Guide to Crypto Taxes in Canada for 2026

Is cryptocurrency taxed in Canada?

• Yes, there are crypto taxes in Canada. The Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, treats crypto-assets as property for income tax purposes.

• Buying crypto usually does not trigger tax on its own.

• Tax usually comes into play when you receive crypto as income or dispose of it at a profit or loss.

How much is cryptocurrency taxed in Canada?

This table explains the capital gains vs business income split for Canadian crypto taxes.

Tip: In Canada, taxable capital gains are generally 50% of net capital gains. Capital gains rules can change, so if you’re publishing for a specific year, confirm there were no changes for that filing year.

Example: You buy SOL for CAD $2,000 and later sell it for CAD $2,800. Your gain is CAD $800. If you’re on a capital account, CAD $400 (50% of CAD $800) is what gets included in income.

Can the CRA track crypto?

Yes. The CRA can review crypto exchange records, wallet history, and whatever records you kept (or didn’t keep).

The practical point is not that the CRA is watching your every move. It’s that your data leaves footprints. If your reporting doesn’t match the footprint, questions can arise, and you may find yourself under scrutiny.

Which crypto transactions are not taxable in Canada?

A lot of crypto activity in Canada is taxable, but not all of it. The line is usually disposal vs non-disposal. Common non-taxable situations include:

• Buying crypto with CAD

• Holding crypto without disposing of it

• Moving crypto between wallets you own, when you can prove both sides are yours, and it’s really just a transfer

Warning: Transfers can look like sales when your records are messy. Keep wallet addresses and transaction IDs so you can prove you were the one moving your own crypto.

How different crypto transactions are taxed in Canada

Most crypto tax outcomes are either:

• A taxable disposal (capital gains or business income), or

• Income when received (then a future disposal later if you sell those units)

This table summarizes how common crypto actions are typically treated under CRA guidance.

How selling cryptocurrency is taxed in Canada

Selling crypto is a taxable disposal. On the capital account, it’s a capital gain or loss. If your activity looks business-like, it may be business income or a business loss.

Example: You sell ETH for CAD $5,000 and pay CAD $25 in fees. Your proceeds are CAD $4,975, then you compare that to the adjusted cost base (ACB) for the ETH you sold.

Note: In Canada, adjusted cost base (ACB) is your running cost in CAD for a crypto asset, adjusted for things like fees and averaged across identical units. CRA generally expects capital gains or losses to be calculated as proceeds in CAD minus ACB, minus eligible selling costs.

How trading one cryptocurrency for another is taxed

A crypto-to-crypto swap is still a taxable disposal. The “proceeds” are measured in CAD using fair market value at the time of the trade.

Example: You swap BTC for ETH, and the ETH you receive is worth CAD $2,200 at that moment. Treat CAD $2,200 as proceeds for the BTC you disposed of, and as the starting ACB for the ETH you received.

How spending crypto on goods or services is taxed

Spending crypto is generally treated as a disposition. You’re basically trading an asset for something else, and CRA expects you to measure that in CAD.

Example: You buy a CAD $300 item with crypto. Treat CAD $300 as your proceeds, then subtract ACB and any fees.

How crypto income (staking, mining, rewards) is taxed

Some crypto comes to you as a form of income. One clear CRA example is custodial crypto staking on a centralized crypto exchange. Rewards credited to your wallet on the platform will generally be treated as income for tax purposes.

Example: A platform credits you with rewards worth CAD $40. Many filers report CAD $40 as income for that year, and that CAD $40 becomes the starting ACB for those units.

If you later dispose of those units, you may have an additional gain or loss based on proceeds in CAD minus your ACB, and the result can be capital gains or business income depending on your facts.

How NFTs are taxed in Canada

Selling or trading an NFT is generally a taxable disposal. Whether it’s capital gains or business income depends on your activity.

Example: You sell an NFT for CAD $900 and pay CAD $45 in marketplace fees. Proceeds are CAD $855, then subtract your cost base and fees to get your result.

How gifting cryptocurrency is taxed

A crypto gift is generally treated as a disposition for the giver. Even if no money changes hands, you still measure proceeds in CAD.

Example: You gift BTC worth CAD $1,000. Compare CAD $1,000 to your ACB for the BTC you gifted.

How donating cryptocurrency is taxed

A crypto donation can be a disposition. If the donation is to a registered charity, you may also have a donation tax credit, but you need documentation.

Example: You donate ETH worth CAD $500 to a registered charity. Keep the donation receipt, the transaction record, and the CAD valuation you used for that date.

How lost or stolen crypto is taxed

CRA doesn’t give a single simple rule that covers every “lost keys” or “hacked crypto wallet” story. This is one of those areas where the facts and paper trail decide what’s reasonable.

Example: If you lose access to a wallet permanently, save a timeline and evidence, screenshots, addresses, transaction IDs, and any incident reports. If you ever claim a loss, that file is the whole case.

Business income vs capital gains from crypto

CRA looks at your overall pattern, not one trade. Frequency, holding period, time spent, knowledge, and leverage all matter.

This table lists common CRA factors used to assess business income vs capital gains for crypto activity.

This table explains the Canadian capital gains formula for crypto disposals.

Pro tip
Just as gains happen in crypto, so do losses. See our expert guide to crypto loss tax in Canada to learn about how to handle crypto losses and use them strategically.

Selling cryptocurrency for CAD or other fiat

This is a taxable disposal. Your proceeds are the amount you received in CAD. Then you subtract ACB and fees.

Example: You sell ETH for CAD $2,000, and the exchange charges CAD $20 in trading fees, so your net proceeds are CAD $1,980.

Now you compare that CAD $1,980 to the adjusted cost base (ACB) of the ETH you sold. Let’s say your ACB for the ETH you sold is CAD $1,500. Your capital gain is:

• Proceeds (CAD): $1,980

• Minus ACB (CAD): $1,500

• Capital gain (CAD): $480

If this is a capital gain, only 50% is taxable in Canada. So your taxable capital gain is CAD $240 (50% of $480), and that CAD $240 gets added to your income for the year.

Trading one cryptocurrency for another

This is a taxable disposal. You anchor the calculation using CAD fair market value at the time of the swap.

Example: You trade token A for token B, and token B is worth CAD $1,500 at that moment. Treat CAD $1,500 as proceeds for token A, and as the starting ACB for token B.

Spending crypto on goods or services

This is a taxable disposal. The CAD value of what you bought is your proceeds.

Example: You spend crypto on a CAD $300 purchase. Proceeds are CAD $300, then subtract ACB and fees.

Selling or trading NFTs

This is a taxable disposal. Proceeds in CAD minus cost base minus fees gives the result.

Example: You sell an NFT for CAD $1,200 and pay CAD $30 in fees. Proceeds are CAD $1,170, then subtract your cost base.

Gifting crypto

This is usually a taxable disposal for the giver, measured in CAD.

Example: You gift ETH worth CAD $800. If your ACB was CAD $500, your capital gain is CAD $300, and the taxable capital gain is CAD $150.

Donating crypto

This can be a taxable disposal. If you donate to a registered charity, you may also claim a donation credit.

Tip: For donations, save three things: receipt, transaction proof, and the CAD value used that day.

You need clean gain calculations because CRA expects CAD totals, and CRA also expects you to be able to explain ACB if asked.

Adjusted cost base (ACB)

Adjusted cost base (ACB) is your running cost in CAD for each crypto asset. For identical property, Canada uses the average cost method, so each purchase updates your average ACB per unit.

Example: You buy 1 ETH for CAD $2,000, then 1 ETH for CAD $3,000. Total cost is CAD $5,000 for 2 ETH, so average ACB is CAD $2,500 per ETH.

Proceeds of disposition

Proceeds are what you receive when you dispose of crypto, measured in CAD. For swaps, CRA expects you to use fair market value.

Example: You swap 0.05 BTC for ETH worth CAD $2,200. Your proceeds for the BTC disposed are CAD $2,200.

Capital gains or losses

Your gain or loss is proceeds minus ACB minus eligible expenses. That’s it.

Example: Proceeds CAD $2,200 minus ACB CAD $1,800 minus fees CAD $20 equals a capital gain of CAD $380.

Transaction fees

Fees change the real outcome. Track them consistently so you don’t overstate gains.

Example: You buy BTC for CAD $1,000 and pay CAD $10 in fees. Your ACB is CAD $1,010, not CAD $1,000.

Example calculation

• Buy 0.2 BTC for CAD $8,000, plus CAD $100 fees, ACB added is CAD $8,100

• Buy 0.3 BTC for CAD $15,000, plus CAD $150 fees, ACB added is CAD $15,150

• Total BTC 0.5, total ACB CAD $23,250, average ACB CAD $46,500 per BTC

• Sell 0.1 BTC for CAD $6,000, plus CAD $50 fees, proceeds CAD $5,950

• ACB for 0.1 BTC is CAD $4,650

• Capital gain CAD $1,300, taxable capital gain CAD $650

CRA wants three things from most crypto filers:

• Your disposals are reported as capital gains or business income

• Values reported in CAD using fair market value

• Records kept long enough to support your return (usually at least six years)

One helpful detail: CRA’s Schedule 3 guidance notes that crypto gains or losses are calculated as proceeds minus ACB, and it points to where totals go on the return.

Capital losses can offset capital gains. If you have more losses than gains, you can generally carry net capital losses back up to three years or forward, subject to CRA rules.

This table explains how capital losses typically work for Canadian crypto investors.

Example: You have a CAD $2,000 capital gain and a CAD $500 capital loss. Net gain is CAD $1,500, and the taxable capital gain is CAD $750.

Warning: The superficial loss rule can deny a loss if you sell at a loss and buy the same or identical property within the timing window. If you’re doing “loss selling,” check this before you assume the loss counts.

Crypto income is crypto you receive that gets taxed as income when you receive it. Capital gains are different. They show up when you dispose of an asset that has changed in value.

Common crypto income examples:

• Staking rewards credited to your account

• Mining rewards (often business income when done at scale)

• Rewards that function like compensation for activity

How to calculate crypto income

Crypto income is measured using fair market value in CAD at the time you receive the crypto.

Example: A platform credits you with rewards worth CAD $25. Many filers report CAD $25 as income, and that CAD value becomes the starting ACB for those units.

Tip: Save the timestamp and the CAD value used. Later, you will want that.

CRA does not publish a single crypto airdrop rule that neatly covers every situation. The honest answer is: it depends on why you received it and what you were doing.

Your safest move is documentation. Record the date you gained control, the CAD value you used, and a short note about why you received the tokens.

CRA hasn’t issued a DeFi playbook. The practical approach is to break DeFi into simple actions, then tax each action based on what it actually is.

• Swaps are usually taxable disposals, which means they can create a capital gain or loss, or business income, depending on your facts.

• Rewards are often treated as income when received, measured at fair market value in CAD at that time.

• If you later dispose of reward tokens, you may have a separate capital gain or loss (or business result) based on proceeds in CAD minus ACB.

Tip: DeFi gets confusing because one “transaction” in an app can be multiple on-chain steps. Track each step with a timestamp and a CAD value.

Corporate crypto is taxed under normal corporate rules. If you’re trading or mining inside a corporation, expect the same “books and records” discipline you’d use for any other revenue line.

If the wallet history and the accounting don’t match, corporate filings get ugly fast.

Canadian crypto businesses can have multiple compliance angles. FINTRAC rules can apply for money services business activity, and securities regulators can apply rules to crypto trading platforms depending on structure.

If you’re operating a business, confirm what registrations and reporting obligations apply before you scale.

If you spend crypto, you usually have a disposal. That means you may have a gain or loss on the crypto you used to pay.

If a business accepts crypto and is registered for GST/HST, CRA expects GST/HST to be calculated using the crypto’s fair market value at the time of the transaction.

The CRA encourages electronic record-keeping and expects you to keep records for at least six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to.

Here’s a record-keeping list that covers most Canadian crypto filings:

• Date and time

• Asset and quantity

• Fair market value in CAD at the time

• Fees and what they relate to

• Wallet addresses and transaction IDs

• A short note on what happened

You want two layers: raw source data and the working files you used to create totals.

Raw records to keep:

• Exchange CSV exports and statements

• Wallet addresses and transaction IDs for on-chain activity

• Trade confirmations and fee history

• Rewards history and timestamps

• Invoices or receipts if crypto relates to business activity

Working records to keep:

• An ACB worksheet per asset

• A dispositions log with proceeds, ACB, fees, and gain or loss

• Notes on weird stuff, migrations, airdrops, lost access, or a scam transaction you’re still untangling

Most Canadians file using NETFILE-certified software. Investors typically report capital gains on Schedule 3, and business income uses the applicable business schedules.

This step-by-step process is the one most people wish they followed from day one.

1. Pull everything into one place: Every exchange. Every wallet. Every app that touched your crypto.

2. Label the lines: Buy, sell, swap, spend, income, transfer, gift, donation. Don’t skip this. It prevents “transfer” lines from getting treated like sales.

3. Convert to CAD: Use a supportable fair market value in CAD for each taxable event and each income event.

4. Build clean totals: At minimum, you want total proceeds, total gains or losses, and total income.

This table shows where common crypto numbers usually land on a Canadian return.

1. File by the right deadline: For most individuals, the CRA filing deadline is usually April 30 each year, and any balance owing is generally due on that date to avoid interest. Self-employed individuals typically have until June 15 to file, but the payment deadline is usually still April 30.

2. Review foreign reporting if it applies: T1135 is about specified foreign property and a CAD $100,000 cost threshold. Whether your crypto is “specified foreign property” can turn on custody details, so treat this as a facts question, not a vibe.

You can’t legally make taxable disposals “not taxable.” But you can often lower your bill legally and avoid accidental over-reporting. Here are some moves that actually help:

• Don’t create disposals you don’t need; holding alone is not a taxable event

• Track fees properly so your gains don’t get inflated

• Use crypto capital losses to offset capital gains, and watch the superficial loss rule

• Spread disposals across tax years when it fits your situation

• Keep documentation tight so you don’t lose ACB support and end up reporting phantom gains

Warning: “Not reporting” isn’t tax planning. It’s the fastest route to interest, penalties, and a bad time.