Does Coinbase report to the German tax office?
Providers operating through a company authorised in the EU fall under the reporting obligation of the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act (Kryptowerte-Steuertransparenzgesetz). Coinbase received MiCAR authorisation from the Luxembourg CSSF on 20 June 2025 and has served EU customers through Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. since then. For your tax return, however, a different distinction matters more: the one between your Coinbase account and Coinbase Wallet.
Legal position as of: 9 September 2026
What DAC8 means for Coinbase users
Coinbase has merged its individual European authorisations — including in Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain — under a single MiCAR authorisation. Since then, trading and custody have been provided by Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. and fiat services by Coinbase Ireland Limited. Existing customers were migrated to this structure over the course of 2025.
We do not say whether and what Coinbase specifically reports — that is a claim about another company. What can be said: the category fits. Assume that transactions on your Coinbase account are recorded. Which data the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act (Kryptowerte-Steuertransparenzgesetz) covers is explained on our page on DAC8 and the reporting obligation.
Which exports Coinbase itself provides
In the “Reports” section, the transaction history can be downloaded as a CSV. This file is well structured and forms the basis of any data preparation.
There is also a tax section with gain and loss overviews. It is tailored to US tax law and cannot be used for the German tax return: Section 23 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) has the holding period (Spekulationsfrist) and the exemption limit (Freigrenze); the US system has neither. If you use this overview as your basis, you are calculating according to the wrong rules.
Coinbase Pro is history. From 20 November 2023, access via web and app was no longer possible; on 1 December 2023, Coinbase Pro was shut down completely and all customers were moved to Coinbase Advanced. The Pro history could be downloaded from the Statements section until the end of 2023. If you traded via Pro between 2018 and 2023 and never saved this data, you now have a gap that can no longer be closed with a click.
Typical pitfalls with Coinbase data
Account and wallet are two different things
The Coinbase account is a custodial exchange account — that is where the reporting obligation applies, and that is where the export is available. Coinbase Wallet is a self-custody wallet: the keys are held by the user, transactions take place on-chain and do not appear in the exchange export. If you only provide the account export while half of the movements went through the wallet, the analysis will show inflows without acquisition costs — and therefore too much tax.
The US tax section is misleading
It looks like what you need, but it calculates according to different rules. For the German tax return, the raw transaction history counts, not the finished gains overview.
The 2023 break
For clients with a long history, the dividing line is the Pro shutdown. Everything before that has to come from old exports or via support — and that takes time. If you are planning a voluntary disclosure (Selbstanzeige), clarify this question first.
How data from several sources can be combined is described in our article on crypto data preparation (in German); the substantive basics are in the crypto tax guide.
What to do if earlier years have not been declared
First clarify the scope: account, wallet, and whether Pro was involved. Only once it is clear which sources exist can you assess whether an amended return can be complete — and under Section 371 of the German Fiscal Code (AO), completeness is not a matter of diligence but the condition.
Requirements, grounds for exclusion (Sperrgründe) and the procedure are set out on our page on the crypto voluntary disclosure.
Sources
- Coinbase Help: “Transitioning from Coinbase Pro to Coinbase Advanced”, retrieved on 9 September 2026
- CSSF Luxembourg, MiCAR authorisation of 20 June 2025; press coverage of the consolidation of the EU authorisations
About the author
Maximilian Klein — Tax Advisor (Steuerberater) & Founder
Tax advisor (Steuerberater) specialising in the reconstruction of crypto transaction data and amended returns covering several years.
Note: This page reflects the legal position as of 9 September 2026 and does not constitute advice on your individual case. Information on products and export options reflects the position as retrieved on 9 September 2026 and may change. Whether and in what form action is required depends on your specific documents and requires them to be reviewed.
Next step
Combine your complete Coinbase history
Account, wallet and legacy Pro data belong in one calculation. We clarify which sources exist in your case.