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    Education only. Not financial, tax or legal advice. We never ask for wallet keys or seed phrases.Canadian rules dated October 2026
    DeFiCalculator.caMITEY network · Canadian DeFi maths
    Crypto tax in Canada · sources checked October 30, 2026

    Canadian crypto tax: ACB, swaps, staking and superficial losses

    Crypto tax in Canada comes down to three questions: what counts as a disposition, what your cost base is, and whether your profits are capital gains or business income. CRA has answered some of this clearly and left much of DeFi unaddressed. Here's what's settled, what isn't, and tools to keep your numbers straight.

    Mitey the yeti seated on a rock reading a ledger book, with a tax receipt with a maple leaf
    Mitey: Good records turn a messy year into arithmetic. Keep them as you go.

    Tax tools

    Tax tool

    ACB tracker

    Average-cost ACB, gains and superficial losses from your transactions.

    Tax tool

    Superficial loss

    The 30-days-before-and-after rule, worked out.

    Tax tool

    Staking income

    Rewards as income at receipt, then a gain or loss on sale.

    Tax tool

    Capital vs business

    CRA's factors, and what the classification does to the tax.

    What's settled

    CRA's crypto pages say selling, trading or exchanging one crypto-asset for another, gifting and using crypto to buy goods or services are dispositions. Each can produce a gain or loss measured in Canadian dollars. Gains are either capital gains or business income, decided case by case. Half of a capital gain is taxable; that one-half inclusion rate is in force after the proposed increase was cancelled on March 21, 2025.

    For identical units bought at different times, the cost base is the average cost, recalculated after each purchase. A loss can be denied as a superficial loss if you or an affiliated person buy the same property within 30 days before or after the sale and still hold it 30 days after. Records must be kept for at least six years.

    Status of common questions (as of 2026-10-30)
    QuestionStatusWhere to look
    Is a crypto-to-crypto swap a disposition?Yes (CRA)ACB tracker
    How is cost base calculated?Average cost for identical property (CRA)ACB tracker
    Capital or business?Case by case, listed factors (CRA)Explainer
    Staking on a centralized platformIncome when credited (CRA)Staking income
    Self-custodied, DeFi or liquid stakingNot addressed by CRAStaking income
    Lending, liquidity pools, wrapping, bridgingNot addressed by CRAKeep records; get advice
    Superficial lossGeneral rule applies to capital property (CRA, ITA s.54)Superficial loss
    Platform reporting to CRA (CARF)Proposed for 2027; Bill C-31 not yet passedRegulation

    What's not settled, and how to handle it

    None of CRA's current crypto pages (modified October to December 2025) address DeFi lending, borrowing against crypto, liquidity-pool deposits and withdrawals, wrapped tokens, bridging or liquid-staking tokens. CRA says it updates its pages as developments emerge. Until there is guidance, people and their advisers take positions, and two reasonable positions can produce different tax.

    The practical answer is to record everything at the time it happens: dates, units in and out, CAD values and transaction hashes. With complete records you can apply whichever treatment you and a professional settle on, and change it if CRA publishes guidance. Without them, you can't reconstruct an average cost later.

    Rules in motionReporting rules are changing: the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework is proposed to start January 1, 2027 (Bill C-31, not yet law as of 2026-10-30). Assume platforms will report more over time, and keep your own ledger anyway.

    The calculators

    The ACB tracker pools units at average cost, records rewards as income, computes gains and flags superficial losses, and exports a CSV. The superficial loss calculator works through the 61-day window for a single sale. The staking income calculator shows the income at receipt and the later gain or loss. The capital vs business explainer walks through CRA's factors.

    If you've missed something

    CRA's Voluntary Disclosures Program (overview modified June 15, 2026) can provide relief, case by case, for people who come forward to correct errors or omissions. A tax professional who works with crypto can help you decide what to do. This site cannot give tax advice.

    Questions people ask

    Do I pay tax when I swap one crypto for another in Canada?

    CRA treats exchanging one crypto-asset for another as a disposition, so a gain or loss is calculated in CAD at the time of the swap.

    How much of a crypto capital gain is taxable?

    One-half, under the inclusion rate in force. The proposed increase was cancelled on March 21, 2025.

    Does CRA have rules for DeFi?

    Not specific ones. As of October 30, 2026, CRA's crypto pages don't address lending, liquidity pools, wrapping or bridging.

    Do crypto platforms report to CRA?

    Canada has proposed the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework starting January 1, 2027; as of October 30, 2026 the bill hadn't received Royal Assent.

    Sources and dates

    1. CRA — Information for crypto-asset users and tax professionalsDate modified 2025-10-29; checked 2026-10-30
    2. CRA — Reporting income from crypto-asset transactionsDate modified 2025-12-02; checked 2026-10-30
    3. CRA — Reporting income from crypto-asset mining and staking activitiesDate modified 2025-11-10; checked 2026-10-30
    4. CRA — Keeping books and records of crypto-assets for tax filingDate modified 2025-11-10; checked 2026-10-30
    5. CRA — Special rules and other transactions (identical properties)Date modified 2026-02-05; checked 2026-10-30
    6. CRA — Capital losses and deductions (superficial loss)Date modified 2026-02-05; checked 2026-10-30
    7. Prime Minister of Canada — cancellation of the proposed capital gains tax increasePublished 2025-03-21; checked 2026-10-30
    8. Budget 2025 — Tax measures: supplementary information (CARF deferred to 2027-01-01)Date modified 2025-11-04; checked 2026-10-30
    9. LEGISinfo — Bill C-31 (45-1), Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2Status checked 2026-10-30: report stage, no Royal Assent
    10. CRA — Voluntary Disclosures ProgramDate modified 2026-06-15; checked 2026-10-30
    11. CRA — Collecting and remitting GST/HST from crypto-asset transactionsDate modified 2025-11-10; checked 2026-10-30
    Tax tool

    ACB tracker

    Average-cost ACB, gains and superficial losses from your transactions.

    Tax tool

    Superficial loss

    The 30-days-before-and-after rule, worked out.

    Tax tool

    Staking income

    Rewards as income at receipt, then a gain or loss on sale.

    Tax tool

    Capital vs business

    CRA's factors, and what the classification does to the tax.

    Regulation

    CSA, CIRO and stablecoin rules

    Where Canadian crypto regulation stands, with dates and sources.

    Scenario

    tracking adjusted cost base across a year

    Two purchases, a staking reward and two sales of the same token, worked line by line with the average-cost method CRA describes for identical property.