Taxation of cryptocurrencies held as private assets - the latest developments in income tax law

The income taxation of cryptocurrency has not yet been clearly clarified, despite or even because of the currently only available draft circular of the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the lack of supreme court rulings.

Especially with the multitude of different cryptocurrencies, the corresponding taxation consequences can be difficult to draw in the acquisition, self-production, trading and eventual sale.

In the literature and in the draft of the BMF circular, however, a certain tendency can be discerned as to where the journey of income taxation is to go.