DAC8 (Directive 2023/2226/EU) is the eighth amendment to the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation. It requires crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to report clients' crypto transactions to their national tax authority, which then exchanges that data automatically with the tax authorities of the clients' EU member states of residence.
In practice
What Is DAC8?
DAC8 (Directive 2023/2226/EU of 17 October 2023) is the eighth amendment to the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation in Taxation (Directive 2011/16/EU). Its central objective is to extend automatic exchange of tax information between EU member state authorities to crypto-assets and electronic money, closing a gap that had allowed these assets to remain outside the existing transparency frameworks.
DAC8 aligns with the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) adopted in 2022 and with parallel amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Member states must transpose the directive by 31 December 2025; the first reporting year is 2026, with the first automatic exchange scheduled for 2027.
Who Is Obliged
The directive imposes reporting obligations on crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) as defined under the EU MiCA Regulation. In scope are:
- Exchanges enabling conversion between crypto-assets and fiat currency
- Platforms offering custody or transfer services for crypto-assets
- Platforms facilitating crypto-to-crypto swaps
DAC8 also expands the perimeter of earlier directives to cover electronic money and, prospectively, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
What Information Is Reported
CASPs must report to the competent tax authority of their member state of obligation:
- Client identification (name, tax identification number, state of tax residence)
- Amounts and dates of crypto-to-fiat exchanges
- Amounts and dates of crypto-to-crypto exchanges
- Transfers of crypto-assets between platforms or to external addresses
That authority then automatically shares the information with the tax authority of the client’s member state of residence.
Implications for Spanish Tax Residents
For taxpayers holding crypto-assets through exchanges or custodians, DAC8 means their transaction data will be communicated to the Agencia Tributaria by third parties. This does not replace existing taxpayer obligations: the Modelo 721 declaration for crypto-assets held in custody abroad, reporting capital gains and losses in the annual income tax (IRPF), and including asset values in the wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) where applicable.
The automatic exchange framework significantly increases AEAT’s capacity to identify discrepancies between third-party-reported data and what taxpayers declare.
How DAC8 Differs From CRS and DAC7
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS/DAC2) already covered foreign financial accounts but expressly excluded crypto-assets because they did not fit the definition of “financial account.” DAC8 closes that gap, analogously to how DAC7 (Directive 2021/514/EU) extended transparency to digital platform operators in the collaborative economy.