The government’s own figure for 2026-27
What does £12,600 of gains cost a UK basic-rate taxpayer? £1,728, in the worked example on the GOV.UK rates page. The person in it has £20,000 of taxable income and makes the gains on or after April 6, 2026.
The £3,000 tax-free allowance comes off first, leaving £9,600. Added to income, that makes £29,600, which sits inside the £37,700 basic rate band, so the whole £9,600 is taxed at 18%. Gains pushed above the band pay 24%. The page’s second example shows how. Raise the gains to £52,600 and the bill becomes £10,842, with £17,700 taxed at 18% and the other £31,900 at 24%.
Three systems side by side
The rules differ more than the shared name suggests. The table compares what a person pays in the US, the UK and Australia, using the figures in force for 2026.
| United States | United Kingdom | Australia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the gain is taxed | Held over a year: mostly 0%, 15% or 20%; held a year or less: ordinary income rates | 18% inside the basic rate band, 24% above it | Net capital gain is added to assessable income |
| A figure for 2026 | 0% on long-term gains up to $49,450 of taxable income for a single filer | £3,000 allowance for 2026-27 | 50% discount for individuals on assets held 12 months or more, for events before July 1, 2027 |
| Legal basis | Internal Revenue Code section 1(h); Rev. Proc. 2025-32 | Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, sections 102-5, 115-25 and 115-100 |
In the US the holding period does most of the work, a point IRS Topic 409 makes by taxing net short-term gains as ordinary income. The line between them falls at one year, and the IRS treats digital assets as property for this purpose.
In Britain the rate turns on taxable income and the size of the gain, as the rates page sets out. What a token holder finds harder is the gain itself, because UK crypto tax measures each sale against a pooled average cost rather than against one purchase.
A change already written into Australian law
Australia’s discount has an end date. Under the version of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 in force on October 1, 2026, individuals keep the 50% discount only for a CGT event before July 1, 2027. From then on, resident individuals get an inflation-indexed cost base in its place.
The mistake of waiting for a cash-out
Plenty of holders assume nothing is owed until coins turn into dollars or pounds. Both tax offices say otherwise. Answer 16 of the IRS virtual currency FAQ says exchanging one virtual currency for another produces a capital gain or loss.
HMRC’s CRYPTO22100 lists “exchanging tokens for a different type of token” as a disposal, next to spending them on goods. Each swap is a taxable event, and the IRS wants it measured at its fair market value in US dollars at the time of the trade.
This entry is general information, and none of it is tax advice.