The BBC reports an increase in HMRC contacts with cryptoasset investors. Its figures describe communications sent, while HMRC’s guidance explains the transactions and records relevant to checking a tax position.
HMRC cryptoasset tax contacts are not all letters
The BBC reports 81,172 warning letters, emails and text messages in the 2025–26 financial year, based on information obtained through an FOI request. It should not be described as that many letters alone, unique individuals or completed findings of tax evasion. The report quotes HMRC describing contacts intended to educate, remind or prompt people to review their affairs.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0ej09nywdno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
A disposal can involve an exchange
HMRC says Capital Gains Tax may be relevant when a person makes a gain disposing of cryptoassets, including exchanging one type for another. Its guidance discusses total gains, applicable allowances and transaction-specific cost rules. It does not say that simply receiving a warning establishes an amount due, or that every exchange creates the same liability.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-pay-tax-when-you-sell-cryptoassets
Use the records and the applicable reporting route
HMRC tells individuals to retain their own transaction records and explains that exchange reports may help calculate a position. It also points to reporting routes and a disclosure service for earlier unpaid tax. These are general guidance documents, rather than a calculation of a reader’s liability or evidence that a particular notice is genuine.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-pay-tax-when-you-sell-cryptoassets
Sources and further reading
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0ej09nywdno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-pay-tax-when-you-sell-cryptoassets