DAC8 Crypto Reporting in 2026: What Is Reported and When?

DAC8 is already in effect. Since 1 January 2026, crypto-asset service providers that serve EU-resident customers have been collecting tax residence details and recording each customer's activity. They report yearly totals to a tax authority in 2027, and tax authorities then exchange the data across borders. Being reported is not the same as owing tax: DAC8 decides what is passed on, and national law decides what is taxed.

Key takeaways

• DAC8 (Directive (EU) 2023/2226) has applied since 1 January 2026, so 2026 is the first reporting year.
• Providers collect data during 2026 and report in 2027; tax authorities exchange the information by 30 September 2027.
• Reports contain identity, tax residence and yearly totals per crypto-asset, not a line-by-line history and not wallet balances.
• A reportable transaction is not automatically a taxable event; tax treatment stays with national law.
• DAC8 puts duties on providers. Peer-to-peer and fully decentralised activity falls largely outside what providers report, but it is not outside national tax rules.

What is DAC8?

DAC8 is the eighth amendment to the EU's Directive on Administrative Cooperation, extending automatic exchange of tax information to crypto-assets. It requires reporting crypto-asset service providers to identify EU-resident users, collect their tax residence and tax identification number, and report their transactions to a tax authority. That authority then passes the data on to the user's country of residence. The framework follows the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and links its definitions to MiCA.

Is DAC8 already in force?

Yes, since 1 January 2026. Member States had to transpose the Directive by 31 December 2025, and its reporting rules apply from the start of 2026. The European Commission describes DAC8 as covering crypto-asset transactions from that date, so activity in 2026 is the first that gets reported. Treating DAC8 as a future rule is out of date: the data is already being gathered.

What happens during 2026?

Providers collect and verify data; nothing is filed yet. During the year a reporting provider has to do three things:

1. Obtain a self-certification from each customer stating where they are tax resident and their tax identification number (TIN), and check that it is plausible against what the provider already knows.
2. Keep records of each customer's reportable transactions and transfers, aggregated for each crypto-asset.
3. Prepare to report to its national tax authority after the year ends.

For customers, this shows up as a tax-details form at sign-up or a prompt to refresh what the provider holds. If the self-certification stays missing after reminders and a waiting period, the due-diligence rules can oblige a provider to block that customer's reportable transactions, so a quick reply helps.

When is the first DAC8 reporting deadline?

2026 is the collection year and 2027 is the reporting and exchange year. The Commission's guidance puts the filing window for 2026 data inside 2027, with each Member State setting its exact date, and tax authorities exchanging information with one another within nine months of the end of the reporting year.

Because the exact filing date and any extra requirements are national, your own tax authority's guidance is the place to confirm deadlines.

Who is a Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Provider?

A Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Provider (RCASP) is a business that carries out crypto-asset exchange transactions for customers. In the Directive's terms, that includes providers acting as counterparty or intermediary and operators of trading platforms. Two groups are covered:

• MiCA-authorised CASPs. Providers authorised under MiCA that offer these services are reporting providers by default. Our guide to checking whether a crypto platform is MiCA-authorised explains how to confirm that status.
• Other crypto-asset operators. A provider that serves EU-resident users without a MiCA authorisation, including one based outside the EU, has to register in one Member State and report from there.

Some users sit outside reporting, such as certain governments, central banks and listed companies. For an individual, the practical question is simpler: whichever provider carries out your exchanges or transfers is the one that reports on you. Note that DAC8 reporting status is separate from MiCA status; see the comparison further down, and our overview of what changed under MiCA after July 2026.

Which crypto-assets are covered?

Most crypto-assets are covered, including stablecoins, with defined exceptions. A crypto-asset is reportable unless it is a central bank digital currency, a specified electronic money product, or an asset the provider has adequately determined cannot be used for payment or investment.

• Stablecoins. The Commission lists stablecoins, e-money tokens included, among the covered assets, and a steady price does not hide a purchase or swap from the report. Our comparison of stablecoin payments with euro payments looks at how those flows work.
• Assets issued in a decentralised way. Reportability turns on what the asset can do, not on who issued it. A token created by a protocol with no identifiable issuer can still be a reportable crypto-asset when a provider carries out an exchange or transfer involving it.
• Certain NFTs. The Commission also lists certain non-fungible tokens as in scope. Providers assess each token: an NFT that can be used for payment or investment is reportable, while one that works only as an access pass or ticket may fall outside.
• Excluded assets. Central bank digital currencies and traditional e-money fall outside because other reporting rules already cover them.

Which transactions can be reportable?

Reportable transactions are purchases and sales, exchanges between crypto-assets, transfers, and certain large retail payments. Each is totalled per crypto-asset over the year.

• Crypto-to-fiat. Buying a crypto-asset with euros, or selling it for euros, is reported as an acquisition or disposal against fiat.
• Crypto-to-crypto. A swap has no fiat leg, so it is reported at fair market value as a disposal of one asset and an acquisition of another.
• Transfers. Movements in and out of a customer's account are reported as totals; transfers to addresses the provider cannot link to another provider are shown separately.
• Retail payments. Spending crypto on goods or services is reportable when the value exceeds USD 50,000.

A reportable transaction is not automatically a taxable event. That sentence is the most important in this article. DAC8 answers "what must a provider tell the tax authority?" It does not answer "what do I owe?" A swap may be a taxable disposal in one country and neutral or exempt in another. A transfer between two wallets you own may be a non-event. Whether tax is due depends on your country, the type of transaction and your circumstances.

DAC8 reporting vs crypto tax

Reporting is information flowing between authorities; tax is a charge set by national law. They run on separate tracks and can disagree in practice.

What data can be collected?

Identity, tax residence and yearly totals per crypto-asset. For an individual, the provider gathers name, address, country of residence, TIN and date of birth, plus place of birth where it is available. For companies, the report covers the entity and the people who control it. On the transaction side, the Commission describes the information as broken down for each reportable crypto-asset, with aggregate amounts paid or received for acquisitions and disposals and aggregate fair market values for transfers.

Three points set expectations. The totals are aggregated, so a report does not list each trade with its date and price. It carries no wallet balances, and the items Irish Revenue publishes for providers contain no balance field either. National rules can go further: Estonia asks providers for extra information so that gains and losses can be calculated, and some Member States require the provider to send each reported user a copy of the filing. For the item-by-item list, see what data a crypto platform reports under DAC8.

Does DAC8 apply to non-custodial wallets?

DAC8 obliges providers, not the people who hold a wallet they control. A person who uses a self-hosted wallet is not a reporting provider, and a transfer between two wallets you control, with no provider involved, is not reported by anyone under DAC8.

That is not the same as invisible. A withdrawal from a provider to your own wallet appears in the provider's report as a transfer total, and a deposit from a self-hosted wallet into a provider shows up as a transfer in. Public blockchains remain public, and national tax law applies to your activity regardless of who reports it. Whether a given wallet product is itself a provider depends on whether it carries out exchange transactions for customers, which is a question about the service, not the label.

Does DAC8 apply to DeFi?

It depends on whether an identifiable intermediary carries out the exchange. DAC8 places its duties on providers. Peer-to-peer trades and protocols that operate in a fully decentralised way, with no business controlling them, have no obvious provider to report. MiCA takes a similar line, leaving fully decentralised services without an intermediary outside its scope.

The facts decide edge cases. A front-end, aggregator or wallet that exchanges assets for customers, controls the service or holds sufficient influence over it may count as a provider; a bare smart contract used directly generally does not. The law is not settled for every structure, and tax authorities may look at who actually provides the service. What does not change is the user's position: DeFi activity remains subject to national tax rules whether or not any provider reports it.

DAC8 vs CARF

DAC8 transposes the OECD's CARF into EU law. CARF is the global standard for automatic exchange of crypto-asset information, and the European Commission notes that 76 members of the OECD's Global Forum had announced, as of March 2026, their intention to exchange crypto-asset data under it. For a user, that means a provider in one country can report on you to a tax authority that then shares the data with the country where you live, and that the same type of data is being collected well beyond the EU.

DAC8 ties its definitions to MiCA, covers e-money tokens as crypto-assets, and sets out how non-EU operators register and report inside the EU. For the data categories and the 2027 exchange schedule, the Commission's DAC8 page and the Directive itself are the primary references.

DAC8 vs MiCA

MiCA regulates the market; DAC8 makes it transparent for tax. The two share vocabulary, so a provider can fall under both, but they answer different questions.

A MiCA authorisation does not make a provider's tax reporting optional, and DAC8 reporting does not say anything about whether a provider is authorised.

What should EU crypto users do?

Keep good records, answer onboarding questions accurately, and check your own country's rules. A neutral checklist:

1. Update your tax details. Give each provider your correct country of tax residence and TIN, and tell them when they change.
2. Keep your own records. Save statements for purchases, sales, swaps and transfers, with dates, assets and values, so you can check what a provider reports.
3. Note whose wallet is whose. Keep a simple record of which external addresses belong to you.
4. Reconcile providers. If you use several, each reports only its own services; compare their year-end statements with your records.
5. Learn your national rules. Whether a swap, a spend or a transfer is taxable depends on your country, so check with your tax authority or a tax adviser.
6. Prefer a provider you have verified. Confirm its authorisation and the exact legal entity before depositing.

How Quppy fits in

Quppy's legal notice names the companies behind its regulated services. Payhound Limited, a Malta-registered crypto-asset service provider authorised under MiCA, handles crypto exchange and wallet-related services, 2PAYAPP LIMITED processes euro SEPA transactions, and QUPPY EUROPE OÜ supplies the software and is not a bank. Because MiCA-authorised providers sit inside DAC8's definition, expect tax-residence questions when you onboard, and check the terms, the provider notices and the Help Center for how that information is collected and what statements follow.

You can see who provides each regulated service on Quppy's MiCA and providers page. For euros and crypto in one app with the providers disclosed up front, take a look at Quppy Personal.