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Photo: Kelly Sikkema / UnsplashTax
These pieces read what tax authorities publish about crypto and gambling winnings: the IRS in the US, HMRC in the UK, and the tax law in Canada and India.
They cover when a gain is taxable, how losses are treated and how prediction market payouts are reported. None of it is tax advice for a specific case.
Every figure in these pieces traces to a document named at the foot of the page it appears on. Nothing here is a recommendation to gamble.
11 pieces, newest first
· 6 minCrypto debit card fees compared, from eight issuers' own fee pagesEight crypto debit cards had fee pages that could be read on 14 October 2026. Foreign transaction fees run from 0% to 3%, ATM fees from no card fee to $3 plus 2%, and cashback from none stated to 3% with a $10,000 annual membership. Spending crypto on any of them is a sale for US tax purposes. · 5 minDo you pay taxes on crypto before withdrawal? What the IRS says is taxable, and what Form 1099-DA reportsNo tax is due because crypto is withdrawn. The IRS taxes a sale, an exchange or another disposal; moving crypto between wallets you own is a non-taxable event, though a network fee paid in crypto counts as a disposal. Brokers report gross proceeds on Form 1099-DA for sales from 1 January 2025 and basis for certain sales from 1 January 2026. · 6 minHow do you sell bitcoin? Exchanges, broker apps, P2P and ATMs, with each provider's own feesBitcoin is sold through an exchange, a broker app, a peer-to-peer market or a bitcoin ATM. Stated fees on 14 October 2026 run from 0% plus a spread of up to 0.75% on a Cash App sale of $2,000 or more to 4.99% at a CoinFlip kiosk. Every sale is a capital gain or loss event for US tax. · 6 minHow to spend bitcoin with a card, a BitPay invoice, Lightning or PayPalBitcoin is spent four ways in practice: a crypto debit card, a payment processor invoice such as BitPay, a Lightning payment, or PayPal's checkout with crypto. Each sells the bitcoin, and the IRS treats each payment as a disposal on which gain or loss is recognised. · 6 minWhat does it mean to stake crypto? Proof of stake, lockups, slashing, exchange terms and taxStaking crypto means locking coins in a proof-of-stake network so they back a validator, in return for rewards and at the risk of slashing. Solo Ethereum staking needs 32 ETH. Coinbase takes a 35% commission and Kraken 30% on flexible staking. The IRS taxes rewards as income when you gain control of them. · 7 minKalshi taxes and Polymarket taxes, and what the IRS rules say about prediction market winningsKalshi's help centre lists four forms it may issue, 1099-INT, 1099-MISC, 1099-B and 1099-DA, and none of them is described as reporting event contract profits. As of 13 October 2026 the IRS has published no guidance on how event contracts are taxed, and the Treasury's 2026-2027 guidance plan does not list the topic. · 7 minAre gambling winnings taxable in Canada? The CRA's position and the Leblanc and Cohen casesThe CRA says lottery winnings of any amount are not reported or taxed unless they are income from employment, a business or property. The Tax Court held in Leblanc (2006) that over C$5.5 million won on sports lotteries was not business income, and in Cohen (2011) that a lawyer turned poker player could not deduct C$121,991 of losses. · 8 minCan you deduct gambling losses on your taxes? Itemizing, the 90% rule from 2026 and the records crypto casinos keepUS players can deduct gambling losses only by itemizing on Schedule A, and only up to the winnings they report. From tax year 2026 the deduction is 90% of losses. The IRS requires a diary plus statements; of three crypto casino terms read, none promises a statement, and two make their own logs final. · 7 minCrypto tax in India, by the text of sections 115BBH and 194S and the 2025 Act that replaced themIndia taxes income from transferring crypto at a flat 30% under section 115BBH, allowing only the cost of acquisition and no set-off of losses. Section 194S takes 1% TDS on transfers above Rs 10,000 a year, or Rs 50,000 for a specified person. From 1 April 2026 both rules sit in the Income-tax Act 2025. · 8 minCrypto tax in the UK, from HMRC's Cryptoassets Manual, the 2026 to 2027 allowance and the rule on gambling winningsHMRC 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. · 9 minHow are gambling winnings taxed in the US? The IRS text, the 2026 thresholds and the 90% loss ruleThe IRS treats gambling winnings as fully taxable income at ordinary rates, 10% to 37% for 2026. Form W-2G reporting for slots, bingo and keno now starts at $2,000. From tax year 2026, section 165(d) as amended in 2025 lets players deduct only 90% of losses, and only against winnings.