HM Treasury has introduced declarations for cryptocurrency assets for future tax returns, it announced in a paper on Wednesday.
The new report, published for the national budget in Spring of this year, notes that the upcoming changes will enter force for 2024-2025. Taxpayers must declare their holdings in self-assessment forms.
People must report their holdings in the fiscal year 2025-2026 for the previous year. It is expected that the Treasury will profit up to roughly £10 million per year from the declarations.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) backed the changes, with its deputy president, Gary Ashford, stating: “Highlighting the need to declare crypto asset transactions in the tax return will help raise awareness of people’s obligations in this area.”
Despite this, he added that the government needed to implement measures to tackle “widespread ignorance” of cryptocurrency taxing and reporting.
The news comes after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) backed Parliament’s House of Commons to discuss the latter’s Financial Services and Markets Bill. The new legislation would provide the FCA expanded powers to regulate cryptocurrency firms and investors across the industry.
The UK has also launched numerous plans to regulate and outline cryptocurrency frameworks for future digital asset inclusion in the British economy. The UK treasury recently published a white paper detailing its plans for cryptocurrency regulations shortly before HSBC bought Silicon Valley Bank’s UK division for just £1, allowing Britain’s tech sector to prevent a collapse of funding for key tech firms.
