UK's First Crypto Tax Report Shows 240 People Declared £717M in Capital Gains

The UK government released its first official statistics on taxable cryptoasset gains, showing that in the 2024-25 tax year, 240 individuals each declared capital gains exceeding £1 million, with a combined total of £717 million — accounting for more than half of the £1.38 billion declared by 17,600 people overall.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) reported that 17,600 individuals declared gains from cryptoasset disposals totaling £1.38 billion in taxable gains, averaging approximately £78,000 per person. Of these, about 87% were male and 13% were female.

Disposing of cryptoassets — including selling, exchanging, or using tokens for payments — can trigger a tax liability. Gifting assets to another person may also be subject to taxation.

HMRC sent 81,000 letters to cryptoasset holders over the past 12 months as part of its compliance campaign, up from approximately 65,000 in the previous period, and close to the 27,714 letters issued in the 2023-24 tax year.

James Murray, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General, stated that cryptoasset gains are taxable just like other forms of income.

The UK is also planning to adjust tax treatment for certain DeFi transactions from April 6, 2027, with proposed rules to defer capital gains tax on lending and liquidity pool transactions until a "chargeable event" occurs. The measure is expected to affect approximately 70,000 people.

HMRC estimates that its crypto compliance and education initiatives have brought in an additional £168 million in capital gains tax for the 2024-25 tax year.