DAC8: What the new crypto reporting obligation means for investors
DAC8 is the eighth amendment to the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation. From 1 January 2026, it requires crypto-asset service providers — exchanges, brokers and custodians — to report their users’ identification data and transaction details to the tax authorities. In Germany it is implemented by the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act (Kryptowerte-Steuertransparenzgesetz); the first reporting period is calendar year 2026.
Legal position as of: 9 September 2026
What is DAC8?
The DAC8 directive — formally Directive (EU) 2023/2226 — extends the automatic exchange of information between the tax authorities of the EU member states to crypto-assets. “DAC” stands for Directive on Administrative Cooperation (Amtshilferichtlinie); the number counts the amendments. Earlier stages covered bank accounts, advance tax rulings and, most recently, income earned on digital platforms. DAC8 closes the gap that crypto-assets had left until now.
The mechanism is the same as for the earlier stages: it is not the investors who report, but the providers. They transmit the information to the authority of the state in which they are established, and that authority distributes it to the states in which the users concerned are tax resident. For an investor resident in Germany, this means that even a report by an exchange established in another EU state ends up with the German tax authorities.
For investors, DAC8 does not change the question of whether a transaction is taxable. It changes the question of what the tax authorities know about it. This distinction runs through this entire page and is the most common misconception on this topic.
DAC8 and CARF: the difference
CARF stands for Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and is the international framework developed by the OECD for the exchange of data on crypto-assets. DAC8 is the European implementation of this framework: the directive adopts the structure of CARF and makes it binding on the EU member states.
In practice, CARF means that the exchange of data does not stop at the EU’s external border. The framework has been adopted by numerous states outside the Union. Anyone who regards the choice of trading platform as a tax strategy therefore underestimates how far this network reaches.
The Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act (KStTG)
DAC8 is transposed into German law by the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act (Kryptowerte-Steuertransparenzgesetz, KStTG), sometimes also spelt “Kryptowerte-Steuertransparenz-Gesetz”. It is the German DAC8 implementing act and governs who is subject to reporting in Germany, which data must be transmitted and to whom.
The reports are sent to the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, BZSt). From there, the exchange with the other member states and the forwarding to the locally competent tax offices (Finanzämter) take place.
The difference between DAC8 and MiCA
Both sets of rules concern crypto-assets, but they serve different purposes: DAC8 is tax law and governs the exchange of tax data between authorities. MiCA is supervisory law and governs the authorisation and supervision of crypto-asset service providers. MiCA has no direct consequences for your own tax return. How the two sets of rules differ in detail and where they interact is explained in our article on the tax reform surrounding MiCA and DAC8 (in German).
When does the reporting obligation apply?
The crypto reporting obligation applies from 1 January 2026. The first reporting period is therefore calendar year 2026. Reporting does not take place on an ongoing basis but retrospectively for the past year: the first transmission to the Federal Central Tax Office is due by 31 July 2027.
More than a year therefore passes between the start of the reporting obligation and the point at which the first data actually reaches the tax office. This time lag is the reason why the topic is relevant now and not only in 2027.
Key dates of the reporting obligation under the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act at a glance.
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Reporting obligation takes effect | 1 January 2026 |
| First reporting period | Calendar year 2026 |
| First report to the BZSt | by 31 July 2027 |
| Legal basis in the EU | Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) |
| Implementation in Germany | Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act (Kryptowerte-Steuertransparenzgesetz) |
| International framework | CARF (OECD) |
Which data is reported?
The report comprises two blocks: identification data on the person and detailed transaction information. Reports are made for each reportable user and, in the case of companies, additionally for each controlling person — so a structure involving a holding company or a foreign company does not prevent attribution.
Identification data
Information identifying the user and, in the case of companies, the controlling persons behind them. It ensures that the transactions transmitted can be clearly attributed to a tax-resident person.
Transaction information
Detailed information on the transactions in the reporting period. This gives the tax office a picture of the activity on the respective platform that can be compared with the tax return filed.
A practical side effect concerns payouts to a bank account. For larger incoming payments from crypto transactions, banks regularly ask for proof of where the funds come from. Which documents are required is explained in our article on proof of source of funds (Mittelherkunftsnachweis) (in German). If you keep a clean transaction history anyway, you have dealt with both issues at once.
Which providers report — and which do not
The reporting obligation applies to crypto-asset service providers. In substance, these fall into three categories:
- Exchanges and trading platforms that enable crypto-assets to be exchanged for euros or for other crypto-assets.
- Brokers and intermediaries that execute transactions for their customers without being a trading venue themselves.
- Custodians that hold crypto-assets for their customers.
Not covered is anything that takes place without a provider: the self-custodied wallet whose keys only the holder knows. Here too, however, the distinction made above applies — not reported does not mean not taxable. And as soon as assets from such a wallet flow back to a platform, the transaction is once again in the data of a provider subject to reporting.
The year 2026 has shown that these categories can shift: Binance withdrew its application for MiCAR authorisation in June 2026 and discontinued its services for users in the EU with effect from 1 July 2026. For those affected, this is not a tax problem but a data problem — what this means in practice is explained on our page on Binance and the German tax office.
We deliberately make no statement as to whether a particular trading platform is already reporting. That would be a factual claim about another company that cannot be verified from the outside — and the status is changing during the current year, so any statement could be out of date by your next visit. What matters for you is the category in any case, not the individual provider: if it is subject to the reporting obligation, your transactions there are captured.
Does DAC8 apply retroactively?
No — and at the same time, this is not the all-clear it is often taken to be. The reporting obligation applies from 1 January 2026 and covers the 2026 reporting period. For earlier years, providers do not have to report anything under these rules.
The tax liability for earlier years has always existed, entirely independently of this. Anyone who made a taxable gain in 2019 and did not declare it has committed a tax understatement (Steuerverkürzung) — before DAC8 as after DAC8. The only thing that changes is the likelihood of it being noticed. That the tax authorities can reach earlier years even without an automatic flow of data is shown by the group request for information (Sammelauskunftsersuchen) to Bitcoin.de for the years 2019 to 2022 (in German).
The normal time limits apply to open earlier years. In cases of tax evasion, the assessment period (Festsetzungsfrist) is ten years (Section 169(2) of the German Fiscal Code, AO), five years for reckless understatement of tax (leichtfertige Steuerverkürzung) and four years as a rule. If no return was ever filed, this period also only starts to run after the deferral of the start of the period (Anlaufhemmung) under Section 170(2) no. 1 AO — in practice, the open period then reaches back considerably further than ten years.
If you have not declared gains from earlier years, you are therefore facing a question that is time-critical but should not be answered in haste. How a voluntary disclosure (Selbstanzeige) to the tax office works, what information it must contain and when it is barred under Section 371(2) AO is explained on a separate page. If you first only want to assess your own risk, start with the DAC8 risk check for crypto-assets.
What investors should check now
There is still time until the first report in July 2027 to put your own affairs in order. Four steps make sense regardless of the individual case.
- 1
Make your transaction history complete
Save exports from all exchanges and wallets used, including platforms that are no longer used or have since been discontinued. Historical data is often difficult to obtain later.
- 2
Assess your own previous years
For each year, clarify whether there were taxable transactions and whether they were declared. The basics — holding period, exemption limit (Freigrenze), exchanges between crypto-assets, staking — are set out in our crypto tax guide.
- 3
Estimate the order of magnitude
Our crypto tax calculator provides an initial estimate of the tax burden. It does not replace a calculation, but it helps to answer the question of how urgent the matter is.
- 4
Have open earlier years reviewed early
If years remain open, the timing of the review is decisive — there are grounds for exclusion (Sperrgründe) for a voluntary disclosure that can arise as the authority’s knowledge progresses. Whether and in what form it comes into consideration depends on the individual case. What has specifically changed with the start of DAC8 is explained in Crypto voluntary disclosure 2026 (in German).
What applies to individual trading platforms
The legal position is the same for all — the data situation is not. Which exports are available, how long they can be retrieved and where their preparation fails differs from platform to platform. We have compiled this for the four most widely used. In doing so, we deliberately make no statement as to whether any of these providers is already reporting.
Binance
Withdrawal from the EU with effect from 1 July 2026 — why this is a data problem and not an all-clear.
Kraken
Ledgers instead of trades, XBT instead of BTC and the 14-day deadline for completed exports.
Coinbase
Account and wallet are two data sources — and the Pro history ends in 2023.
Bitpanda
The tax report only applies to Austria — and several asset classes sit side by side in the account.
Frequently asked questions about DAC8
The questions we are asked most often about the crypto reporting obligation.
What does DAC8 mean?
DAC8 is the eighth amendment to the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation, formally Directive (EU) 2023/2226. It extends the automatic exchange of information between the tax authorities of the EU member states to crypto-assets. Under it, crypto-asset service providers must report information on their users and their transactions to the competent authority, which passes it on to the other member states.
When does DAC8 come into force?
The reporting obligation applies from 1 January 2026. The first reporting period is calendar year 2026, and the first report to the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) is due by 31 July 2027. In Germany, DAC8 is implemented by the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act (Kryptowerte-Steuertransparenzgesetz).
How does the German tax office check crypto gains?
Until now mainly through group requests for information (Sammelauskunftsersuchen) addressed to individual trading platforms, through the information in the tax return and through control notifications from banks, for example for larger incoming payments. With the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act, a regular, automatic flow of data is added from the 2026 reporting period: the providers report on their own initiative, without the authority having to ask in each individual case.
Does the tax office have access to crypto wallets?
No, there is no direct technical access to a private wallet. The reporting obligation applies to crypto-asset service providers — exchanges, brokers and custodians — which transmit their users’ identification data and transaction details. If you transfer assets from an exchange to your own wallet, this therefore appears in the provider’s data, not through the authority accessing the wallet itself.
Does DAC8 also apply to wallets without KYC?
The obligation falls on the reporting provider, not on the wallet. Nobody reports a self-custodied wallet that has no provider behind it. That does not change the tax liability: whether a gain has to be declared depends on the transaction, not on whether someone reports it. And as soon as assets from such a wallet move to a platform subject to reporting, the transaction is captured again.
Can I avoid DAC8?
No. Trying to do so shifts the problem and makes it bigger. The reporting obligation lies with the providers, and it reaches across national borders: the EU rules are based on the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, which numerous countries outside the EU have joined. Moving assets specifically to avoid a report does not change an existing tax liability and risks an omission that was negligent up to that point being treated as intentional conduct.
What happens if I have not declared crypto gains so far?
Undeclared gains from previous years remain open for tax purposes, regardless of DAC8 — in cases of tax evasion, the assessment period (Festsetzungsfrist) is ten years (Section 169(2) of the German Fiscal Code, AO). From the 2026 reporting period onwards, however, it becomes more likely that the authority will come across discrepancies on its own. Whether a crypto voluntary disclosure (Selbstanzeige) is the right course depends on the individual case and requires the specific documents to be reviewed.
About the author
Maximilian Klein — Tax Advisor (Steuerberater) & Founder
Tax advisor (Steuerberater) specialising in the taxation of crypto-assets: data preparation, amended returns and communication with the tax office.
Note: This page reflects the legal position as of 9 September 2026 and does not constitute advice on your individual case. Whether and in what form action is required depends on the specific circumstances and documents and requires them to be reviewed.
Next step
Have your DAC8 risk assessed
If years are still open, timing is decisive. We assess your case before the first wave of reports goes out.