Worked crypto tax examples
Quick answer: Digital Assets UK walks through 13 typical UK crypto situations — token swaps, staking rewards, HMRC nudge letters and more — each with a quick answer, the worked tax treatment and a link to the full guide. Reviewed June 2026. General information, not personal advice.
These are illustrative examples, not real cases: the names are invented and the figures are round numbers chosen to show how the rules work. Your own position depends on your records.
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I swapped ETH for USDC twice in one year
Alex swapped ethereum for USDC stablecoin twice on a decentralised exchange. No pounds hit their bank account.
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I earned £200 in staking rewards on an exchange
Sam received small monthly staking rewards shown in their exchange app, worth about £200 total in the tax year.
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My exchange closed — I have incomplete records
Jordan used an exchange that shut down. They have some CSV exports but not all years.
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I gifted bitcoin to my adult child
Chris transferred bitcoin to their adult daughter's wallet as a gift. Chris originally paid £5,000; value at gift was £12,000.
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I only bought crypto — never sold
Taylor bought bitcoin monthly for two years but never sold, swapped or spent any.
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I was paid in bitcoin for freelance work
Riley received two invoices paid in bitcoin worth £3,000 and £4,500 at receipt dates.
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I lost my wallet seed phrase
Morgan held self-custody ethereum but lost the recovery phrase. The wallet is inaccessible.
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I sold a lot but only made a small gain
Casey had £55,000 of disposal proceeds but net gains of £800 after losses and pooling.
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My bank blocked my payment to an exchange
Pat tried to transfer £500 to an FCA-registered exchange but the bank declined the payment.
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My transfer between exchanges was delayed
Avery moved bitcoin from one FCA-registered exchange to another. The transfer was held for extra checks.
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I am leaving the UK but still hold crypto
Quinn is emigrating mid-tax-year and plans to keep crypto holdings.
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My exchange froze withdrawals
Robin cannot withdraw pounds or crypto from a platform. Support is unresponsive.
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I donated crypto to a UK charity
Sage gifted ethereum directly to a registered UK charity wallet.