A year of Kraken trading rarely looks like a year of Kraken trading by the time you export it. Spot fills sit alongside margin settlements, staking rewards land daily in amounts too small to notice, and dust conversions turn a hundred leftover balances into one line.
Recap reads all of it, classifies each transaction by default treatment, and gives you a figure you can file or hand to your accountant. This page covers how Recap classifies Kraken activity and how to get your history in.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this content does not endorse Kraken. 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 tax is difficult to work out by hand
A Kraken account often starts with a handful of spot trades and grows from there. Add margin positions, daily staking rewards, dust conversions and a separate Futures account, and the history becomes hard to piece together by hand.
Recap treats crypto-to-crypto trades as disposals by default, even when no ordinary money is involved. That's easy to miss when you're working from a raw export. Margin trading realises a gain or loss each time a position settles. Rollover fees stack on top, so both need separating from your spot activity.
Staking and Earn rewards land as a stream of small income events. Each one needs a value in your local currency on the day it arrives. Moving assets into or out of staking does not change who owns them. Recap does not treat that movement as a disposal, but a raw export does not make that obvious.
Kraken Futures history also lives on a separate platform. Transfers between your spot and Futures balances need matching up, so they are not miscounted as deposits or withdrawals.
How to get your Kraken history into Recap
For most people, the API connection is the best way to bring Kraken data into Recap.
API connection and Kraken Futures
Connect your Kraken account with a read-only API key. Recap syncs your transactions automatically and keeps your tax position current as you trade. Our help guide on connecting your Kraken account walks through the steps.
Connect your Kraken Futures account separately so your derivatives activity is included too. Our help guide on connecting your Kraken Futures account covers the setup.
Recap CSV
If you would rather not connect via API, you can import transactions manually using Recap's CSV template.
Recap needs your full Kraken history, including older trades and any Kraken Futures activity, to calculate accurate gains. If you have traded on Kraken for years, make sure your import covers every year you have been active, not just the latest one.
Auto Sync with Kraken How are Kraken transactions taxed?
Recap classifies each Kraken transaction type by default and applies the rules for your jurisdiction in your report. Where your circumstances differ, you can recategorise any transaction.
Spot trades and crypto-to-crypto swaps
Recap treats selling or spending crypto as a disposal by default. Swapping one asset for another, including instant buy, sell and convert, is treated as disposing of what you part with and acquiring what you receive. This applies even when no ordinary money changes hands.
Margin trading and rollover fees
Recap treats each margin position as realising a gain or loss when it settles. Rollover fees are paid in crypto, so Recap treats paying one as a disposal in its own right. Recap also adds the fee to the position's cost basis.
The UK has no dedicated guidance for crypto derivatives and points to its general rules instead. The US usually treats individual traders' margin gains as capital gains. Our tax guides cover both in more detail, and it's worth an adviser's view if margin makes up a meaningful part of your trading.
Staking and Earn rewards
Recap treats staking and Earn rewards as income by default, valued at the point you receive them. That same value becomes the cost basis when you later dispose of the tokens.
Moving assets into or out of staking is not treated as a disposal, because ownership does not change. A raw export can still make it look like a withdrawal.
Dust conversions, KrakenPay and parachain transfers
Dust is the small leftover balance an asset leaves behind after trading. Recap treats converting it into another asset as a crypto-to-crypto trade, so each conversion is a small disposal by default.
KrakenPay transfers are treated the same way as any other transfer of value. An incoming payment is an acquisition, and an outgoing one is a disposal. Parachain transfers carry no disposal of their own by default, only a fee where Kraken charges one.
| Transaction type | CGT disposal | CGT acquisition | Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposits | CGT disposal: no. The deposit itself isn't a disposal, but a fee charged on the deposit is treated as a disposal of the fee asset. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Withdrawals | CGT disposal: no. The withdrawal itself isn't a disposal, but a withdrawal or network fee is treated as a disposal of the fee asset. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Buying crypto with fiat | CGT disposal: no. Paying fiat isn't a disposal, since fiat is never treated as a chargeable asset. A fee charged in crypto is a separate disposal of that fee asset. | CGT acquisition: yes. The crypto bought enters the section 104 pool at the trade value, with the fee added to its cost. | Income: no |
| Selling crypto for fiat | CGT disposal: yes | CGT acquisition: no. Fiat received isn't recorded as a chargeable acquisition. | Income: no |
| Crypto-to-crypto trades | CGT disposal: yes | CGT acquisition: yes. The acquired asset enters the pool at the same value used for the disposal. | Income: no |
| Instant buy, sell and convert | CGT disposal: yes. An instant sell or a crypto-to-crypto convert disposes of the crypto spent; an instant buy with fiat doesn't create a disposal. | CGT acquisition: yes. An instant buy or convert acquires the crypto received; an instant sell into fiat doesn't create a chargeable acquisition. | Income: no |
| Dust conversions | CGT disposal: yes. Each dust balance converted is treated as a separate disposal. | CGT acquisition: yes. The asset received is acquired for the total proceeds of the conversion. | Income: no |
| Staking rewards | CGT disposal: no. Negative staking ledger entries (staking deductions) are mapped as fees, which are disposals of that asset. | CGT acquisition: yes. The reward also enters the section 104 pool at the same market value used for the income figure. | Income: yes. Recap's default: income recorded at market value on receipt. Configurable: the 'deduct income fees' setting (off by default) nets a same-asset fee off the amount instead of emitting a separate fee disposal. |
| Staking transfers | CGT disposal: no. Only a fee, where one is charged, is treated as a disposal. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Earn rewards | CGT disposal: no. Paired Earn ledger entries are account movements between spot and Earn, which generate no disposal beyond any fee. | CGT acquisition: yes. The reward also enters the section 104 pool at the same market value used for the income figure. | Income: yes. Recap's default: income recorded at market value on receipt. Configurable: the 'deduct income fees' setting (off by default) nets a same-asset fee off the amount instead of emitting a separate fee disposal. |
| Airdrops | CGT disposal: no | CGT acquisition: yes. Recap's default for portfolios created after 6 April 2024: the airdropped asset enters the pool at zero cost. Portfolios created before then default to market value. Configurable per portfolio and overridable per transaction. | Income: no. Airdrops never generate an income event in Recap; recategorising the transaction as Income does. |
| Margin trades | CGT disposal: yes. Realised margin losses are recorded as direct losses at market value. | CGT acquisition: yes. Realised margin gains are recorded as direct gains, and the asset received enters the pool at market value. | Income: no. Margin results are aggregated into a separate net margin gains and losses figure (profits less losses, fees and funding), not as income. |
| Margin rollover fees | CGT disposal: yes. Rollover (funding) fees are aggregated into one entry per day and recorded as a direct loss. This is a disposal of the fee asset that feeds the net margin figure. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| KrakenPay transfers | CGT disposal: yes. An outgoing KrakenPay transfer is recorded as a disposal at market value. | CGT acquisition: yes. An incoming KrakenPay transfer is recorded as an acquisition that enters the pool at zero cost. The full proceeds are chargeable on a later sale unless you recategorise the transaction. | Income: no |
| Parachain transfers | CGT disposal: no. Only a fee, where one is charged, is treated as a disposal. | 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 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.
Refer to our tax guides for a more detailed look at crypto tax rules.
What we handle that the raw Kraken export does not
Recap decodes 29 different Kraken ledger and transaction types, from simple buys to delisting conversions and subscription purchases. A Kraken ledger export is a raw dump though, and a few of its rows need extra work before the numbers are right. Recap does that automatically.
When a delisted asset's swap shows only one side, Recap completes it as an acquisition or disposal instead of leaving a gap. Kraken does not always generate a trade row for OTC and synthetic pair trades. Recap rebuilds them from the ledger entries instead of dropping them.
Cancelled ledger entries are recognised and ignored, rather than showing up as a phantom deposit and withdrawal. Transfers into and out of staking are matched as a non-taxable movement, so they are not double-counted or read as a withdrawal. Where Kraken credits a fee back to you, Recap records it as a rebate rather than a negative fee that skews your balance.
What's in your Kraken tax report
Recap turns your full Kraken history into a single tax report. Capital gains, losses and income are worked out under the rules for your jurisdiction, and margin activity is aggregated into its own net figure. Everything is ready to review before you file.
Your report includes capital gains and losses on every disposal, using the cost basis rules for your jurisdiction. It also includes income from staking and Earn rewards, valued at the time of receipt.
You also get a net margin gains and losses figure, separated from your spot activity. A transaction log lets you spot any issues before you file. And there's a downloadable summary to submit with your tax return or share with your accountant.
Kraken Futures in your report
Kraken Futures imports through its own connection and its own account. It flows into the same tax report as your spot trading. Realised futures profit and loss sits alongside your other gains, losses and income, so you get one position rather than two.
Multiple accounts and staying current
You can add multiple Kraken accounts, plus Kraken Futures, under the same Recap login, and each one imports independently into your overall position. Sharing tools let your accountant or tax adviser view the same numbers you do. You can check your Kraken tax position at any point in the year, not just at filing season.
Connect your Kraken account and Recap calculates your gains, losses, staking income and margin activity in one filing-ready report.
Whether Kraken shares account data with HMRC is a separate question, and we answer it in does Kraken report to HMRC.
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