Cryptocurrency and Tax Guide for NZ

Note: The information discussed in this guide are current as of the date of publication. For the latest information about tax and crypto, consult a tax accountant and/or visit the official IRD website.

Wondering about taxes on your crypto profits? We’ve put together the latest updates on tax and cryptocurrencies to make things easy for you when it comes to tax time.

First things first

The TLDR summary is this: every dollar of profit you make from crypto is taxed just like any other income.

The current tax year in New Zealand is between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 inclusive. All income that you received starting 1 April 2024 through 31 March 2025 is subject to income tax. This includes income from all of your crypto transactions, such as:

Selling crypto at a profit.
Swapping one crypto with another crypto at a profit.
Sending someone a crypto gift, where the value of that crypto gift has appreciated from the point at which you’ve bought it.
Receiving income in crypto from a business, staking or crypto mining.
Spending crypto using a crypto credit card.

After tallying up your income from crypto, the exact tax you owe will depend on your income tax bracket.

Many regional tax authorities (including the IRD in New Zealand) have made it clear that income from crypto is subject to income tax. What’s more, this is often fully trackable by tax authorities.

The IRD has significant powers to ask for any transaction data and has disclosed it is getting data from crypto exchanges. Exchanges like Easy Crypto are legally obliged to comply with these requests when they come through.

Crypto assets are exempt from GST (Goods and Services Tax). This means that when you buy $100 of cryptocurrency you don’t need to pay $15 (15%) GST. However normal GST treatment applies for goods and services that are traded with cryptocurrency being used for payment.

Illustration of cryptocurrency tax in NZ by Easy Crypto.

Brand new legislation

From 1 April 2026, New Zealand will implement the OECD’s new Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) which is a global standard designed to bring transparency to digital asset transactions.

Under these rules, crypto-asset service providers in New Zealand will need to collect and report information on users and their transactions – including crypto-to-fiat exchanges, crypto-to-crypto swaps and transfers between wallets. The first reports will be due by 30 June 2027, covering the 2026–27 financial year.

The goal is simple: make it harder to hide crypto income and easier for tax authorities to ensure fair reporting across borders. While this means more compliance for exchanges and brokers, it also signals a maturing industry where transparency builds long-term trust and legitimacy.

Income tax on cryptocurrency – the nitty gritty

Just like any other activity that you do to make a profit (running a business, trading stocks, setting up a lemonade stand) you need to pay income tax on the profits you make.

Or, if you make a loss, this can be offset against the tax you have paid in other areas (say the PAYE you pay on your salary).

Q. What if I haven’t sold my bitcoin?

A. If you haven’t sold your cryptocurrency, then no tax applies. However if you’ve moved your cryptocurrency from one coin to another, eg BTC to ETH, then that move is taxable. You will need to work out what the NZD value of the BTC was when you bought it, and then work out what the NZD value of the ETH was when you made the trade. The difference between those two NZD amounts is taxable.

Q. What if I made a loss on my trades?

A. That’s unfortunate! But on the bright side, it means you can offset that loss against the income you made from other sources. You do this at the end of the tax year when you file your tax return.

Q. How do I actually do my taxes on cryptocurrency?

A. After the end of the tax year (31 March) you need to file an IR 3. In this you include all of the income you have made in the year from all sources (including wages, dividends, cryptocurrencies, etc) and all of the tax you paid. The form then helps you calculate if you have paid too much tax or not enough.

Photo of 5 physical bitcoins on a table to illustrate the topic of reasons for buying bitcoin in Australia in 2021.

Getting help with your tax

In general, there are some common principles that apply wherever you’re trading…

> If you’ve made gains from your crypto ventures, you’re obligated to pay taxes on those profits.
> On the flip side, if you’ve incurred losses, you may be able to offset them against taxes paid in other areas, such as PAYE on your salary.

Most reputable exchanges will keep a record of all your transactions for you and you should be able to easily download them into a spreadsheet to accurately calculate your profits and losses for tax purposes. Different tax authorities accept different methods for calculating what your crypto profit might be, and this can get quite complex when you have bought and sold multiple times.

As with most things, a stitch in time can often save nine and getting professional help with your crypto tax upfront can often help you avoid landing in hot water with your tax authority.

Services like Koinly make it easy for you to calculate the taxes you owe from all the crypto transactions you’ve done through Easy Crypto or any other exchange. Koinly calculates all your gains, income, and expenses. At tax time, simply download the Koinly tax report for your country, and you’re good to file!

You may also wish to talk to an accountant to help you sort out the tax you owe, or are owed on your cryptocurrency activities.