2026 Will Taiwan Tax Cryptocurrency Trading? EY: Treated as Capital Gains Under Income Tax Law

As virtual assets like Bitcoin are increasingly incorporated into investment portfolios by the public, whether cryptocurrency trading income is taxed has become a focus of regulatory and tax policy discussions. Ernst & Young (EY) stated that, according to the latest interpretation from the Ministry of Finance, gains from buying and selling cryptocurrencies can now be recognized as “property transaction income” under the current Income Tax Act and are subject to taxation.

The National Taxation Bureau has identified unreported cryptocurrency transactions amounting to NT$129 million.

According to a written report submitted by the Ministry of Finance to the Legislative Yuan, the National Taxation Bureau has included cryptocurrency transactions as a key focus of audits. As of mid-December 2024, tax authorities have uncovered approximately NT$129 million in underreported income, with additional taxes and penalties totaling about NT$34.03 million.

In a report by the Commercial Times, EY Tax Services Division COO Lin Chih-hsiang stated that cryptocurrencies are virtual digital assets based on blockchain technology. Although they lack physical form and are not issued by central banks, the economic benefits generated from trading them should still be recognized under current tax regulations. For profit-making businesses and high-net-worth individuals, failure to properly understand reporting timing or rules could result in back taxes or penalties.

EY: Cryptocurrency trading in Taiwan is now within the scope of taxation.

Ernst & Young (EY) pointed out that, according to the Ministry of Finance’s letter No. 11304672340, profits from trading cryptocurrencies can be taxed as property transaction income under the Income Tax Act. EY further analyzed that Taiwan has not yet established a dedicated cryptocurrency tax system; existing regulations are mainly supplemented by interpretive notices. However, under the current system, related trading gains are substantively included in the scope of taxation, and tax authorities are continuously enhancing their ability to gather and verify data on virtual assets, including cross-referencing exchange data and fund flows.

(Taiwan’s cryptocurrency trading taxation method announced! Non-securities digital currencies included in comprehensive income tax, experts: Remember to keep original cost documents)

According to previous reports by Chain News, the Ministry of Finance has been considering regulations for taxing cryptocurrency income. For individuals or profit-making enterprises trading virtual currencies with securities-like characteristics, the gains are classified as “securities trading gains and losses.” For “non-securities” virtual currencies, the transaction price minus costs is included in the individual’s comprehensive income tax, while profit-making enterprises include the gains in their taxable income and are taxed accordingly. Key issues include what constitutes non-occasional trading and the criteria for determining whether a virtual currency has securities characteristics, which warrant further attention.

This article, “Will Cryptocurrency Trading in Taiwan Be Taxed in 2026? EY: Recognized as Property Transaction Income under the Income Tax Act,” first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.