HolderTax / Austria
Jurisdiction · Schedule H–AT · tax year 2026
Austria
Since its 2022 reform, Austria runs the most unusual crypto regime on this site: a flat 27.5% special rate, tax-neutral crypto-to-crypto swaps, tax-free old holdings — and a staking rule that half the internet reports backwards.
Filing deadline30 June 2027 via FinanzOnline (for 2026)
Current position
The schedule.
Status marks: — settled in practice, ! watch (moving or commonly misapplied), ? unresolved. All lines are a working draft pending licensed review.
Schedule H · Part IClassification, rate, holdings, swaps, income events, reporting and deadlines
FORM H–AT / 2026
STATUS: WORKING REVIEW| Line | Position | Current treatment | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Classification | Capital income · § 27b EStG | A dedicated crypto regime since 1 March 2022. Transfers between your own wallets are not disposals. | — |
| 02 | Rate | 27.5% special rate · no holding period | For new holdings, time held is irrelevant. An election into progressive rates exists where those are lower. | — |
| 03 | Old holdings | Acquired before 1 March 2021 · tax-free today | The old one-year clock expired long ago. Proving which coin is old stock becomes the portfolio's most valuable document. | ! |
| 04 | Crypto-to-crypto swap | Tax-neutral · cost basis carries over | BTC for ETH triggers nothing — a deferral, not a gift. Euros, goods or services realise the gain. | ! |
| 05 | Valuation | Moving average price · per wallet | Mandatory for new holdings since 1 January 2023. Mixing old and new stock in one wallet risks the worse classification. | ! |
| 06 | Realisation | Sale into euros · spending · fiat conversion | Paying for goods with crypto is a disposal at that day's value. | — |
| 07 | Staking · airdrops · bounties · hardforks | No income at receipt · cost basis zero | Nothing is taxed when the coins arrive; on a later sale the entire proceeds are gain. The regime's most misreported rule. | ! |
| 08 | Mining · lending | Current income · 27.5% at receipt | Receipt value is taxed and becomes cost basis. Business-scale activity falls out of the special rate. | — |
| 09 | Withholding at source | Domestic providers withhold since 2024 | "Tax-simple" Austrian brokers deduct the 27.5% automatically. Foreign exchanges and self-custody mean self-declaration — via form E1kv. | ! |
| 10 | NFTs · derivatives | Outside § 27b — different rules | NFTs are not "cryptocurrency": old speculation rules and progressive rates. Unsecuritised derivatives can fall into progression. Case by case. | ? |
| 11 | Loss offset | Against 27.5% capital income · no carry-forward | Crypto losses offset shares and dividends in the same year — but an unused loss expires at year-end. | ! |
| 12 | Exchange data · DAC8 | Collection running since 1 January 2026 | First reports reach the authorities in 2027, exchanged automatically across the EU. The self-disclosure window acquires a date. | ! |
| 13 | Filing | E1kv · 30 April paper · 30 June online | Longer with professional representation. Users of only "tax-simple" domestic brokers often have nothing to file — everyone else, everything. | — |
| 14 | Records | Keep 7 years | Per wallet: old-stock proof, moving averages, receipt values. The reconstruction is cheaper before the letter. | — |
Working draft · all 14 lines pending licensed review · sign-off dates will appear per lineStart with lines 03–04 →
Information requestThe Finanzamt asks for clarificationDeadline on the letter. Before answering, check whether a Selbstanzeige belongs first — the order decides.Deadline on letter
Audit announcementAn external audit has been announcedSelf-disclosure still works until the audit begins — but from now with a 5–30% surcharge. Hours matter.Surcharge running
Criminal proceedingsFiscal-penal proceedings openedThe Selbstanzeige door is shut. From here: defence, with counsel, before any statement.Closed
No letter yetThe free windowTimely, complete, paid: the Selbstanzeige grants full penal immunity — with no surcharge at all.Voluntary
Published pages · Austria
Read in the order trouble arrives.
Rule
Old holdings and the tax-neutral swap
The regime's two gifts — and why both expire without wallet discipline.
→ RuleStaking: cost basis zero
Nothing at receipt, full proceeds as gain at sale. Austria's most misexplained rule.
→ DecisionThe Selbstanzeige
Full penal immunity — if timely, complete and paid. The four blocking grounds and the 5–30% surcharge.
→ AnalysisDAC8: the 2027 data wave
Collection has run since January 2026. What gets reported in 2027 — and what that does to the disclosure window.
→