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Analysis · Tax

Crypto tax in the UK, from HMRC's Cryptoassets Manual, the 2026 to 2027 allowance and the rule on gambling winnings

Published 2026-10-09By the CryptoGuardz Register Desk8 min read17 sources

Photo: Peter Kostov / Unsplash

In short, from the documents

Crypto tax UK: what HMRC says

HMRC treats most personal crypto as an asset liable to Capital Gains Tax when it is sold, swapped, spent or given away. Gains above the £3,000 annual allowance are taxed at 18% or 24% from 6 April 2026. Betting winnings themselves are not chargeable gains, but moving crypto in and out of a casino can be.

Piece published 2026-10-09Reviewed by CryptoGuardz Register Desk, editorial desk

HMRC taxes most personal crypto as an asset, not as currency. Selling it, swapping it, spending it or giving it away is a disposal, and any gain above the £3,000 annual allowance is liable to Capital Gains Tax at 18% or 24% for gains made from 6 April 2026. Mining, staking and airdrops can be income instead. Betting winnings, on HMRC's own manual, are not chargeable gains at all.

That last line does not make a crypto casino a tax-free zone. The coins going in and coming out are still cryptoassets, and the disposal rules apply to them. This page reads HMRC's manuals and GOV.UK guidance as published on 9 October 2026. It is not tax advice.

How is crypto taxed in the UK?

Mostly through Capital Gains Tax. GOV.UK's guidance says a person may pay CGT "if you make a gain when you dispose of cryptoasset tokens". The Cryptoassets Manual, at CRYPTO22100, lists what counts:

selling tokens for money; exchanging tokens for a different type of token; using tokens to pay for goods or services; giving away tokens to another person (unless it's a gift to their spouse or civil partner)

HMRC Cryptoassets Manual, CRYPTO22100, retrieved 2026-10-09

GOV.UK's version of the list also excludes gifts to charity. Moving coins between your own wallets is not on the list. A token-to-token swap is, which surprises people who never touched sterling: trading BTC for USDT is a disposal of the BTC at its sterling value on the day.

What is the crypto tax-free allowance in 2026 to 2027?

Three thousand pounds for an individual and £1,500 for a trust, per GOV.UK's allowances page read on 9 October 2026. The figures for the current year and the rates:

Item	Figure	Source
Annual CGT allowance, individual	£3,000	GOV.UK, CGT allowances
Annual CGT allowance, trust	£1,500	GOV.UK, CGT allowances
Rate within the basic rate band	18% on gains made from 6 April 2026	GOV.UK, CGT rates
Rate above the basic rate band	24% on gains made from 6 April 2026	GOV.UK, CGT rates
Tax year	6 April to 5 April	GOV.UK crypto guidance

A pile of British pound and penny coins on a table — Illustration: British coins. The annual exempt amount for capital gains is set in pounds, which is why this section works in sterling. Photo: Sarah Agnew / Unsplash

GOV.UK's guidance says that if the total gain for the tax year is above the allowance, "you must report the gain and pay CGT", either through a Self Assessment return or the real time CGT service. The Self Assessment return carries a cryptoasset section "available on returns for the tax year 2024 to 2025 onwards". The guidance page read does not mention a £50,000 proceeds reporting threshold: not verified on that page.

How does HMRC work out the cost of crypto?

By pooling, with two matching rules that come first. CRYPTO22200 says each type of token goes into its own pool, "commonly referred to as a 'section 104 pool'", under TCGA 1992 s.104(3)(ii), for tokens "dealt in without identifying the particular tokens".

Rule	What it matches	Statute
Same-day	Tokens bought and sold on the same day are treated as single transactions and matched first	TCGA 1992, s.105
30-day	Tokens bought within 30 days after a sale are matched to that sale, earliest disposal first	TCGA 1992, s.106A
Section 104 pool	Everything else, pooled by token type	TCGA 1992, s.104

The 30-day rule stops a holder from selling at a loss and buying straight back to bank the loss while keeping the position. HMRC's heading for it is "Acquiring tokens within 30 days of selling".

GOV.UK lists the records HMRC expects for each transaction: the token type, the disposal date, the number of tokens disposed of and remaining, the sterling value, bank statements, and the pooled cost before and after. "You must keep records as we'll ask to see them if we carry out a compliance check."

When does crypto count as income in the UK?

When it is received rather than bought. The Income Tax part of the manual, CRYPTO21000, has sections on earnings from employment, mining, staking, airdrops and Income Tax losses. On mining, CRYPTO21150 says that if the activity is not a trade, "the pound sterling value (at the time of receipt) of any tokens awarded will be taxable as income", and that a miner who keeps the tokens "may have to pay Capital Gains Tax when they later dispose of them." Whether mining is a trade depends on factors HMRC lists, including "degree of activity", "organisation", "risk" and "commerciality". Staking and airdrop pages were not read: not verified.

What if I lose my private keys?

Losing them is not itself a disposal. CRYPTO22400 says "misplacing the key does not count as a disposal for Capital Gains Tax purposes." If there is "no prospect of recovering the private key or accessing the tokens", a negligible value claim may be made, and the holder is "treated as having disposed of and re-acquiring the tokens they cannot access", which crystallises the loss.

Are gambling winnings taxed in the UK?

Not for players, on HMRC's own manuals. The Capital Gains Manual, at CG11700, states that "winnings from betting (including pool betting or lotteries or games with prizes) are not chargeable gains", citing section 51(1) of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992. On the income side, the Business Income Manual says betting is not in itself a trade:

The fact that a taxpayer has a system by which they place their bets... does not make their activities a trade.

HMRC Business Income Manual, BIM22017, retrieved 2026-10-09

BIM22015 quotes Rowlatt J in Graham v Green: "A bet is merely an irrational agreement that one person should pay another person on the happening of an event." BIM22017 adds "There is no tax on a habit." The exceptions are narrow. BIM22017 says some professional gamblers "do carry on a trade, for example, where they receive appearance money", and BIM22015 says an organised activity to make profits "out of the gambling public will normally amount to trading", which is the bookmaker, not the punter. GOV.UK's Income Tax page lists "premium bond or National Lottery wins" among income you do not pay tax on.

Does depositing crypto at a casino trigger tax?

The manuals read do not mention casino deposits by name: not verified. What they do say frames the question. The winning is not a chargeable gain. The tokens are a separate asset, and CRYPTO22100's list includes "using tokens to pay for goods or services" and "exchanging tokens for a different type of token". Two common steps fit those words on their face:

Step	Which item in the CRYPTO22100 list it resembles
Swapping BTC to USDT to deposit	"exchanging tokens for a different type of token"
Withdrawing winnings in USDT and selling for pounds	"selling tokens for money"
Withdrawing in a different coin than deposited	Not addressed in the pages read
Holding coins in a casino balance	Not addressed in the pages read

Whether HMRC treats a deposit itself as a disposal is a question for a tax adviser with the facts. Keeping the sterling value of each deposit and withdrawal, in the form GOV.UK lists, is what makes either answer defensible.

Will HMRC know about my crypto?

From 2026, increasingly. CRYPTO10410 says that "From 01 January 2026" cryptoasset service providers must collect and record certain customer details under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, and that "Failure to provide the required information to the cryptoasset service provider may result in a penalty." Offshore crypto casinos are a separate matter: of the 24 operators on this register, 18 name the United Kingdom in their own restricted-territory terms, per the United Kingdom country page. Playing at those breaches their terms, with consequences set out in no KYC casino UK.

What this does not show

Staking, airdrop and DeFi lending pages were not read. Income Tax rates and bands are not computed. Whether a casino deposit is a disposal is not verified. The CARF first-report date is not on the manual page read.

Quick answers

How much tax do you pay on crypto in the UK?

Capital Gains Tax at 18% or 24% on gains made from 6 April 2026, after a £3,000 annual allowance. Mining income is taxed as income instead.

Is swapping one crypto for another taxable in the UK?

Yes. CRYPTO22100 lists "exchanging tokens for a different type of token" as a disposal, valued in pounds on the day.

Are gambling winnings taxable in the UK?

No for players. CG11700 says betting winnings "are not chargeable gains" under TCGA 1992 s.51(1), and BIM22017 says betting is not a trade. See the UK country page.

Do I pay tax on crypto casino winnings in the UK?

Not on the winning itself, per HMRC's manuals. Selling or swapping the tokens can still be a disposal under CRYPTO22100.

Where can I get help with gambling in the UK?

The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare, is free on 0808 8020 133. GAMSTOP blocks UK-licensed gambling sites. More options are on the responsible gambling page.

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Sources

About this piece

Compiled by the CryptoGuardz register team from the sources listed above. Research and drafting are AI-assisted and reviewed by a named editor before publication. Nothing here is a recommendation to gamble. If a figure or a reading is wrong, tell us and the correction is logged in public.