Auto Sync with Ethereum Recap has a comprehensive integration with Ethereum that makes it easy to manage your crypto tax calculations. Add your Ethereum public address to Recap to import your full history and automate your taxes. From 2026, tax authorities are widening the automatic reporting of crypto under frameworks such as the OECD's Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF), so keeping an accurate record matters more than ever.
The legal bit
This content does not endorse Ethereum, and it is not tax advice. If you are unsure about any financial or tax matter, we recommend speaking to a qualified tax professional. You can also use Recap's accountant and professional adviser sharing features.
Why Ethereum tax can be difficult to calculate manually
An Ethereum account gives you a complete record of your activity, but it is raw on-chain data rather than a tidy statement. That is exactly what makes the tax side hard to work through by hand. A few things tend to trip people up:
Common pitfalls
- Transfers between your own accounts are not disposals. Moving crypto between accounts you control is not a taxable event, but it is easy to mistake for one, or to miss the trades hidden among the transfers.
- On-chain swaps are disposals. Swapping one token for another, including trades through decentralised apps, is a disposal even though no ordinary money changes hands.
- Network and gas fees. A fee paid in crypto is a disposal of the crypto you spend, and it also attaches to the transaction it relates to as an allowable cost, and both are easy to miss when working through raw on-chain data by hand.
- Rewards and airdrops. Staking and reward tokens are income at their value when they arrive, and they enter your pool at that same value, so only later growth is a gain. Airdrops are treated as an acquisition rather than income. Both are easy to leave sitting in the account and overlook.
How to import your Ethereum data into Recap
Ethereum imports into Recap from your account. Add your public address, and Recap reads your on-chain activity automatically, including receipts, sends, swaps and fees. Recap classifies and values every entry with our fair-market valuation engine and applies the tax rules for your jurisdiction, turning raw on-chain data into a clear set of gains and losses.
How are Ethereum transactions taxed?
Tax treatment depends on the transaction type and where you are tax resident. Here is how the main Ethereum activities are generally treated:
| Transaction type | CGT disposal | CGT acquisition | Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving crypto into your account | CGT disposal: no | CGT acquisition: no. A plain inbound transfer is recorded as a Deposit, which creates no section 104 pool acquisition by itself. Recap automatically classifies two exceptions: receipts from a batch-send or a recognised claim contract become Airdrops (pool entry, cost per the airdrop cost setting), and amounts matching a RewardPaid event become Staking rewards. Any other receipt can be recategorised by hand. | Income: no |
| Sending crypto from your account | CGT disposal: no. Recap's default: an outbound transfer with no matching inbound leg is recorded as a Withdrawal, and the amount sent is not treated as a disposal - only the ETH gas fee is disposed of. If the send was actually a gift, a payment for goods, or an off-Recap sale, recategorise the transaction so the correct disposal is generated. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Swapping one token for another | CGT disposal: yes. Each outbound token is disposed of at the swap's valued amount, and the gas fee is an additional fee disposal. | CGT acquisition: yes. Each inbound token enters its section 104 pool. Recap's default for portfolios created after 18 Jun 2026: an unpriced leg takes the residual value of the swap rather than zero (‘Allocate residual swap value to unpriced assets’ setting). | Income: no |
| Selling crypto for a stablecoin | CGT disposal: yes. On-chain there is no fiat leg, so this runs through the same swap path as any token-for-token trade: the token sold is disposed of at market value. | CGT acquisition: yes. Stablecoins are held in Recap as crypto assets, not fiat, so the USDC/USDT received is a pool acquisition rather than a cash balance. | Income: no |
| Network and gas fees | CGT disposal: yes. Gas is only attached when your address sent the transaction. Where the gas belongs to another event Recap also records it as an allowable cost of that event; where there is nothing else (contract executions, token approvals, failed transactions) the gas fee disposal is the only event generated. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Staking or reward tokens received | CGT disposal: no | CGT acquisition: yes. The reward also enters its section 104 pool at the same market value used for the income figure. | Income: yes. Recap classifies an inbound amount as a staking reward when the transaction emits a recognised RewardPaid event for your address; income is then recorded at market value on the date received. Amounts matching an Unstaked event are labelled 'Unstake' and recorded as a plain deposit with no income. Recap's default: fees are not netted off the income amount; configurable via the deduct income fees setting. |
| Transferring between your own accounts | CGT disposal: no. The transfer itself is not a disposal, but the ETH gas paid on the sending leg is still a fee disposal. | CGT acquisition: no. Where the amount received differs from the amount sent, Recap records the difference as a transfer excess - an acquisition at market value if positive, or a zero-value disposal if negative. | Income: no |
This table shows how Recap classifies each transaction type by default. Some treatments — such as the acquisition cost used for airdrops — are configurable in Recap. This is general information, not tax advice; consult a qualified tax professional about your circumstances.
This table shows Recap's default classification for common Ethereum transactions. It is not an exhaustive schedule or a ruling. Treatment depends on your circumstances and jurisdiction, and you can recategorise any transaction where yours differ. Confirm your position with a qualified tax adviser.
Swapping one token for another, including trades into stablecoins, is both a disposal and an acquisition for capital gains purposes, each measured against your cost-basis pool. Moving crypto between your own accounts is not a disposal, but a fee paid in crypto is: Recap treats the fee as a disposal of the crypto spent and also attaches it as an allowable cost of the transaction it relates to. Staking and reward tokens received on-chain are generally treated as income at the value you receive them and enter your pool at that same value, so only later growth is a gain.
Refer to our tax guides for a more detailed look at crypto tax rules.
What's in your Ethereum tax report
Recap turns your Ethereum activity into a single tax report: on-chain swaps treated as the disposals and acquisitions they are, transfers between your own accounts excluded, fees treated as disposals of the crypto spent and attached as costs to the transactions they relate to, capital gains and losses and income worked out under the rules for your jurisdiction, and a clear year-by-year summary you can file yourself or hand straight to your accountant.
Common Ethereum tax challenges and how Recap solves them
On-chain data produces a few recurring tax problems. Here is how Recap handles each one:
How Recap fixes each one
- Telling transfers from disposals. Moving funds between your own accounts is not taxable, but a swap is. Recap tells them apart so nothing is mislabelled.
- On-chain swaps. Each token-for-token swap is a disposal. Recap reads it and calculates the gain or loss automatically.
- Fees and gas. Fees paid in crypto are easy to overlook. Recap records each one as a disposal of the crypto spent and attaches it as a cost against the right transaction.
- Rewards and airdrops. Reward tokens land as income events, valued at the point you receive them and entering your pool at that same value. Airdrops are recorded as an acquisition rather than income. Recap picks up both, so none are missed.
Why Ethereum users choose Recap
Ethereum users often choose Recap because raw on-chain data, full of transfers, swaps, fees and rewards, is slow and error-prone to reconcile by hand. Rather than reading it transaction by transaction, you can bring it into Recap and see your gains and losses reconciled in one report, ready to file or share with your accountant.
