DAC8: The European Tax Authorities Have Known About Your Crypto Assets since 2026
Advisory on compliance with the DAC8 Directive (EU 2023/2226) on crypto-asset information exchange, in force from 2026. Obligations for CASP providers and user reporting.
Why DAC8 means European tax authorities now automatically receive your crypto-asset transaction data
Our DAC8 compliance and crypto-asset tax advisory process
Crypto-asset fiscal exposure diagnostic
We analyse the client's crypto-asset transaction history: purchases, sales, exchanges, staking, DeFi, NFTs and any other transaction with tax implications, to quantify the current tax position.
Analysis of outstanding declaration obligations
We determine which transactions should have been declared in previous tax years (personal income tax, corporate income tax, Form 720, Form 721), identify those not declared, and quantify the regularisation risk with interest and penalties.
Voluntary tax regularisation strategy
We design the optimal regularisation strategy: supplementary return, rectification of self-assessments or spontaneous declaration, taking advantage of the penalty reductions available under the General Tax Act (LGT) for voluntary regularisations made before a tax authority request.
DAC8 compliance for CASP providers
For crypto-asset service providers, we implement user information collection processes (KYC/KYB), and reporting systems to AEAT in the format and within the deadlines required by the Spanish regulatory development of DAC8.
The challenge
The DAC8 Directive requires crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to automatically report to the Spanish Tax Authority (AEAT) all transaction information for their Spanish-resident users from 1 January 2026. The fiscal anonymity of cryptocurrencies is history. Individuals and companies that have not declared their crypto-asset gains face a tax regularisation risk that they can now manage in an orderly manner or receive from AEAT in a considerably less favourable way.
Our solution
We advise crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) on their reporting obligations under DAC8, and investors and companies on regularising their crypto-asset tax position before the first AEAT notifications arising from the automatic information exchange arrive.
The DAC8 Directive (Directive 2023/2226/EU — Directive on Administrative Cooperation 8) amends the EU Administrative Cooperation Directive to require automatic exchange of information on crypto assets between EU tax authorities. Crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) — exchanges, custodial wallet providers, trading platforms and other intermediaries — have been required to report transaction data for their EU-resident users to their Member State's tax authority from 1 January 2026. This data is then automatically shared between EU tax authorities. The practical consequence is that the AEAT now has, or will shortly have, comprehensive information on the crypto-asset transactions of Spanish taxpayers conducted through CASP platforms, making non-declaration of crypto gains progressively more difficult to sustain without significant legal and financial risk.
What DAC8 means for Spanish crypto investors
For Spanish individuals and companies that have traded in crypto assets, DAC8 represents a fundamental change in the risk landscape. Previously, the absence of systematic reporting by exchanges created an information asymmetry that, in practice, reduced the likelihood of AEAT detecting undeclared crypto gains. From 2026, that asymmetry is eliminated for transactions conducted through CASP platforms.
The optimal response for investors with undeclared crypto positions is voluntary regularisation before the first AEAT notifications arrive. Voluntary regularisation — whether through supplementary tax returns or rectification of self-assessments — carries significantly lower penalties than regularisation triggered by an AEAT inspection, and avoids the risk of criminal liability for tax fraud if the undeclared amounts exceed €120,000 in any single year.
Implications for CASP providers
For crypto-asset service providers operating in or serving users in the EU, DAC8 creates new operational obligations: implementing DAC8-compliant KYC/KYB identification processes for all users, maintaining transaction records in the required format, and submitting annual reports to the relevant Member State’s tax authority. Providers without an EU establishment that serve EU residents may also be subject to these obligations depending on their specific structure and user base.
This service is part of our compliance and tax advisory practice.
Concrete deliverables
Crypto-asset tax exposure diagnostic
Complete analysis of the client's crypto-asset transaction history and quantification of the tax position, identifying undeclared transactions and estimating regularisation risk including interest and penalties.
Voluntary regularisation strategy
Design and implementation of the optimal regularisation approach — supplementary return, rectification or spontaneous declaration — maximising the penalty reduction available for voluntary regularisation before a tax authority request.
CASP DAC8 compliance implementation
Implementation of KYC/KYB user identification processes, reporting systems in the required AEAT format and timelines, and ongoing compliance management for crypto-asset service providers subject to DAC8.
Ongoing crypto-asset tax advisory
Annual advisory on the correct tax treatment of crypto-asset transactions — capital gains, investment returns, staking, mining — and coordination with Form 721 and personal income tax obligations.
Analysis and perspectives
Frequently asked questions
Does this apply to your business?
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Have you traded in cryptocurrencies in recent years and not declared all gains in your personal income tax return?
Do you hold balances in overseas exchanges exceeding €50,000 that you have not declared in Form 721?
Has your company or you as an individual received cryptocurrencies as payment for goods or services and not declared them?
Are you a CASP provider and need to implement your DAC8 reporting system?
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Our team of specialists, with deep knowledge of the Spanish and European market, will guide you from day one.
DAC8 and Crypto-Asset Tax Obligations
Legal
First step
Start with a free diagnostic
Our team of specialists, with deep knowledge of the Spanish and European market, will guide you from day one.
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