What a crypto tax
accountant actually does
A crypto tax accountant reconstructs your on-chain and exchange activity into a defensible tax position and files it correctly. The work is part forensic data reconstruction, part regulated filing. Software does neither well. A generalist accountant does the second but not the first.
In the UK we reconcile under HMRC Share Pooling (TCGA 1992 s.104), split staking and airdrop income from capital gains, and file the SA100 with SA108. In the US we classify every disposal on IRS Form 8949, carry the totals to Schedule D, and report ordinary income on Schedule 1.
Get a QuoteWhat we handle
- ✓Full reconciliation across 40+ exchanges, wallets and DeFi protocols
- ✓HMRC Self Assessment: SA100 plus SA108 capital gains pages
- ✓IRS filing: Form 8949, Schedule D, and ordinary income on Schedule 1
- ✓Staking, mining and airdrop income split from capital gains
- ✓HMRC nudge letters, Section 9A enquiries and IRS CP2000 notices
- ✓Voluntary disclosure and previously unfiled years
The three errors we see in
generalist and software reports
A high-street accountant who files your PAYE return is rarely equipped to reconcile a Uniswap V3 liquidity position or a Lido stETH rebase. These are not edge cases in crypto. They are the norm.
FIFO instead of Share Pooling
Most software defaults to FIFO. FIFO is wrong for UK tax and overstates gains by 15 to 40 percent in volatile periods.
Missing cost basis on transfers
Coins transferred in without cost basis get taxed on the entire sale price, overstating the gain by the full original purchase cost.
Transfers booked as disposals
Wallet-to-wallet moves wrongly logged as sales create phantom gains on disposals that never happened.
In one client case, correcting these errors reduced an overstated capital gains figure by £21,400. Proper reconciliation may reduce overstated gains where the original report contains errors. That is not tax avoidance. It is getting the number right.
Three steps to a filed return
Free 30-minute review
Share your Koinly, CoinTracker or CSV exports. We tell you whether the numbers are filable, where the errors are, and give a fixed quote.
Reconciliation and review
We rebuild the data, apply the correct jurisdiction rules, and show you the corrected report before anything is filed.
Filing and sign-off
We file with HMRC or the IRS and hand over the full working papers. Standard cases are completed within 14 to 21 days.
Standard UK Self Assessment or US filing for a moderate-volume holder typically ranges from £400 to £1,200 plus VAT. High-volume DeFi or multi-year work is quoted after the call. No fee is charged until you accept the quote.
Need the full process breakdown? See our crypto tax service. Need planning or disclosure rather than a filing? See our crypto tax advisors. Filing the UK side? Read the crypto gains tax UK guide.
Common questions
What does a crypto tax accountant do that software cannot?
Software categorises transactions using a default method and cannot give regulated advice or represent you to HMRC or the IRS. A crypto tax accountant reconciles the data manually, applies the correct jurisdiction rules, files the return, and stands behind the figures.
Do I need a crypto tax accountant if I use Koinly?
Often yes. Koinly is a useful data aggregator, but its output depends entirely on correct settings and clean imports. We frequently find UK reports left on FIFO and missing cost basis. We review the Koinly file and correct it before filing.
Can you act as my crypto tax accountant if I live outside London?
Yes. We serve clients across the UK and US remotely. Our London office is our base, not our limit.
How many years can you go back?
Multi-year and previously unfiled cases are a core part of our work, including voluntary disclosure to HMRC and amended returns to the IRS.