Generally yes, as income at their fair market value when they are credited to your wallet. That value becomes their cost for a later sale.
Does CRA know about my crypto?
CRA has obtained records from platforms in the past, and new crypto-asset reporting rules will have platforms report customer transactions starting with 2026. Report it yourself.
Sources: CRA, Reporting income from crypto-asset transactions; Mining and staking; Keeping records of crypto-assets; RSM Canada, Proposed crypto-asset reporting. Checked October 2026. We could not confirm whether the crypto-asset reporting framework has been enacted; the dates are from the 2025 draft. The superficial loss, T1135 and lost-crypto points are our understanding of general rules applied to crypto. The example uses 2026 Ontario rates.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026 against CRA and Government of Canada sources. How we check our facts.