Bitcoin tax reporting in Austria: what investors can request from crypto exchanges in 2026 Austrian crypto investors can fall back on a new instrument for the first time in 2026, one meant to
Austrian crypto investors can fall back on a new instrument for the first time in 2026, one meant to make the tax return and the offsetting of losses considerably easier. For income accruing from the 2025 calendar year onwards, certain parties obliged to withhold capital gains tax must produce a standardised tax report on request. Alongside banks, that expressly includes providers of crypto-asset services.
For investors, the effect is straightforward. Anyone who holds or sells Bitcoin through an Austrian crypto service provider can have a structured overview of the previous calendar year’s tax-relevant transactions issued to them.
The tax report is intended to cover the data relevant to the individual investor on the transactions and on the capital assets managed by the provider over one calendar year. Its precise structure is prescribed by the Austrian tax reporting regulation.
For cryptocurrencies, it may contain information on tax-relevant income and losses in particular. The official template distinguishes, among other things, between crypto income that can be taken into account in the automatic offsetting of losses and income that was left out of it.
The report can therefore help investors trace:
and which capital gains tax has already been accounted for or remitted.
One caveat matters, though. The tax report generally covers only income that is subject to capital gains tax withholding in the first place. Income without such withholding does not have to be shown under the tax reporting regulation.
The entitlement applies to persons with unlimited tax liability, vis-à-vis parties obliged to withhold capital gains tax. The Austrian finance ministry expressly names domestic banks and providers of crypto-asset services as the typical cases.
That does not mean, however, that every international crypto exchange has to issue Austrian investors an Austrian tax report under this regulation.
Anyone who holds Bitcoin exclusively with a foreign provider, where no Austrian withholding takes place, cannot automatically rely on this standardised Austrian report.
The practical benefit of the tax report shows up above all in the offsetting of losses.
Suppose an investor earns dividend income at an Austrian bank while selling Bitcoin at a loss through an Austrian crypto service provider. The automatic loss offset between the bank and the crypto platform does not happen across providers.
The tax report supplies the information needed to bring such investment income together in the income tax assessment. The finance ministry points out expressly that the comprehensive report replaces the mandatory automatic loss offset certificate used previously.
That makes the document particularly interesting for investors who:
want to carry out a voluntary loss offset through their tax return.
A tax report should not be confused with a complete blockchain or transaction history. The tax reporting regulation calls for the tax-relevant data held by the party obliged to withhold. Income that is not subject to capital gains tax withholding is expressly excluded.
A mere transfer of Bitcoin between two of an investor’s own wallets, for example, is generally not a taxable disposal. A tax-neutral crypto-to-crypto exchange is likewise treated differently from a sale for euros. Section 27b of the Austrian Income Tax Act states expressly that exchanging one cryptocurrency for another does not constitute a realisation.
The tax report therefore does not replace an investor’s own documentation of wallet transfers, acquisition costs or historical transactions.
This is precisely where a gap can open up. If an investor moves Bitcoin from a foreign exchange to an Austrian provider, the new platform may not automatically hold all the historical tax data. The acquisition date and the acquisition costs are among the details that can be missing.
Separate rules govern how the tax data for cryptocurrencies is determined. The Austrian cryptocurrency regulation covers the valuation and allocation of holdings across wallets and cryptocurrency addresses, among other points.
The tax report can only build on the data that the withholding agent actually uses for tax treatment. With Bitcoin transferred in from outside in particular, investors should check whether the acquisition costs on file match their own transaction history.
A standardised document does not automatically mean that all the historical data in it is correct.
Cases that warrant particularly close scrutiny involve:
The cryptocurrency regulation contains special rules for holdings of the same cryptocurrency in the same wallet, for example. Details of this kind can affect how a gain is calculated later on.
The document can be especially useful when an income tax return is being filed or when losses are to be offset across providers.
Even though correct Austrian capital gains tax withholding can in principle have a final taxation effect, situations remain in which investors want or need to include their investment income in an assessment. The finance ministry expressly distinguishes between finally taxed investment income and income that has to be reported in an income tax return.
The report creates a uniform data basis for that purpose, yet it does not replace an examination of the individual tax position.
In 2026, Austrian Bitcoin investors can draw on the new standardised tax report for a full preceding calendar year for the first time. The obligation applies to income from 2025 onwards and concerns Austrian banks and crypto-asset service providers required to withhold capital gains tax in particular.
The report can be helpful above all with loss offsetting, where several providers are involved, and when checking capital gains tax that has already been withheld.
It does not replace a complete crypto tax history, though. Wallet transfers, foreign exchanges, historical acquisition costs and transactions that carry no withholding can fall outside the report. Investors should therefore keep the tax report and their own transaction history together and reconcile the two.
(As of August 14, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)
