On Thursday, the UK tax authority for the first time separated profits from crypto transactions from the rest of capital gains tax. In the 2024-2025 tax year, 17,600 people declared taxable profits from cryptocurrency trading amounting to £1.38 billion.
This included a group of 240 individuals, each earning over £1 million, thus accounting for £717 million of this total.
240 taxpayers received £717 million out of the total £1.38 billion fund
The 240 millionaires filing tax returns constitute less than 2% of all those reporting cryptocurrency sales. In comments, over half of the profits and the £13.8 billion in sales proceeds are attributed to them.
The majority of cryptocurrency-using taxpayers—65%—reported profits of less than £25,000. This majority accounted for only 7% of profits and 8% of proceeds.
The average capital gain per person was £78,000, a figure significantly higher when including the millionaire group.
This data is now available because the self-assessment form finally includes a specific box for reporting crypto transactions. Prior to 2024-2025, they were included in the general property and assets category.
Men comprised 87% of declarants and accounted for 93% of the total
71% of all cryptocurrency sale proceeds come from people aged 25 to 44, yet they receive only 45% of the profits. This age group generates the largest transaction volume but converts it into the lowest profit.
Approximately 54% of taxpayers using cryptocurrency as an income source are in the 25-44 age group, compared to 17% of taxpayers using capital gains in general. And 81% of them are under 54.
Those paying tax on crypto tend to be significantly younger than typical capital gains taxpayers.
87% of those reporting crypto profits were men, compared to 56% in the overall population of investors realizing capital gains. They accounted for 93% of all profits.
As reported by Cryptopolitan, over the past year the UK tax authority (HMRC) sent out 81,000 reminder letters to suspected under-payers, 25% more than the roughly 65,000 letters the year before. These letters are not investigations; they provide an opportunity to disclose information before HMRC takes any action.
Under the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, whose implementation in the UK began in January 2026, the UK tax authority (HMRC) expects to start receiving customer data from crypto service providers in 2027.
From May 31, 2027, the system is set to automatically receive information on UK residents from exchanges in 52 jurisdictions, with a further 15 in 2028.
"It's like shooting fish in a barrel," said Neela Chauhan, a partner at UHY Hacker Young, describing what pursuing non-compliant investors will look like when this data arrives.
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