Key Takeaways
- ✓ DAC8 (active Jan 2026) requires EU crypto exchanges to report user transactions to tax authorities automatically
- ✓ Reported data includes personal details, trades, wallet transfers, and year-end crypto balances
- ✓ First reports to tax authorities are scheduled for 2027 covering the 2026 reporting year
- ✓ DeFi and self-hosted wallets are not directly reported, but exchange withdrawals to those wallets are — your documentation must explain what happened next
- ✓ If DAC8 data and your tax return don't match, inquiries follow — complete crypto accounting is your best protection
DAC8 has been active since January 2026. Crypto exchanges now automatically report to tax authorities. This means: the data in your crypto tax tool will be compared with the data the tax authority receives from exchanges. If they don't match, there may be inquiries.
01 What is DAC8?
DAC8 (Directive on Administrative Cooperation 8) is an EU directive that requires crypto service providers to automatically report transaction data to financial authorities.
The data is not only reported to the local tax authority but exchanged EU-wide between member states. If you live in Austria and trade on an exchange based in Lithuania, the Austrian tax authority receives this data.
Source: EU Official Journal, Directive (EU) 2023/2226
DAC8 in Brief:
EU-wide Directive
Affects all EU countries and crypto service providers operating in the EU.
Automatic Exchange
Data is automatically shared between tax authorities of different EU countries.
Regulated Service Providers
Affects CEX like Binance, Kraken, Coinbase – including foreign providers (AT: MPfG clarification Feb. 2026).
Broad Coverage
Purchases, sales, exchanges, and transfers are recorded – regardless of amount.
02 DAC8 Timeline: When Crypto Data Gets Reported
The Timeline:
October 2023
DAC8 is adopted at EU level (Directive 2023/2226). National implementation begins across EU member states.
January 2026 — Reporting Active
Crypto service providers begin collecting data. Every transaction from 01.01.2026 onwards falls into the reporting period.
2027 — First Reports
Crypto service providers transmit the data for the 2026 reporting year to national tax authorities for the first time. The EU-wide automatic exchange between authorities follows.
Since January 2026, data has been collected. The first reports to tax authorities will occur in 2027 for the reporting year 2026. This means: all transactions occurring on regulated exchanges now flow into the first report.
For anyone with incomplete tax filings from past years, the window is open now: Crypto Voluntary Disclosure 2026: What You Need to Know Now.
03 What Crypto Exchanges Must Report to Tax Authorities
Crypto service providers report two data layers: identity data of users, and transaction data starting from the 2026 reporting year.
- Identity – Name, address, date of birth, tax identification number
- Transactions – Purchases, sales, exchanges, and their fiat countervalues
- Wallet Transfers – Deposits and withdrawals between exchange and external wallets
- Holdings – Crypto balances at year-end
The flow has two stages: crypto service providers first transmit the data to the respective national tax authority. Subsequently, EU tax authorities exchange the data among themselves. If you live in Austria and trade on an exchange based in Lithuania, your data lands at the Austrian tax authority via this route. The first reports are scheduled for 2027.
Source: EU Commission, DAC8 Taxation and Customs
What is NOT Reported (But is Visible)
DeFi protocols and self-hosted wallets do not fall directly under DAC8. But: on-chain transactions are publicly visible. If you transfer from an exchange to your own wallet, the exchange sees this withdrawal and reports it.
This creates a gap: the exchange reports the transfer. What happens afterward with the coins – DeFi swaps, liquidity pools, bridge transfers – does not appear in the exchange's report. So the tax authority sees a withdrawal but no explanation of what happened next. Your own crypto accounting must close this gap.
04 The Logic Chain: Why Crypto Accounting is Critical
To understand why DAC8 makes crypto accounting so relevant, consider the chronological dependency:
The Sequence:
Crypto Accounting
The transaction history in the crypto tax tool – on-chain activities, exchange trades, DeFi, staking. Everything collected in one place.
Tax Calculation
The crypto tax tool calculates gains and losses based on this data. The tax advisor creates the return based on it.
Compliance
The tax authority compares the tax return with the DAC8 reporting data from exchanges. If everything matches, there's no problem.
If the crypto accounting is incomplete or incorrect, any tax calculation based on it will be wrong. And everything toward compliance will show contradictions – precisely the contradictions that become visible through the DAC8 comparison.
05 The Comparison: What Specifically Happens
The tax authority receives structured data from exchanges. This is compared with the tax return. Specifically, this looks like:
For example, an exchange reports: Account X executed sales worth 50,000 euros in 2026. But the tax return from Account X shows only 10,000 euros in crypto proceeds. This discrepancy is noticeable and can trigger an inquiry.
This doesn't mean every deviation is problematic. Many transactions are tax-neutral (e.g., transfers between your own wallets). But: anyone without understandable documentation can't prove that if questioned.
Possible Scenarios:
Scenario 1: Data Matches
Your tax return matches the reported data. No problem.
Scenario 2: Discrepancies
The tax authority sees more than you reported. Inquiries may follow. You need evidence.
Scenario 3: No Return Filed
The tax authority sees activity but no return. This can be problematic.
06 Preparation: What to Do Now
DAC8 doesn't change what you should do – it makes the consequences more visible. The foundation remains: complete, understandable crypto accounting.
Step 1: Check Completeness
Are all exchanges and wallets recorded in the crypto tax tool? In practice, older exchange accounts, DeFi wallets, or smaller platforms that closed in the meantime are often missing. Every gap can lead to discrepancies in the DAC8 comparison.
Step 2: Identify Tool Errors
Negative balances, missing assignments, or incorrect classifications are typical errors in crypto tax tools. They directly affect tax calculation. The more transactions, wallets, and years involved, the more likely such errors are.
Step 3: Secure Evidence
CSV exports from exchanges, transaction histories, and wallet connections should be backed up regularly. Exchanges change export formats or cease operations. Anyone who doesn't secure the data in time may not be able to obtain it later.
TX-Partner Crypto Accounting
TX-Partner specializes in exactly this preparation: making the transaction history in the crypto tax tool complete, correct, and understandable – audit-ready for tax advisors and tax authorities.
- Record all wallets and exchanges – including DeFi, bridges, multi-chain
- Close gaps in transaction history – missing transfers, unknown deposits
- Correct errors in crypto tax tools – negative balances, incorrect assignments
- Clean crypto accounting – reliable for DAC8 comparison and tax authority inquiries
07 DeFi, NFTs, and Self-Custody: What DAC8 Doesn't Cover
DAC8 primarily covers regulated crypto service providers. But a growing portion of crypto activities occurs outside these platforms, and that's where the biggest documentation gaps arise.
DeFi Transactions
Swaps on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap or Jupiter, lending on Aave, liquidity pools on Curve – none of this is reported by a regulated exchange. Nevertheless, these transactions are tax-relevant.
The core problem: an exchange reports the withdrawal to your wallet. What happens afterward – token swaps, yield farming, bridge transfers between chains – doesn't appear in the DAC8 report. The tax authority sees a withdrawal without visible return. Your own crypto accounting must close this gap.
DeFi Documentation Gaps – Examples:
Uniswap/Jupiter Swaps
Token swap occurs on-chain. The exchange only sees the outflow, not the swap.
Liquidity Pools
LP tokens, impermanent loss, and rewards must be documented manually.
Cross-Chain Bridges
Assets change chains – the connection must be established in documentation.
Wrapped Tokens
WETH, wBTC, and other wrapped assets create additional transactions that must be correctly assigned.
NFTs
NFT transactions also don't fall under the DAC8 reporting obligation of regulated exchanges. Purchases and sales on marketplaces like OpenSea, Magic Eden, or Blur are tax-relevant – but don't appear in exchange reports. Anyone holding NFTs must maintain documentation independently: purchase price, sale proceeds, minting costs, and any royalties.
Self-Custody Wallets
Hardware wallets and self-hosted hot wallets (e.g. MetaMask, Rabby, Phantom) are not subject to reporting obligations. But: every interaction between a regulated exchange and your own wallet is documented on the exchange's side. The challenge lies in making the complete transaction path understandable – from the exchange via the wallet to potential return.
08 Germany and Austria: Differences in the Context of DAC8
DAC8 is an EU-wide directive, but the tax treatment of crypto assets differs between countries. The reported data is identical – the tax consequences are not.
Country Comparison:
Germany
- • Responsible: BZSt (Federal Central Tax Office)
- • Holding period: 1 year (private sale transaction)
- • After 1 year: tax-free (§ 23 EStG)
- • Exemption limit: 1,000 € per year (since 2024)
Austria
- • Responsible: BMF (Federal Ministry of Finance)
- • No holding period since March 2022
- • Tax rate: 27.5% capital gains tax on crypto profits
- • Loss carryforward: possible within same income category
Austria — MPfG clarification (February 2026)
On 13 February 2026, the Austrian BMF clarified that the Austrian Crypto Reporting Act (MPfG, the national DAC8 implementation) also applies to foreign providers. So Binance, Kraken, and Coinbase report transaction data of Austrian users as well. Anyone who believed foreign exchanges were exempt is mistaken. First reporting deadline: 31 July 2027 for the 2026 reporting year.
DAC8 data is the same; tax rules are not. Documentation has to fit the respective tax system, otherwise exactly the discrepancies surface that the DAC8 reconciliation makes visible. If it's unclear whether your crypto accounting will hold up to that comparison, Robert or Johannes review it personally in the free Data Check and tell you straight where things are solid and where rework makes sense.
Source: BMF Austria, EStG Germany. As of: March 2026. Not tax advice – please clarify individual cases with your tax advisor.
Sources & References
Co-Founder & Documentation Specialist
Robert Thorn is Co-Founder of TX-Partner. Brings experience from over 500 documented crypto portfolios, from simple Bitcoin trading to six-figure DeFi setups across multiple chains and years. Closes the gap between raw data and clean documentation for tax and banks.
