Operations with cryptocurrencies are growing exponentially, despite the risks they entail and the fluctuations in their price. It is estimated that 11.2% of the Spanish population has invested in crypto assets, so it is not surprising that the Tax Agency has once again focused on virtual currencies in this year’s income campaign.
Both gains and losses in the investment of cryptocurrencies must be included in the declaration, so the profit obtained from the sale of these assets must be recorded as a capital gain of the taxable base of savings. In this sense, the difference between the sale value and the acquisition value will be considered a capital gain. Likewise, commission expenses may be deducted.
The performance will be attributable “in the year in which the delivery was made” of the cryptocurrencies, as indicated by the Registry of Fiscal Advisory Economists (REAF), a body of the General Council of Economists of Spain. In this case, the applicable tax would be 19% up to 6,000 euros, 21% between 6,001 and 50,000 euros, 23% between 50,001 and 200,000 euros, and 26% for higher amounts. These are the same tax rates that apply to the rest of the savings and investment products.
Regarding the losses, which are also included in the return, “they can offset capital gains -for example, from the sale of shares or investment funds-“, explains Paula Urcera, head of TaxDown’s tax area. “And if in the In all of our investments we have lost money, we can save those losses to offset gains in the statements for the next four years,” he adds. This will reduce the amount to be paid in personal income tax.
In the event that one cryptocurrency is exchanged for another -because bitcoin is sold to buy ethereum, for example-, “it is considered an exchange and, then, it is necessary to calculate if there has been a profit or loss and declare it,” Urcera clarifies. , if an exchange or exchange platform gives tokens or cryptocurrencies to a user -a marketing strategy known in crypto jargon as an airdrop-, it will be considered a capital gain to be included in the general base.The same rule would apply to a contributor who have received different virtual assets as a reward for having participated in various commercial actions organized by a virtual asset service provider, for example by sharing links and following videos. “In this case, the tax treatment will be capital gains, valuing the tokens received for their market value in euros at the time of their perception”, detailed from REAF.
Another of the formulas to obtain returns from cryptocurrencies is staking, which consists of buying and blocking these assets in a virtual wallet with the aim of receiving rewards. This type of investment, as well as farming -a similar modality- or obtaining interest through the loan of crypto assets, “it would be reasonable to interpret that they constitute income from movable capital to be integrated into the savings base”, although the General Directorate de Tributos has not yet established any criteria, indicate the economists in the guide they have published for the 2022 income campaign.
On the other hand, they continue, debit cards that allow you to pay with cryptocurrencies are becoming more common. When making the purchase in a store, the cryptocurrencies are converted to euros, so that the merchant receives euros. “These operations will have to be taken into account, since they constitute sales of cryptocurrencies that are taxed,” they warn. And as for the mining of crypto assets, the Tax Agency considers that it is an economic activity, so a state scale is applied to the income received, depending on the section, which goes from 19% to 47%.
