German Finance Ministry Drafts 25% Tax on Crypto Gains From 2027

JUST IN: Germany's Finance Ministry drafts a 25% tax on crypto gains starting January 2027, applying only to assets bought after that date, with earlier holdings keeping the existing 12-month exemption.

Germany wants a quarter of your crypto profits.

A draft bill from Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil would put a flat 25 percent tax on crypto gains from January 2027, plus the solidarity surcharge, because this is Germany and there's always a surcharge. It doesn't matter how long you held. Buy, sell, pay a quarter.

Here's the part that actually matters. It only covers assets bought after January first, 2027. Anything you already own keeps today's rules, and today's rules are famously generous. Hold for twelve months and you pay nothing at all. That's why Germany has been the hodler's favourite tax address in Europe. From 2028, banks and platforms would just withhold the tax automatically, no forms, no escape.

So watch what German buyers do in December next year. Everything purchased before New Year's Eve is grandfathered forever, and everything after belongs, in part, to Berlin.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.