Many people wonder whether purchasing cryptocurrencies needs to be reported to the tax office. The answer may be surprising — in Poland, simply buying them does not require any reporting. The situation changes dramatically when we decide to sell our crypto or exchange it for something else.

When you sell cryptocurrencies or exchange them for goods, services, or another digital currency, tax obligations arise. Income from sales is taxed at a rate of 19%. Sounds intimidating, but wait — there are ways to reduce this burden.

Importantly, if you're asking whether you need to report the purchase of cryptocurrencies — no, but you can deduct the costs of this purchase from your income from sales. However, it’s essential that these expenses are documented with a bank transfer or another identifiable method. Cash does not count.

Annual reporting is done through the PIT-38 declaration, which must be submitted by April 30 of the following year. If you incurred losses from trading cryptocurrencies, you can offset them, but only within the same income source in subsequent years — you cannot deduct them from other income.

One more good piece of news — cryptocurrencies are treated as property rights, so their sale is not subject to VAT. In summary, purchasing cryptocurrencies does not need to be reported anywhere, but selling or exchanging them does. If you trade regularly, it’s advisable to keep detailed documentation of all transactions.