Coinbase Reportedly Warns Some UK Users It’s Handing Their Details to the Taxman

Oct 2, 2020 at 14:15 UTCUpdated Oct 2, 2020 at 14:42 UTC

(Images_of_Money’s/Wikimedia Commons)

Coinbase has told some of its users it is passing their details onto the U.K. tax authority, HMRC.

As first reported by Decrypt, the popular crypto exchange emailed some users saying that as part of a deal with HMRC, it must provide records on customers who had received more than £5,000 ($6,500) during the 2019-2020 tax year.
The email appears to have been only sent to users the exchange believed crossed that threshold; it encourages them to reach out to their accountants or tax advisers.
The notice comes over a year after HMRC first requested crypto exchanges send over information on U.K. residents who had moved money on their platforms.
Per the email, Coinbase said HMRC had originally requested records on its customers between 2017 and 2019, but a compromise limited the data to customers using digital assets to receive greater amounts.
In the U.K., cryptocurrencies count as an investment asset and are subject to capital gains tax, which for high-income earners can come to approximately 20% on gains.