Germany Crypto Tax Calculator — One-Year Rule and Anlage SO
Import your exchange files and see which disposals fall within one year of purchase, whether your total stays under the €1,000 Freigrenze, and the figures for Anlage SO. In English, calculated in your browser.
Your transaction files never leave your device. How to check this yourself
Figures for general information, not tax advice. Applies §23 and §22 No. 3 EStG for private individuals; not for business assets. Disclaimer
How German crypto tax works, and how to work out yours
For individuals in Germany, crypto held privately is taxed under the rules for private sales (“private Veräußerungsgeschäfte”). A gain is taxable only if you sell or swap within one year of buying; after more than a year it’s tax-free (§23 EStG). The Federal Ministry of Finance explains how this applies to crypto-assets in its letter of 6 March 2025, which replaced the 2022 version (BMF letter on crypto-assets). The calculator tracks every lot’s purchase date so it can tell you which disposals count.
- 1
Import all accounts
Download the complete history from each exchange and wallet, including earlier years, so every lot has its real purchase date.
- 2
Review the open items
Confirm transfers between your own wallets, give a cost to deposits from elsewhere, and check any transaction type the file didn’t explain.
- 3
Download for Anlage SO
Pick the year and download the PDF and CSVs: taxable disposals within one year, the Freigrenze check and income from staking.
What you get
- Disposals within one year of acquisition separated from tax-free ones held longer
- First in, first out matching, with the holding period shown per lot
- Annual check against the €1,000 Freigrenze for private sales (from 2024)
- Staking and similar income checked against the €256 Freigrenze
- Figures for Anlage SO: proceeds, acquisition costs, fees and gain per disposal
- Swaps between crypto-assets treated as disposals
- Report in English, with German form terms alongside
- PDF report and CSV ledger, free and without a watermark
What happens to your files
Your transaction files never leave your device. CryptoTaxOwl reads them and calculates your report inside this browser tab. We don’t upload them, and the ads and analytics on this website can’t see them: the calculator runs in a separate, ad-free part of the site. To value your trades we download the same price file for every visitor, so even that doesn’t reveal what you hold.
Your files are read and processed in your browser, in a separate part of the site that carries no ads or analytics. The lots, holding periods and the report are created on your device, and nothing is kept after you close the tab unless you save a project file. The verification steps show how to confirm there’s no upload.
CryptoTaxOwl never asks for exchange logins, API keys, wallet addresses or a recovery phrase.
The one-year rule and the €1,000 Freigrenze
Hand-calculated test cases from the German engine’s suite, for a single person with no other private sales in the year.
1. Under the limit
You buy ETH in February 2025 and sell it in September 2025 for an €800 gain. It was held for less than a year, so it’s a private sale. But your total gain from private sales in 2025 is under €1,000, so it stays tax-free: €0 taxable.
2. Over the limit: all of it counts
Add a second short-term sale with a €300 gain. The year’s total is €1,100. The €1,000 is a Freigrenze (an exemption limit), not a Freibetrag (an allowance): once the total reaches €1,000, the whole amount is taxable, not just the part above it. Taxable: €1,100 (§23(3) EStG).
3. Held for more than a year
BTC bought in March 2023 and sold in April 2025 is outside the one-year period, so the gain is not taxable under §23, however large. It appears in the report as a tax-free disposal so your records are complete.
The €1,000 Freigrenze: an all-or-nothing limit
Gains from private sales are tax-free if your total gain from all of them in the calendar year is less than €1,000. The limit was €600 for years before 2024 (§23(3) EStG). Because it’s a Freigrenze rather than an allowance, €999 of gains is tax-free and €1,000 is taxable in full. The total includes other private sales, not just crypto, so the report shows your crypto figure and reminds you to add anything else. Losses from private sales within the year reduce the total.
Staking and lending income
Rewards from staking and similar activities are generally “other income” under §22 No. 3 EStG, which has its own exemption limit: such income is tax-free if it totals less than €256 in the year. The BMF letter also confirms that using coins for staking doesn’t extend the one-year holding period (BMF letter). The report lists rewards at their value when received; that value becomes their acquisition cost for a later sale.
Where the figures go: Anlage SO
Private sales and other income of this kind are declared on Anlage SO of the income tax return. The report gives you, for each taxable disposal, the dates of acquisition and sale, proceeds, acquisition costs, fees and the gain, plus the year’s total and the staking income total. For the 2025 tax year, the return is generally due by 31 July 2026 if you prepare it yourself, and later if you use a tax adviser; see the deadline calendar.
English for now. This calculator and its report are in English, with the German form terms shown alongside. A German-language version is planned.
Good to know
- FIFO per wallet by default. The calculator matches the earliest purchases first within each wallet, which is the approach the BMF letter describes. The report prints the method used.
- Swaps count as sales. Exchanging one crypto-asset for another within a year of buying is a private sale at market value in euros.
- The limit covers all private sales. Gains on other assets sold within their holding periods also count towards the €1,000; the calculator only sees your crypto.
- Business activity isn’t covered. Crypto held as business assets, mining as a business, and derivatives follow other rules that the report doesn’t apply.
- Keep your records. The BMF letter sets out record-keeping duties for crypto-assets. The CSV ledger, with each lot’s dates and costs, is a good starting point.
CryptoTaxOwl produces figures for general information. It isn’t tax, legal or financial advice, and it can only be as complete as the files you import. Check the warnings in this report, keep your own records, and speak to a qualified tax adviser if you’re unsure. You are responsible for what you file. Applies §23 and §22 No. 3 EStG for private individuals; not for business assets.
Related calculators and guides
- How staking rewards and airdrops are taxed in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and GermanyIncome or capital? When rewards are taxed, how they’re valued and how that value becomes your cost later.
- Crypto cost basis methods: FIFO, LIFO, HIFO and average cost comparedOne set of trades under four methods, and which method the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Germany allow.
- Moving crypto between your own wallets: why it isn’t a sale, and how to fix mismatchesSelf-transfers, network fees, and the unmatched deposits that quietly inflate tax reports.
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Questions people ask
Is crypto tax-free in Germany after one year?
For private investors, a gain on crypto sold more than one year after purchase isn’t taxable under §23 EStG. Disposals within one year are private sales and count towards the €1,000 Freigrenze.
What is the difference between a Freigrenze and a Freibetrag?
A Freibetrag is an allowance: only the amount above it is taxed. A Freigrenze is a limit: below it nothing is taxed, but once you reach it the whole amount is taxable. The €1,000 for private sales is a Freigrenze.
Does staking extend the holding period to ten years?
No. The BMF letter confirms that using crypto-assets for staking or lending doesn’t extend the one-year period. The older ten-year view no longer applies.
Is swapping one crypto for another taxable?
Yes, if you swap within a year of buying the coins you give up, it’s a private sale. The gain is the market value in euros of what you receive, minus the cost of what you gave up.
Why is this page in English?
It’s written for English-speaking residents of Germany and for anyone checking figures for an adviser. The report uses the German form terms so the numbers are easy to place on Anlage SO.
Which years are supported?
2025 and 2024. Purchases from earlier years are still imported, because their dates decide whether a sale is within one year.