How to report crypto on your Canadian tax return: Schedule 3, line 12700, T2125 and deadlines

Crypto doesn’t have a single box on the Canadian tax return. Where it goes depends on what you did with it and whether your activity counts as a business. This guide walks through where each kind of crypto transaction is reported, the records the CRA expects and the deadlines.

For the underlying rules (the 50% inclusion rate, adjusted cost base and the superficial loss rule), see Canada crypto tax.

Step 1: work out what you did

The CRA treats these as dispositions that you need to report:

• Selling crypto for Canadian dollars or another government currency.
• Trading or exchanging one crypto for another.
• Using crypto to buy goods or services.
• Transferring ownership, for example giving it away.

Receiving crypto as staking or mining rewards, or as payment for work, is income, reported separately (see step 4).

Valuing each transaction

Every disposition has to be converted to Canadian dollars at the time it happened. The CRA’s guide explains how:

• Use fair market value: generally the highest price a willing, informed buyer and seller, acting independently, would agree in an open market.
• You must use a reasonable method, even when no direct value is readily available, for example for a small token.
• Use the same method consistently from year to year, and keep a record of how you calculated each value. The CRA’s examples: the rate from the exchange you’re using, or an average of high, low, open and close values across several high-volume exchanges.

For a swap, you need the value of what you gave up. See Canada crypto tax for how that feeds into your adjusted cost base.

Step 2: capital gain or business income?

The CRA says that, depending on your activities, you may have business income or a capital gain, and they’re reported differently. Factors that point towards a business include frequent buying and selling, holding for short periods, knowledge of crypto markets, spending a substantial part of your time on it, financing purchases with debt and advertising that you buy crypto.

• Capital gains: half of the gain is taxable.
• Business income: the full profit is income.

If you’re unsure which applies, the CRA’s guidance and a tax professional can help. The rest of this guide covers both.

Step 3: report capital gains on Schedule 3

For most investors, crypto disposals are capital gains or losses. The CRA says to report them in the section “Bonds, debentures, promissory notes, crypto-assets, and other similar properties” on T1 Schedule 3.

For each disposition, you need:

• the proceeds of disposition (what you received, in Canadian dollars),
• the adjusted cost base (your average cost for those units),
• any outlays and expenses, such as trading fees.

Schedule 3 then works out your taxable capital gains. If your taxable capital gains for the year are more than your allowable capital losses, the CRA says you include the difference on line 12700 of your return.

Losses: you can deduct half of your capital losses (allowable capital losses), but only against taxable capital gains, not against other income such as employment income. And remember the superficial loss rule if you sell at a loss and buy back within 30 days.

Step 4: report business and other income

Business income: Form T2125

If your crypto activity is a business, the CRA says to use Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities, to report business income and expenses. The full profit is included in your income.

Staking and mining

The CRA says that in most cases mining is carrying on a business, and that rewards from staking on a centralised exchange are generally income when they’re credited to your account. See staking taxes and bitcoin mining explained.

Paid in crypto

If you sell goods or services and accept crypto, the CRA treats it as a barter transaction: you include in income the value of what you provided, or of the crypto you received, whichever is more readily valued. See getting paid in crypto.

Step 5: keep the right records

The CRA expects crypto users to keep, for each transaction:

• the number of units and type of crypto,
• the date and time,
• the value in Canadian dollars at the time,
• a description of the transaction and the other party,
• the addresses of each wallet you use,
• your opening and closing balance (and cost) for each crypto every year.

From exchanges, keep trade ledgers (buys, sells and swaps) and transfer ledgers (deposits and withdrawals). Keep everything for at least six years from the end of the last tax year it relates to. The CRA also recommends regularly exporting your history from exchanges, in case a platform stops operating.

Step 6: file and pay on time

For the 2025 tax year:

Self-employed people get extra time to file, but any tax owing is still due by 30 April.

If you didn’t report crypto in past years

Mistakes can be fixed. If you left out crypto gains or income in earlier years, the CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) lets you come forward, in exchange for relief from some penalties and interest. Under Information Circular IC00-1R7, which applies to applications received from 1 October 2025:

• Conditions: the application must be voluntary, relate to a tax year at least one year past its filing due date, and involve an error or omission that carries interest or penalties. You must provide all relevant information for the years required and pay the estimated tax owing, or ask for a payment arrangement.
• Unprompted applications, made before the CRA has contacted you about the issue: 100% relief of penalties and 75% relief of interest.
• Prompted applications, made after the CRA has raised the issue, or after it has received third-party information suggesting non-compliance: up to 100% penalty relief, but only 25% interest relief.
• Both come with protection from criminal prosecution.
• Generally you need to cover the most recent six years, or ten years if the errors relate to assets or income outside Canada.
• You apply with Form RC199.

As more information about crypto users reaches tax authorities, for example under the international CARF, an application made after the CRA has third-party information about you may count as “prompted”. The tax itself is always payable; the program only reduces penalties and interest.

Quick checklist

• List every sale, swap, purchase with crypto and gift during the year.
• Convert each to Canadian dollars at the time it happened.
• Work out your adjusted cost base with averaging across identical units.
• Decide whether it’s capital or business income.
• Report capital gains on Schedule 3 and line 12700, business income on T2125.
• Keep records for six years.

From 2027, crypto platforms will also report information under the international Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. See the CARF and new exchange reporting.