Cómo declarar criptomonedas en Alemania
Germany maintains one of Europe's most favorable rules: if you sell your cryptocurrencies after holding them for more than a year, the gain is completely tax-exempt. Within the first year, it is taxed at your marginal rate.
Quick Tax Summary
- Tax type
- Private sale transaction (§23 EStG)
- Tipo aplicable
- Marginal income tax rate, 0% – 45%
- Tax-exempt minimum
- Exemption if held for more than 1 year; 1,000 € annual gain exempted
- Crypto-to-crypto
- Yes, within the holding period of one year
- Staking y recompensas
- Income from other services (§22 EStG)
- Losses
- Offsettable only with other private transactions
- Filing deadline
- July 31 of the following year
- Formularios
- Anlage SO of the Einkommensteuererklärung
- Sanciones
- Surcharges, interest, and possible tax fraud in serious cases
- Autoridad fiscal
- Bundeszentralamt für Steuern / Finanzamt
The one-year holding rule
Cryptocurrencies are treated as «other economic goods». If more than one year passes between purchase and sale, the transaction falls outside of §23 EStG and is not taxed, regardless of the gain amount.
Within the year, the gain is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate, with a combined annual exemption of €1,000 for all private sales transactions.
Staking, lending, and documentation
Staking and lending rewards are taxed upon receipt as other income, with a separate minimum exemption of €256 per year. The received value becomes the acquisition cost and starts its own one-year period.
The Finanzamt requires a complete history with exact purchase and sale dates to prove the exemption for holdings longer than a year, so keep the CSVs from each platform.
Before filing: have your history in order
The first step to a proper tax declaration is to download the complete transaction history from each platform you use. MiCA-licensed exchanges often provide ready-to-use annual reports, which significantly simplifies the filing process.
See exchanges with MiCA licenseFrequently Asked Questions
Other countries in the same region · Europe
This guide provides general information and does not constitute tax advice. Rules change frequently: always confirm details with your country's tax authority or a tax advisor.