European Union: DAC8 and Automatic Reporting

10.1 "My exchange asked for my tax number"

In early 2026, Mint's friend in the EU received a request from their exchange: provide your tax identification number and confirm your country of tax residence, or your account may be restricted.

"Why does an exchange need my tax number?" the friend asked.

"Because from 2026, EU exchanges collect your transaction data for the tax authority," said Hash. "It's called DAC8. In practice, it means the tax authority in your country will receive a summary of your crypto activity on every authorised platform you use, even ones based in other EU countries."

10.2 What DAC8 is

DAC8 is the eighth amendment to the EU's Directive on Administrative Cooperation, the framework EU countries use to share tax information. It extends automatic information exchange, which already applied to bank accounts and other financial assets, to crypto-assets.

DAC8 implements the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), a standard developed by the OECD that many countries outside the EU have also committed to adopt.

10.3 Timeline

Date	What happens
By 31 December 2025	Member states had to write DAC8 into national law
From 1 January 2026	Reporting crypto-asset service providers collect data on EU-resident users' transactions
During 2027	Providers file their first reports, covering 2026, with their national tax authority; deadlines vary by country
By 30 September 2027	Tax authorities exchange the data with other member states

"So my 2026 trades are already being recorded for a report next year," said Mint.

"Yes," said Hash. "Which is why accurate records for 2026 matter so much."

10.4 Who reports

Reporting providers are generally:

1. Crypto-asset service providers authorised under MiCA (Chapter 8).
2. Certain other providers that serve EU residents, including some based outside the EU.

Because only authorised CASPs can legally serve EU customers after 1 July 2026, almost every legal exchange used by EU residents is a reporting provider.

10.5 What gets reported

Information	Examples
Your identity	Name, address, date of birth
Tax residence and tax identification number	Country where you're tax resident
Exchanges between crypto and fiat	Totals of purchases and sales, per crypto-asset
Exchanges between crypto-assets	Totals of crypto-to-crypto swaps
Transfers	Transfers to and from your account, including transfers to wallet addresses not known to be held by another provider

Reports typically contain aggregated totals per crypto-asset over the year, rather than every individual transaction, but they're detailed enough for tax authorities to compare against your tax return.

10.6 What DAC8 doesn't do

DAC8 doesn't	Explanation
Change how much tax you owe	Tax rules are still set nationally (Chapter 9)
Calculate your gains	Reports show activity, not your cost basis or gains
Directly report activity in self-custody	But transfers from exchanges to self-hosted wallets are reported, so authorities know the assets moved
Cover purely decentralised platforms without a reporting provider	Your own reporting obligations still apply

10.7 What this means for you

1. Provide accurate tax information to your exchanges. Inconsistent or missing information can lead to account restrictions.
2. Declare your crypto activity correctly on your tax return. Authorities will increasingly compare returns with DAC8 data.
3. Keep complete records (Chapter 3), especially cost basis, which DAC8 reports don't include.
4. Remember that transfers to self-custody are visible. Moving assets to your own wallet doesn't hide them, and later disposals remain your responsibility to report.
5. If you have unreported past activity, consider speaking to a tax professional about correcting it, since data now flows automatically.

10.8 Beyond the EU

CARF is being adopted by many jurisdictions outside the EU too, with information exchange planned to begin in stages from 2027 onwards. Over time, crypto activity on regulated platforms in many countries will be shared automatically with the tax authority where the user is resident, much like bank account information is today.

"So the idea that crypto is hidden from tax authorities is basically over," said Node.

"For activity on regulated platforms, increasingly so," said Hash. "Honest reporting is now the simplest strategy."

10.9 Try it yourself

Check whether each exchange you use has asked for your tax residence and tax identification number. Find your national tax authority's guidance on DAC8 or crypto-asset reporting, including the first reporting deadline in your country. Then compare your own records for 2026 so far with what your exchanges would report.

Key takeaways from this chapter

1. DAC8 extends EU automatic tax information exchange to crypto-assets, implementing the OECD's CARF standard.
2. Providers collect data from 1 January 2026; first reports cover 2026 and are filed in 2027, with exchange between countries by 30 September 2027.
3. Reporting providers are mainly MiCA-authorised CASPs and certain providers serving EU residents.
4. Reports include identity, tax residence and number, crypto-fiat and crypto-crypto exchanges, and transfers, including to self-hosted wallets.
5. DAC8 doesn't change tax rules or report your gains; cost basis records remain your responsibility.
6. Provide accurate tax information, declare correctly, keep records, and correct past issues.
7. CARF is spreading beyond the EU, making regulated crypto activity increasingly visible to tax authorities worldwide.