Overview
- VLH guidance, which was published Tuesday, says buying and selling crypto counts as a private speculative sale, a category for one-off asset trades under German income tax.
- Gains are tax-free if you sell after holding the coins for more than one year.
- If you sell within a year, a single €1,000 annual exemption covers all such sales, and crossing it by €1 makes the full gain taxable.
- Losses from these private sales can be set against gains from the same tax year.
- Tax offices expect detailed records of each trade, including dates, prices, amounts, coin names, fees, and proceeds, and they may ask for extra proof for wallet transfers or trades on foreign exchanges.