If you receive a Coinbase, Binance or Kraken reward or referral bonus, record its GBP value when you gain an unconditional right to it. A later sale, swap, gift or purchase can produce a separate Capital Gains Tax calculation, so the same reward may require records on two dates and in different tax years.
Why exchange rewards can create two tax events
For UK residents, an exchange reward may be income when received in return for an action, promotion, service, or repeated referral activity. A later disposal falls within CGT rules. Receiving a reward and disposing of it are separate tax events, even where the exchange shows one history.
Income tax comes before the sale
The first question is whether the bonus has an income character. Declaring only an eventual sale can omit the GBP value obtained on receipt, which often explains the later CGT calculation.
CGT can arise after receipt
A disposal includes a cash sale, crypto-to-crypto swap, gift, or spending. If a £40 reward is sold for £65, its initial gain before allowable costs is £25; a sale for £25 may create a £15 loss.
Value each reward when you gain control
Use the date you gain control or an unconditional right rather than automatically using the withdrawal or sale date. Control means you can genuinely access, transfer, sell, or benefit from the reward under the campaign terms.
Pending, locked and illiquid tokens
A pending reward may not be taxable at notification if it can still be clawed back. Check whether a referral must deposit, trade, pass checks, or retain funds before entitlement becomes unconditional.
Crypto, cash and fee credits differ
Crypto and stablecoins normally need a GBP market value at the relevant time. GBP cash has face value, while fee credits and vouchers need their terms, redemption limits, and expiry reviewed.
| Reward received | Useful valuation evidence | Possible later tax event |
|---|
| BTC, ETH or other cryptoassets | Timestamped GBP exchange price | Sale, swap, gift or spending |
| USDC or USDT | Token quantity and GBP rate | Sale, swap or spending |
| GBP cash bonus | Cash amount and payment date | Usually no crypto CGT event |
| Fee credit or voucher | Terms, redemption limits and expiry | Depends on its legal and practical use |
Receipt-date test: identify the campaign condition, confirm when it was met, check whether the exchange could still reverse the reward, and save a GBP price at that timestamp. If control was delayed, record why.
Where a token is pending, locked or thinly traded, use a documented sequence rather than selecting the first price shown in an app. First, identify the campaign condition that created entitlement; secondly, establish the timestamp at which the reward could no longer be reversed; thirdly, confirm whether the holder could transfer, sell or otherwise benefit from it; and finally, capture a reasonable GBP valuation at that time. If there is no direct GBP market, a contemporaneous token-to-USD price and GBP/USD rate can provide a supportable cross-rate.
For a genuinely illiquid token, retain order-book data, quoted prices and evidence of transfer restrictions in your tax records, and note why the chosen GBP valuation of the reward is reasonable.
Report referral income and gains separately
Referral programmes can affect both people. The referrer and new user should assess their own receipt, keep income and CGT calculations separate, and review campaign terms rather than relying on exchange labels.
A worked income and CGT example
Maya receives 0.001 BTC as a referral payment on 12 March, worth £45 when freely usable. If income treatment applies, £45 is her income figure. She swaps it on 20 July for ETH worth £70 and pays a £1 fee: proceeds are roughly £69, producing a £24 gain before matching rules.
Same-day, 30-day and section 104
HMRC’s share-matching rules apply to tokens of the same type. Match same-day acquisitions first, then acquisitions within 30 days; remaining holdings generally enter a Section 104 pool, a running average-cost pool.
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You might be interested
A current UK crypto tax book can help when an exchange export does not explain Section 104 pooling or the difference between income and a disposal. Check that any book covers the relevant tax year before relying on its figures.
- Explains UK tax-year dates from 6 April to 5 April
- Helps separate reward income from later Capital Gains Tax calculations
- Provides a paper reference for checking exchange exports and campaign records
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For UK cryptocurrency tax purposes, the referrer and the new customer should not assume that one person’s tax result determines the other’s. A crypto referral bonus paid to the referrer for introducing a customer can be exchange reward income if it is received in return for promotional activity or a qualifying referral. The new customer may separately receive a sign-up, learn-and-earn or trading reward, and should assess that receipt on its own terms.
For example, Bitcoin referral payments worth £30 to the referrer and £10 of USDC to the referred customer are two separate receipts, with separate GBP values and entitlement dates. The exchange’s label, such as “gift”, “bonus” or “promotion”, is relevant evidence but does not by itself settle the tax treatment.
Avoid the reporting errors HMRC may question
The common error is using the withdrawal, unlock, or sale value rather than the value when entitlement became unconditional. This can misstate both income and the CGT starting cost.
Records to retain for self assessment
Keep exchange statements, transaction IDs, campaign terms, entitlement dates, lock-up conditions, timestamped GBP prices, disposal records, fees, and same-day, 30-day, and Section 104 calculations.
Numerous referrals do not automatically make you a trader. However, organised promotion, paid content, business branding, regular customer acquisition, or work for an exchange can indicate trading or employment-related income.
This general approach may not fit payments for work, sponsored content, a business activity, mining, lending, staking, or professional promotions. Seek individual UK tax advice where entitlement is uncertain, tokens are illiquid or locked, you are not UK tax resident, or you did not actually receive the claimed reward.
For Self Assessment, separate cryptocurrency income tax figures from Capital Gains Tax on crypto calculations before completing the relevant tax return. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. In the usual case, a person who needs to file for the first time registers by 5 October following the end of the tax year, and an online return and any balancing payment are due by 31 January after that; payment-on-account rules can also apply. HMRC crypto reporting depends on the facts and on the figures for the year, so keep records for at least five years after the relevant 31 January filing deadline.
This includes exchange exports, campaign emails, wallet addresses, GBP values, fees and calculations for crypto disposal rules, including crypto-to-crypto swaps and any Section 104 pooling.
FAQs
Do I pay tax on a crypto referral bonus?
It may be income on receipt and CGT on disposal.
Is a Coinbase sign-up reward taxable in the UK?
Review its unconditional receipt date and save its GBP value.
Is a stablecoin reward tax-free?
No. It may be income and later create a gain.
Do I pay CGT when swapping a reward token?
Yes, swapping can be a CGT disposal under matching rules.
Can I use the value when I withdrew the reward?
Only if withdrawal gave you unconditional control for the first time.
Do small exchange bonuses need reporting?
Record and review them alongside your other income and gains.
Does the £3,000 CGT allowance cover reward income?
No. The annual exempt amount applies to qualifying capital gains.
When should I speak to a crypto tax adviser?
Seek advice for work, referrals, locks, missing values, or matching issues.
Keep two records before you file
Create one line for receipt and another for disposal. Before filing, reconcile every exchange bonus to the tax year ending 5 April, test whether entitlement was unconditional, and apply matching rules to every later disposal.
The essentials:- A reward can have an income tax point when you gain control of it.
- A later sale, swap, gift, or purchase can create a separate CGT calculation.
- The GBP value at receipt will often form the starting cost for the later calculation.
- Campaign terms, timestamps, and price evidence are as valuable as the exchange CSV.
- Complex referrals, work-related rewards, and locked tokens deserve individual advice.
Learn more
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