Crypto Tax Germany 2025: Rules, Rates, and What You Must Know

When you trade or sell crypto tax Germany 2025, the legal requirement to report profits from cryptocurrency sales to German tax authorities. Also known as cryptocurrency taxation in Germany, it's not about whether you own crypto—it's about what you do with it. Unlike some countries that treat crypto like currency, Germany sees it as private money, and that changes everything.

If you hold crypto for more than one year before selling, you pay zero tax. That’s the golden rule. But if you sell within a year, your profit is taxed as private income, at your personal rate—up to 45%. That includes trades between crypto coins, like swapping ETH for SOL, even if you didn’t touch euros. The German tax office doesn’t care if you made a loss on one trade and a gain on another—you must report each one. And yes, staking rewards, airdrops, and mining income are all taxable as ordinary income the moment you receive them.

Reporting is done through your annual income tax return, specifically in the Anlage SO form. You need to track every transaction: buy price, sell price, date, and wallet addresses. No one is checking your MetaMask daily, but if you get audited and can’t prove your numbers, you could face fines or even criminal charges. Many Germans use tools like Koinly or CoinTracking to auto-generate reports, but the responsibility stays with you. Also, if you move crypto out of Germany—say, to a Swiss exchange—you still owe taxes on gains made while you were a German resident.

What you can’t ignore

There’s no tax-free allowance for crypto like there is for stocks. Every euro of profit counts. And if you’re earning crypto as salary—say, from a Web3 job—you must declare it as income at its euro value on the day you received it. Even if you immediately swap it for another coin, that swap triggers a taxable event. The same goes for NFT sales: if you bought a Bored Ape for 1 ETH and sold it for 3 ETH, your profit is taxed. No exceptions.

Germany isn’t a crypto tax haven. But it’s predictable. You know the rules. You know the deadlines. You know what triggers tax. That’s more than most countries offer. The key is not avoiding tax—it’s planning for it. Keep records. Track dates. Don’t assume airdrops are free money. And if you’re unsure, get help from a tax advisor who understands blockchain. The German tax office doesn’t care if you’re new to crypto. They care if you paid what you owe.

Below, you’ll find real-world examples of how crypto moves affect your tax bill in Germany, what exchanges German users actually report, and how to avoid common mistakes that lead to penalties. These aren’t theory pieces—they’re based on what people actually filed in 2024 and what’s changing in 2025.