Crypto platforms are now reporting your trades to Inland Revenue
Since 1 April, New Zealand crypto businesses have been collecting their customers’ identity and tax-residency details for Inland Revenue under a new global reporting system. The first reports are due next June, and data from overseas platforms will follow.
By Eli Hylands
· 3 min read
If you have bought, sold or swapped crypto through a New Zealand platform this year, Inland Revenue is going to hear about it. Since 1 April 2026, every New Zealand-based business that exchanges crypto for its customers has had to collect information about those customers and their transactions under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, known as CARF.
The framework was developed by the OECD and is being adopted by tax authorities around the world. Inland Revenue says its purpose is to give it visibility of crypto activity and help it check that crypto income is being declared correctly.
The first reporting period runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Platforms must file their first reports with Inland Revenue by 30 June 2027, and then every year after that.
Who has to report
The rules apply to what Inland Revenue calls Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers. That covers any business that exchanges or converts crypto for customers, whether it acts as the other party to the trade, as an intermediary, or as a trading platform.
Individual investors don’t report under CARF and don’t need to register. Inland Revenue says people who only hold wallets, or who trade crypto for their own benefit, are not reporting providers.
“Platforms report what happens on their platform. You still have to report what you earn.”
What you’ll be asked for
If you use a reporting platform to trade or transfer crypto, it may ask for identifying information and for you to confirm which country you are resident in for tax. Inland Revenue says the information must be accurate and kept up to date, and that penalties may apply if you don’t provide it when asked, or if you give false or misleading details.
For most people this will feel like an extension of the identity checks they already go through. Flow, for example, asks customers to confirm their tax residency during verification.
Your overseas accounts are covered too
CARF isn’t only about New Zealand platforms. Inland Revenue will share information about New Zealand-based platforms’ users with other tax authorities, and in return will receive information about New Zealand tax residents’ crypto transactions on overseas platforms.
Dozens of countries have committed to start exchanging CARF information from 2027, with more joining from 2028. That means using an offshore exchange is unlikely to keep your trades out of view for long.
Inland Revenue is already writing to investors
Inland Revenue isn’t waiting for the first CARF reports. In April it said it had identified about 355,000 unique crypto users in New Zealand, who had made around 57 million transactions worth NZ$36 billion.
It also sent a first batch of letters to people who traded on one or more crypto exchanges and whose tax would normally be assessed automatically. The letters invite them to review their tax position and correct any errors by filing an individual income tax return. Inland Revenue says it will match the information it receives against tax returns and follow up on discrepancies.
What hasn’t changed
CARF is a reporting system. It doesn’t, by itself, change how crypto is taxed. Inland Revenue treats crypto as a form of property, and gains can be taxable income depending on why you acquired it and how you use it.
Platforms also report only what happens on their platform. You are still responsible for keeping records of all your crypto activity, including transfers to and from your own wallet, and for including any taxable income in your return.
What to do now
Give accurate details when a platform asks for them, and make sure your tax residency is up to date if you move countries. Pull together records of what you bought, sold and swapped, when, and for how much in NZ dollars.
If you think you may have under-declared crypto income in past years, Inland Revenue’s letters point to filing a return to correct it. If your situation is complicated, talk to an independent tax adviser.
This article is general information only and is not financial advice. Crypto-assets can be volatile, and blockchain transfers are generally irreversible.
Eli Hylands
Eli is the founder of Flow Crypto and editor of Flow News, covering crypto for New Zealanders.
