HM Revenue & Customs has recovered more than £8mn through disclosure settlements with cryptocurrency investors, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, as a compliance campaign launched in November 2023 continues to draw in previously undeclared gains.
The data show 502 investors settled unpaid tax liabilities with HMRC over the past two years. In the 2024-25 tax year, 280 individuals paid a combined £3.5mn, while in 2025-26 the number of settlements fell to 222 but their total value rose to around £4.8mn, taking the average settlement to roughly £16,600. The figures were disclosed following a request submitted by Identomat, a financial services compliance provider, whose chief operating officer, Zurab Kotaria, said the settlements formed part of a wider enforcement effort with consequences for both investors and the platforms handling their transactions.
Under current UK rules, disposals of cryptoassets above the £3,000 annual capital gains tax exemption — reduced from £12,300 in 2022-23 — are liable to CGT at 18 per cent for basic-rate taxpayers and 24 per cent for higher- and additional-rate payers. Where HMRC treats crypto activity as trading rather than investment, gains instead fall within income tax and National Insurance contributions, requiring disclosure through self-assessment.
HMRC's own account of the campaign points to a considerably wider compliance effort than the settlement total alone suggests. The tax authority said the figures do not capture the full scope of its work, which also includes enquiries, data analysis and "nudge" letters. A separate FOI request submitted by BrokerChooser, an online broker comparison site, found HMRC issued 101,024 such letters between 2020 and 2025, with volumes rising from 8,329 in 2021-22 to 27,712 in 2023-24 before reaching 64,982 in 2024-25 — a 680 per cent increase over three to four years.
Dawn Register, a partner in the tax dispute resolution team at accountancy firm BDO, said the settlement numbers represented only a small fraction of likely non-compliance, noting that many taxpayers still treat crypto investing as akin to gambling and remain unaware that gains are taxable. She added that some individuals may already have corrected their position through other channels, such as tax returns or existing HMRC enquiries, meaning the disclosed figures may not present a complete picture.
Enforcement is being reinforced by new international data-sharing arrangements. The UK is among more than 40 countries implementing the OECD's Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, under which cryptoasset service providers must collect and report customer and transaction data to tax authorities. From January 2026, UK providers have been required to gather users' identification, tax residence details and transaction summaries, information HMRC has said it will exchange with international counterparts while receiving equivalent data on UK residents.
The reporting requirement lands against a backdrop of expanding crypto ownership, with Financial Conduct Authority analysis putting UK adult ownership at around 8 per cent, or approximately 4.5mn people, and average portfolio holdings at £2,250. The shift to automatic cross-border data exchange under Carf narrows the window in which undisclosed crypto gains can go undetected, independent of any voluntary settlement process.
