HMRC has announced that from 1st January 2026, individuals with cryptocurrency must provide personal information to the platforms they buy it from, as these marketplaces collect user and transaction data and report it to HMRC.
This is expected to affect millions in the UK, with recent figures from the Financial Conduct Authority suggesting that as many as 12% of adults now own cryptocurrency.
The news comes as part of a wider crackdown from HMRC, which recently made the likes of Airbnb, Vinted and online digital platforms responsible for recording the income generated by those selling their services – coined the ‘side hustle tax’.
As of 1st January 2026, individuals buying and selling cryptocurrency will need to provide their:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Home address
- Country of residence
- For UK residents, their National Insurance number or Unique Taxpayer Reference
- For non-UK residents, their tax identification number (TIN) and the country where it was issued
Meanwhile, businesses buying and selling cryptocurrency must share the following with the platforms they use:
- Legal business name
- Main business address
- For UK companies, their company registration number
- For non-UK companies, their tax identification number and the country where it was issued
Information relating to each transaction will be collected, too, including:
- The value of the transaction
- Type of cryptoasset
- Type of transaction
- Number of units
Platforms that fail to ensure this face penalties of up to £300 per user for inaccurate, incomplete or unverified reports.
Seb Maley, CEO of tax insurance provider, Qdos, said, “HMRC’s casting its net far and wide as it looks to crack down on suspected tax avoidance and non-compliance among cryptocurrency holders in the UK. By collecting the personal information of those buying and selling crypto – along with the values being exchanged – HMRC will know how much tax should be paid on these assets.
“In simple terms, if the income a taxpayer declares on their self-assessment tax return doesn’t match up with the amount reported by these platforms, HMRC has the information it needs to launch a tax investigation.These rules are another sign of ways HMRC is working with tax authorities globally to align on how to police compliance – particularly in fast-growing, digital industries, such as crypto and the gig economy.
“The key takeaway here is that the tax office will have even more data at its fingertips. Those buying and selling crypto need to be confident in their compliance.”
