Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226, known as DAC8 (the eighth amendment to the Administrative Cooperation Directive on taxation), represents the definitive closure of the fiscal opacity that had characterised the crypto-asset market since its inception. By requiring Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) to automatically report information to tax authorities, DAC8 places Bitcoin, Ether, stablecoins and other crypto-assets on the same footing of fiscal transparency as bank accounts and traditional financial securities.
The Context: From Anonymity to Full Transparency
During the first decade of crypto-assets (2009–2019), the taxation of these investments was, in practice, a voluntary compliance matter: only the most conscientious investors — or those who needed to justify very visible gains — declared their income and capital gains. The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) had no automatic information on taxpayers’ positions or transactions at exchanges.
The situation changed progressively:
- 2021 (Law 11/2021): introduction of the obligation to report information on virtual currencies for persons and entities providing custody, exchange or intermediation services (providers’ reporting models).
- 2022 (Order HFP/887/2023): approval of Modelo 721 (declaration on virtual currencies held abroad, equivalent to Modelo 720 for bank accounts) and Modelo 172 (information on virtual currencies for service providers).
- 2023 (MiCA — Regulation EU 2023/1114): entry into force of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, requiring authorisation and supervision of CASPs operating in the EU. In Spain, the CNMV is the supervisor under MiCA.
- 2024 (DAC8 — Directive 2023/2226): adoption of the directive requiring MiCA-authorised CASPs to automatically report to European tax authorities the information of their EU-resident clients.
What DAC8 Reports and to Whom
Entities Required to Report
DAC8 requires CASPs authorised under MiCA and with EU-resident clients to report. This includes:
- Centralised exchanges (CEX): Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bit2Me and any platform authorised under MiCA.
- Crypto-asset custody providers.
- Providers of crypto-to-fiat exchange services.
- Crypto-asset transfer service providers.
Decentralised exchanges (DEX) and decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols that have no identifiable legal entity fall, in principle, outside the direct scope of DAC8. However, the European Commission and the OECD are working to extend the transparency framework to these actors.
Information Reported
CASPs must report to tax authorities:
- Client identification (name, tax residence, TIN)
- Crypto-asset balances at start and end of period
- Number and total value of buy and sell transactions in fiat currency
- Number and total value of crypto-to-crypto exchanges
- Transfers of crypto-assets to and from the platform
- Staking, lending and other crypto-asset yield income
This information will be automatically exchanged with the tax authority of the client’s state of residence — in the case of Spanish taxpayers, the AEAT.
Compliance Timeline
- 2025: due diligence obligations for CASPs (identifying and verifying clients’ tax residency).
- 2026 (first report): CASPs report to tax authorities the data for the 2025 tax year. The AEAT receives for the first time automatic, detailed information on Spanish taxpayers’ crypto positions and transactions.
- 2027 onwards: annual automatic exchange of prior-year data.
Tax Treatment of Crypto-Assets in Spain: Updated Guide
Income Tax (Individuals — IRPF)
Capital gains and losses: Exchanging a crypto-asset for fiat currency or for another crypto-asset generates a capital gain or loss that must be declared in the savings base of the IRPF. The applicable tax rates range from 19% (first €6,000 of gain), 21% (€6,000–€50,000), 23% (€50,000–€200,000), 27% (€200,000–€300,000) to 28% (above €300,000), per rates effective from 2025.
Gain calculation: The gain is calculated as the difference between the disposal value (sale price) and the acquisition cost (purchase price plus commissions). Where the same crypto-asset has been purchased in multiple tranches, the FIFO method (first in, first out) applies — the first units purchased are treated as the first sold.
Staking and lending: Returns from staking (transaction validation on proof-of-stake blockchains), lending (crypto-asset loans) and other passive yield products are taxed as investment income in the savings base of the IRPF, at the same rates as dividends and interest.
Capital losses: Losses may be set off against other capital gains in the savings base in the same tax year, and any excess may be carried forward four years, subject to the usual limitation (no more than 25% of positive savings base income may be set off in any one year).
Modelo 721: Individual taxpayers with crypto-assets held in foreign exchanges or custodial wallets (outside Spain) with a value exceeding €50,000 must submit Modelo 721 before 31 March of the following year. Penalties for non-filing are identical to those for Modelo 720 (€5,000 per undeclared data item, minimum €10,000).
Corporation Tax (Companies — IS)
Companies holding crypto-assets on their balance sheet account for them in accordance with the General Accounting Plan, which classifies them as intangible assets (or as inventory if they are the subject of the company’s ordinary trading activity). Value changes are recognised in the income statement only when disposal occurs. There is no fair value adjustment for crypto-assets on the Spanish balance sheet under the PGC, unlike the treatment that will apply under revised IFRS when the updated IFRS 2 (Intangibles) takes effect.
Gains and losses on crypto-asset disposal form part of the CIT base at the general rate (25%) or the reduced rate for small and medium-sized companies (23%).
Compliance and Risk Management Under DAC8
For Individual Holders and Companies
The entry into force of DAC8 in 2026 makes non-declaration of crypto-asset gains unviable. Taxpayers who have not correctly declared their positions and gains in previous years face:
- AEAT assessments for the unpaid tax liability plus late-payment interest (3.75% annually in 2025) and a penalty of up to 150% if the serious infringement regime applies.
- Voluntary regularisation procedure (before AEAT notification): allows payment of the undeclared tax with surcharges of 10–20% but without a penalty, depending on the time elapsed since the tax return was due.
For CASPs (Exchanges and Custodians)
MiCA-authorised CASPs must implement client due diligence (KYC) processes that include: determination of each client’s tax residency; reporting procedures to the tax authorities in the formats specified by the Directive; and reconciliation systems to match reported information against internal transaction records.
The Intersection with MiCA and the TFR
DAC8 does not operate in isolation. The fiscal transparency it introduces complements the MiCA financial regulatory framework and the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR, Regulation 2023/1113), which requires exchanges and custody providers to identify both the originator and beneficiary in any crypto-asset transfer above €1,000 (the “travel rule”).
The combination of MiCA (licence and financial supervision), DAC8 (automatic fiscal transparency) and TFR (transfer traceability) creates a regulatory environment that transforms crypto-assets into financial assets subject to a level of oversight comparable to that of traditional financial instruments.
Adaptation Strategy for Crypto-Asset Investors
Faced with the new environment of full transparency, crypto-asset investors — both individuals and companies — should adopt a proactive strategy:
- Reconstruct the transaction history using specialist tools (Koinly, CoinTracking, TokenTax) that import data from exchanges and wallets to calculate the tax cost of each transaction applying the FIFO method.
- Regularise previously undeclared years: assess with a tax adviser whether to submit supplementary IRPF or IS returns for years with undeclared gains, before the AEAT receives CASP data.
- Establish current-year declaration procedures: implement a systematic process for tracking and declaring crypto-asset transactions, with the same rigour applied to traditional securities portfolios.
- Evaluate the holding structure: for significant crypto-asset wealth, analyse the optimal holding structure (individual, holding company, collective investment vehicle) considering Spanish tax treatment and applicable double taxation treaties.
At BMC, our tax team specialises in crypto-asset tax compliance for both individual investors and institutional holders. Learn about our tax planning services.
