Anyone who holds Bitcoin exclusively with a foreign provider, where no Austrian withholding takes place, cannot automatically rely on this standardised Austrian report.
Sign up with Cointracker now and use the crypto tax toolMost useful across several banks and crypto exchanges
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:
- use several crypto exchanges,
- hold equities and Bitcoin at the same time,
- make losses with one provider and gains with another,
want to carry out a voluntary loss offset through their tax return.
Not every transaction shows up in the tax report automatically
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.
What happens to Bitcoin from a foreign crypto exchange?
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.
See the crypto tax tool comparisonWhy investors should check the Austrian tax report
A standardised document does not automatically mean that all the historical data in it is correct.
Cases that warrant particularly close scrutiny involve:
- Bitcoin from external wallets,
- earlier crypto-to-crypto exchanges,
- several purchases at different prices,
- legacy holdings from the period before March 2021,
- transfers between different platforms,
- acquisition costs disclosed after the fact.
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.
When investors may need the Bitcoin tax report
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.
Conclusion on Bitcoin tax reporting in Austria
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.)
