European Parliament passes DAC8 crypto tax reporting requirements by ten-to-one margin

The European Parliament has approved DAC8, a measure that introduces tax reporting requirements for crypto transactions across the European Union (EU).

With a decisive vote of 535 in favor, 57 against, and 60 abstentions, the proposed rule has cleared its final legislative hurdle and is set to become law.

The DAC8 rule, designed to amend the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC), mandates crypto-asset service providers to report transactions involving EU clients to the bloc’s tax authorities. Once implemented, the DAC8 will pave the way for the automatic exchange of information on crypto assets among tax authorities in EU countries.

Providers  and operators

The European Commission estimates that the introduction of such an EU-wide crypto-asset reporting framework could raise additional tax revenue between €1 and €2.4 billion annually, according to an impact assessment report by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS).

The EPRS report details the DAC8 directive, which closely aligns with the provisions of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The directive outlines two types of entities required to report information to local authorities: crypto-asset providers, who offer one or more crypto-asset services to third parties, and crypto-asset operators, who provide crypto-asset services other than a crypto-asset service provider. These entities, classified as reportable crypto-asset service providers (RCASPs), will be subject to the DAC’s reporting requirements if they have reportable users within the EU, regardless of the size of the RCASP or their residence.

The directive covers all crypto assets that can be used for investment and payment purposes. E-money, e-money tokens, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are also considered. Reportable transactions by the RCASPs include any exchange transactions and transfers of reportable crypto-assets, including transactions of reportable crypto-assets for fiat currencies and transactions between reportable crypto-assets.

As the EPRS report indicates, the reporting arrangements are set to begin by January 1, 2026, providing ample time for MiCA regulation to be in place beforehand.