Revenue updates guidance on tax treatment of cryptoassets

HMRC has confirmed the buying and selling of cryptoassets by individuals will normally amount to an investment activity and be subject to capital gains tax. It considers it will be unusual for individuals to be transacting with sufficient scale and organisation to be trading.

In a change from its previous guidance HMRC has confirmed that it does not consider the buying and selling of cryptoassets to be the same as gambling.

Jon Stride co-chair of the ATT’s technical steering group said: ‘The guidance also confirms the position when individuals receive income from related activities such as mining or airdrops ... If the individual is not trading such income will be taxable as miscellaneous income and if the receipts are less than £1 000 in the tax...