Switzerland · Income
Staking taxes in Switzerland
Staking is where Switzerland's tax exemption ends. The gain from the price stays tax-free, but the reward itself is income, on the day it arrives.
The reward is income, not a gain
Whoever stakes cryptocurrencies receives a reward for it. That reward is income from movable assets and is declared as income, whether or not you ever sell anything.
This is the difference most often missed: the tax-free capital gain and the taxable investment income are two different things, and staking produces both, one after the other.
What counts is receipt, not sale
It is valued at the price on the day you acquire the right to it, not at the year-end price and not at the price when you later sell.
In practice every single credit needs a date and a price. With daily rewards that quickly adds up to several hundred entries a year per coin, each valued and then summed.
If the price falls after receipt, the income stays taxable in full. The loss in value afterwards is a capital loss in private assets, and that is not deductible.
The sale afterwards is tax-free again
Once you have declared the reward on receipt, that value is your starting point. Sell later at a gain, and the difference is a tax-free capital gain in private assets.
So nothing is taxed twice, provided the receipt was declared at all. Leaving it out and only declaring something on the sale declares the wrong thing at the wrong time.
The staked holding stays your wealth
Locked and delegated coins still belong to you. They go into the schedule of securities at the tax value on 31 December, even if you could not dispose of them on that date.
A lock-up is not a transfer of ownership. The same goes for balances an exchange stakes for you.
Fees: the narrow exception
Transaction and gas fees connected with buying, rebalancing or selling are not deductible. The ESTV working paper says so explicitly.
Costs directly connected with earning the income may be deductible under Art. 32(1) DBG, for example the fee for claiming a staking reward. The line is narrow, and whether it holds in your case is one for your tax adviser.
When staking crosses into self-employment
Delegated staking from private assets generally stays investment income. Running your own validators with the infrastructure that goes with them, however, can count as self-employment, with AHV contributions and the possibility of deducting expenses.
That is assessed case by case and does not hang on a single number. If you are heading that way, clarify it before rather than after.
Mining, lending and airdrops
- Lending income is treated like staking: income when received.
- Mining counts, depending on its scale, as income from employment or self-employment, not simply as investment income.
- Airdrops received for nothing in return are income when received, at their value then.
Frequently asked questions
- Are staking rewards taxable in Switzerland?
- Yes. Staking rewards count as income from movable assets and are declared as income when received, at that day's price (ESTV working paper on cryptocurrencies).
- Are they taxed when received or only when sold?
- When received. What counts is the moment you acquire the right to them, valued at that day's price. If you sell the reward later, the difference is a tax-free capital gain.
- Is the staked holding still part of my wealth?
- Yes. Locked or delegated coins still belong to you and go into the schedule of securities (Wertschriftenverzeichnis) at their tax value on 31 December.
- Can I deduct staking fees?
- Costs directly connected with earning the income may be deductible under Art. 32(1) DBG. Fees for buying, rebalancing or selling are not. The line is narrow, and one for your tax adviser.
- When does staking become self-employment?
- Delegated staking from private assets generally stays investment income. Running your own validators with the infrastructure that goes with them can count as self-employment; that is assessed case by case.
Sources
The overview of all three taxes: Crypto taxes in Switzerland