Recap has a comprehensive integration with Kraken Futures that makes it easy to manage your crypto tax calculations. Connect your Kraken Futures account 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.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this content does not endorse Kraken Futures. Furthermore, it does not constitute tax advice. If anything financial or tax-related is unclear, speak to a qualified tax professional. You can also share your Recap account with your accountant or tax adviser directly.
Why Kraken Futures tax can be difficult to calculate manually
Kraken Futures is a derivatives venue, so it produces a record built around positions, funding and fees rather than simple buys and sells. That is exactly what makes it hard to work through by hand. A few things tend to trip people up:
- Profit and loss, not simple trades. Closing a futures position produces a realised profit or loss that behaves differently from a spot disposal and needs recording accurately.
- Funding payments and fees. Perpetual contracts charge or pay funding at regular intervals, and those amounts, along with trading fees, all belong in an accurate record.
- High frequency and liquidations. Active accounts open and close many positions, and liquidations add further events that are easy to miss when reconstructing by hand.
- A record separate from spot. Derivatives are treated differently from spot crypto in most places, so your Kraken Futures activity needs to be captured clearly and kept distinct.
How to import your Kraken Futures data into Recap
Connect your Kraken Futures account to Recap by API and we import your full history automatically, including your realised profit and loss, funding payments, fees, deposits and withdrawals, however far back your account goes. Recap records your derivatives activity as clear informational figures and applies the tax rules for your jurisdiction, so a high-frequency futures account resolves into an accurate, readable record.
Auto Sync with Kraken Futures How are Kraken Futures transactions taxed?
Tax treatment depends on the transaction type and where you are tax resident. Here is how the main Kraken Futures activities are generally treated:
| Transaction type | CGT disposal | CGT acquisition | Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposits | CGT disposal: no. The deposit itself is not a disposal, but any deposit fee paid in crypto is recorded as a disposal of the fee asset at market value. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Withdrawals | CGT disposal: no. The withdrawal itself is not a disposal, but any withdrawal fee paid in crypto is recorded as a disposal of the fee asset at market value. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Realised profit and loss | CGT disposal: yes. A realised loss is recorded as a direct loss disposal at market value. | CGT acquisition: yes. A realised profit is recorded as a direct gain and the received asset enters the section 104 pool at market value. | Income: no. Futures profit and loss is aggregated into a separate per-asset futures net gains figure (profits less losses, fees and funding) and reported as direct gains and losses, not as income. The contract itself is stored as metadata only and generates no disposal or acquisition. |
| Funding payments and fees | CGT disposal: yes. Funding and trading fees you pay are recorded as direct loss disposals at market value and net off the futures result for that asset. | CGT acquisition: yes. Funding you receive (and negative or rebated fees) is recorded as a direct gain acquisition at market value. | Income: no. Funding is handled inside the futures net gains figure rather than as income. Separately, Kraken Futures 'interest payment' and 'revenue share' credits are imported as Income transactions, which do generate an income event plus a pool acquisition. |
| Transferring between your own accounts | CGT disposal: no. Moving collateral between your own accounts is not a disposal; only a crypto fee charged on the transfer is recorded as a disposal of the fee asset. | CGT acquisition: no | 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 Kraken Futures 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.
What this means for your record
Derivatives such as futures are treated differently from spot crypto, and the exact treatment depends on where you are tax resident. Recap records the disposals and acquisitions that your realised profit and loss, funding payments and fees create, so you have an accurate record to apply your local rules to. Transfers between your own accounts are not disposals.
Refer to our tax guides for a more detailed look at crypto tax rules.
What's in your Kraken Futures tax report
Recap turns your full Kraken Futures history into a single record: realised profit and loss, funding payments and fees captured as the disposals and acquisitions they create, kept distinct from your spot activity, and summarised year by year so you can apply the rules for your jurisdiction, file yourself, or hand it straight to your accountant.
Common Kraken Futures tax challenges and how Recap solves them
Kraken Futures accounts produce a few recurring problems for record-keeping. Here is how Recap handles each one:
- Realised profit and loss. Closing a position produces a profit or loss that behaves differently from a spot disposal. Recap records each one accurately.
- Funding and fees. Frequent funding charges and fees are easy to overlook. Recap captures them so your record is complete.
- Liquidations. Forced closures add events that are easy to miss. Recap imports them alongside the rest of your activity.
- Keeping futures separate from spot. Derivatives need distinct treatment. Recap keeps your futures record separate and clearly presented.
Why Kraken Futures users choose Recap
Kraken Futures users often choose Recap because a high-frequency derivatives account produces funding, fees and realised profit and loss that are painful to reconcile by hand and need keeping distinct from spot. Rather than piecing it together, you can connect by API and see it captured in one clear record, ready to apply your local rules, file, or share with your accountant.
