Tax treatment of crypto currencies: capital gains tax and data sharing on the way

Trading in crypto currencies has been booming for several years. Yet Belgian tax law does not provide specific rules on how capital gains on crypto assets (hereinafter also referred to as “crypto profits”) should be treated. As a result, many individuals do not know whether their crypto gains are taxable.

To address this tax gray area, the Office for Advance Tax Rulings (OATR) has developed a ruling practice that provides some tools to determine the correct tax classification of capital gains.

Today, there are three possible tax treatments of crypto profits.

First, profits may be of a professional nature and must be declared as professional income. In that case, the progressive personal income tax rates apply – plus municipal tax – and social security contributions may also be due. Indications of professional character may include a daily trade in crypto, a professional set-up – for example, the OATR quickly considers mining to be professional activity – or the use of automated bots.

Secondly, profits can be taxed as miscellaneous income at a flat 33% personal income tax rate, plus additional municipal taxes. This is the case if there is “speculative behavior” involving the trading of crypto currencies. According to the OATR’s ruling practice, this can be inferred from, among other things, a higher frequency of transactions, the investment of “too much” movable capital (see below), taking out a loan to invest money, faster cash-outs, and so on.

Third, capital gains may be tax exempt if the taxpayer invests in crypto currencies like a “good family man” who manages his private assets in a normal way. For this purpose, the OATR believes that a taxpayer should invest only a portion of his movable assets – usually a limit of no more than 20-25% is set – and combines this with, among other things, a low number of transactions, a long investment horizon and safe (offline) custody of the assets. If there is such management, the taxpayer should not declare realized capital gains in the personal income tax return.

In all cases, one should be aware that crypto currencies can also generate moveable income (interest), for example through staking, lending or yield farming, on which, in principle, 30% withholding tax is due.

Meanwhile, much ink has been spilled about the new 10% capital gains tax that will likely take effect in our country on Jan. 1, 2026 (for a detailed discussion, see Capital gains tax on financial assets starting in 2026: impact on investors and entrepreneurs). This capital gains tax will also be levied on crypto assets in the broadest sense, including stablecoins, e-money tokens and non-fungible tokens that can be used for payment or investment purposes.

It is important to note that the introduction of capital gains tax in itself does not change the three possible types of crypto profits mentioned above. Thus, the legislature missed an opportunity to unambiguously regulate the tax treatment of crypto profits, so the existing ruling practice remains highly relevant. This means that even after Jan. 1, 2026, you will have to assess how your crypto profits should be taxed. In practice, the only thing disappearing is the possibility of a full exemption from tax as a “good family man” (third category), who will henceforth be subject to 10% tax by default.

For those who maintain such “normal management,” historical capital gains (read: accrued up to and including Dec. 31, 2025) will be out of bounds. It is therefore important to determine what the capital gains already realized on December 31, 2025 are and collect written evidence of this. In this way, you will avoid later discussions with the tax authorities. As of January 1, 2026, the good family man will also be able to enjoy an annual foot exemption of EUR 10,000 in capital gains realized (as of then), the ceiling of which may further increase under certain conditions. In addition, any capital losses will be deductible (see our earlier article).

Today, the tax administration still has limited possibilities to know whether someone owns crypto coins. The taxpayer who holds crypto through or at a foreign online exchange (which legally qualifies as a foreign bank account), must therefore spontaneously declare this to the CPC (“Central Point of Contact” which falls under the National Bank of Belgium) and in his personal income tax return.

The reporting taxpayer who thinks he can escape a tax audit by not providing his information to the CPC himself, will soon be deceived. Indeed, the bill “containing various provisions” dated Oct. 14, 2025 seeks to extend the obligation to report so-called “crypto asset accounts” to the CPC to “crypto asset service providers […] either under Belgian law or under foreign law operating in Belgium through a branch.” These providers will also have to report the semi-annual balances of the relevant accounts. To implement this, the providers could prepare until December 1, 2026, after which the balances as of December 31, 2025 and June 30, 2026 still need to be reported immediately.

Today, access to information from the CPC is permitted for the tax authorities only in the case of indications of tax evasion. Under the bill, however, access to that information would be accelerated by a link between the current FPS Finance data warehouse and the CPC. Put succinctly, data miners from the FPS Finance will search that data warehouse for certain “risk factors” in tax files to subsequently verify them. By also giving them access to the CPC’s data, a file will already be able to reach the tax auditor if, “based on predetermined risk factors, there is a risk of a breach […].” Admittedly, the data from the data mining would not be disclosed to the tax auditor, and the selection of the file may not in itself be used as evidence of fraud.

The exchange of information about crypto assets will additionally be strengthened by the European DAC 8 Directive. This stipulates that as of January 1, 2026, every crypto service provider within the European Union will be required to collect and communicate data on its users to the tax authorities of the Member State to which it belongs. The national tax authorities will in turn exchange this information among themselves so that it ends up in the file of the individual taxpayer. In other words, the FPS Finance will directly receive information on crypto asset accounts held. This practice is reminiscent of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard, where information on foreign bank accounts, among other things, is exchanged at a global level via the so-called CRS sheets. However, the Belgian law transposing the DAC 8 directive is still pending, which is due by Dec. 31, 2025.

In recent years, more and more compatriots have become owners of crypto currencies. Due to a lack of clear legislation, tax rules and reporting requirements on this topic remain a rather unknown aspect for many. In this article, you could read that as of 2026, capital gains on crypto profits will certainly be taxed, the tax authority will have more control tools in their hands and you, as a taxpayer, should be aware of the tax obligations and rights, both in terms of reporting and in terms of identifying and declaring capital gains.

Want to know what tax profile you have and what the implications are? The experts at Baker Tilly will be happy to help you with a personal profile outline.