Germany to Tax Crypto Gains Like Stocks in 2028
Germany plans a 26.375% capital-gains tax on crypto from 2028, ending the one-year tax-free hold. Only coins bought before 2027 are grandfathered.
The Exemption Goes
Germany is about to lose the tax edge that made it a favourable base for long-term crypto holders. The finance ministry plans to treat gains on Bitcoin, Ether and other exchange tokens as ordinary capital income: a 26.375% levy including the solidarity surcharge, due no matter how long the coins were held. That scraps the twelve-month holding rule that has let German investors sell tax-free. The special status separating crypto from equities and funds disappears.
A Line Drawn by Purchase Date
The tax turns on when you bought. Coins acquired through 31 December 2026 stay under the old regime: hold for a year, then sell tax-free. Anything bought from 2027 falls under the new rules. If the law takes effect on 1 January 2027 as planned, the first charge lands on 1 January 2028. From 2028, platforms are meant to withhold the tax automatically, the way brokers already do on stock gains; the lead time gives exchanges room to build the plumbing.
Grandfathering Sets the Trade
For traders the signal sits in that cut-off. Grandfathering rewards anyone who buys and holds before 2027: those stacks keep the tax-free exit. Enter in 2027 or later and the taxman takes a cut from the first euro of profit. Expect demand to pull forward, as German holders gain a concrete reason to accumulate before the end of 2026 while the exemption still stands. A domestic German tax does little to global price; it does plenty to the after-tax return on German books. Active traders barely notice: short-term gains are already fully taxable today. The hit lands on the long-term holder, whose free exit after twelve months disappears.
The Fiscal Math
The ministry expects €160 million in extra revenue in 2028, rising to as much as €350 million by 2031. Against the federal budget that is small change. The real weight is structural: Germany is aligning crypto with equities and closing a carve-out that made it attractive for patient capital. This is still a plan, not law: the draft has to clear cabinet and parliament, and the detail can shift before it does. It is also unclear how staking income, DeFi positions and wallet-to-wallet transfers will sit inside an automatic withholding regime. Until the wording is fixed, the only actionable move is the calendar one: buy before or after the 2026/27 turn.