UK Crypto Tax Deadlines 2025/26: Every Date You Need to Know

Every date and figure below is quoted from HMRC's published guidance on gov.uk and cited to it. The sources are listed in full at the end.

The 2025/26 Tax Year

HMRC's Self Assessment deadlines page states that the tax year in question "started on 6 April 2025 and ended on 5 April 2026" (Self Assessment tax returns: deadlines).

Any crypto disposal you made between those two dates falls into the 2025/26 tax year. HMRC's list of what counts as a disposal covers "selling them", "exchanging them for a different type of cryptoasset", "using them to pay for goods or services", and "giving them to another person", other than gifts to a spouse or civil partner or to charity (Check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets).

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Key Dates for Crypto Investors

5 April 2026: end of the 2025/26 tax year

All crypto disposals up to and including this date fall within the 2025/26 tax year. Anything from 6 April 2026 onwards is part of 2026/27.

5 October 2026: deadline to tell HMRC you need to file

HMRC states: "You must tell HMRC by 5 October if you need to complete a tax return for the previous year" (Self Assessment tax returns: deadlines). You register at gov.uk/register-for-self-assessment.

31 October 2026: paper return deadline

"HMRC must receive your paper tax return by 11:59pm on 31 October 2026" (Self Assessment tax returns: deadlines).

31 January 2027: online return and payment deadline

Payment on Account Explained

Payments on account are advance payments towards the following year's bill. HMRC states that you must make them unless "the amount of tax you owed last year was less than £1,000", or you paid more than 80% of the tax you owed at source. "Each payment is half of the tax you owed last year", and "These payments are due by midnight on 31 January and 31 July" (Understand your Self Assessment tax bill: payments on account).

For example: if your 2025/26 tax bill from crypto gains is £4,000, you pay £4,000 by 31 January 2027, plus a payment on account of £2,000 towards 2026/27. A further £2,000 is due by 31 July 2027.

If your crypto activity in 2026/27 turns out to be lower, you can apply to reduce your payments on account, but the request has to reach HMRC before the payment date, not afterwards.

Penalties for Missing the Filing Deadline

HMRC's late filing penalties are set out on its penalties page (Self Assessment tax returns: penalties), which gives:

Stage	Penalty
Return filed late	"an initial £100 penalty"
After 3 months	"additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900"
After 6 months	"a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater"
After 12 months	"another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater"

Late payment is charged separately. The same page gives penalties of "5% of the tax unpaid at: 30 days, 6 months, 12 months", and adds: "You'll also be charged interest on the amount owed."

What Counts as a Reportable Event in 2025/26

There are two separate rules and they are often confused.

You must report and pay Capital Gains Tax when "your total gain for the tax year (6 April to 5 April) is above the Capital Gains Tax tax-free allowance" (Check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets). For 2025 to 2026 that allowance is "£3,000" for individuals (Capital Gains Tax rates and annual tax-free allowances).

Separately, HMRC states: "If you're registered for Self Assessment, you need to report your gains in your tax return if the total amount you sold the assets for was more than: £50,000 - for the tax year 2023 to 2024 onwards" (Work out if you need to pay Capital Gains Tax). That rule applies inside a return you are already filing.

For a full explanation of what triggers CGT, see our UK crypto tax guide. For Bitcoin specifically, the Bitcoin CGT and Self Assessment guide walks through a worked example.

Record-Keeping Requirements

How long you must keep records depends on whether you are self-employed.

If you send a Self Assessment return and you are not self-employed, HMRC states: "You should keep your records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year the tax return is for." If you filed late, it is "at least 15 months after you sent the tax return" (Keeping your pay and tax records: how long to keep your records). The 2025/26 tax year ended on 5 April 2026, so 22 months later is February 2028.

If you are self-employed or in a partnership, the requirement is longer: "You must keep your records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year" (Self-employed records: how long to keep your records). The 2025/26 submission deadline is 31 January 2027, so that runs to 31 January 2032.

For cryptoassets specifically, HMRC is explicit that "You must keep your own records of your transactions", and lists the type of token, the date of disposal, the number of tokens disposed of, the number remaining, the pound sterling value, bank statements, and the pooled costs before and after the disposal (Check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets).

Do not rely on exchanges to store your history indefinitely. Download transaction records regularly and export the history before you close an account.

How Long HMRC Can Look Back

Two separate windows apply, and neither is the same as the record-keeping period.

The enquiry window. Where a return is delivered on or before the filing date, HMRC may open an enquiry "up to 12 months from the date the return is delivered". Where the return is delivered late, the window runs "up to and including the quarter day next following the first anniversary of the day on which the return was delivered", the quarter days being 31 January, 30 April, 31 July and 31 October (SALF403).

Assessment time limits. Once the enquiry window has closed, HMRC can still assess tax through a discovery assessment. The Compliance Handbook gives the ordinary limit as "4 years from the end of the relevant tax period", extended to "6 years" where the loss of tax was brought about carelessly, a "12 year time limit" where income tax or capital gains tax has been lost and the lost tax involves an offshore matter, and a "20 year time limit" where the loss of tax was deliberate (CH51300).

The same 4, 6 and 20 year structure appears in HMRC's Cryptoasset Disclosure Service. It states you pay what you owe for "4 years" if you took care, "a maximum of 6 years" if you did not take enough care, and "a maximum of 20 years" if you deliberately did not pay enough (Tell HMRC about unpaid tax on cryptoassets).

Keeping records only for the minimum period does not shorten these windows.

Claiming Capital Losses

Losses reduce gains in the same year and can be carried forward. HMRC states: "You do not have to report losses straight away - you can claim up to 4 years after the end of the tax year", and that where losses "reduce your gain to the tax-free allowance, you can carry forward the remaining losses to a future tax year" (Capital Gains Tax: losses).

The 2025/26 tax year ended on 5 April 2026, so a loss made in that year must be claimed by 5 April 2030.

You claim by including the loss on your tax return. HMRC confirms that "Self Assessment returns now include a cryptoasset section", available from the 2024 to 2025 tax year onwards (Check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets).

The 60-Day CGT Rule: Does It Apply to Crypto?

No. The 60-day rule is a property rule. HMRC states that you must "report and pay any Capital Gains Tax on most sales of UK property within 60 days" (Tax when you sell property).

For cryptoassets, HMRC gives two reporting routes: "completing a Self Assessment tax return at the end of the tax year" or "using the Capital Gains Tax real time service" (Check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets). There is no 60-day crypto reporting requirement.

This guide is for general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Tax rules change and individual circumstances vary. Always consult a qualified tax adviser before making decisions about your tax position. Nothing on this website creates a professional relationship.

Sources

Last reviewed: 27 July 2026.

Quoted HMRC material contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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