Crypto Tax India: What You Need to Know About Reporting Crypto in 2025

When you buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrency, a digital asset recognized by India’s tax authorities as taxable property. Also known as digital assets, it is treated like stocks or gold for tax purposes under Indian law. The rules aren’t optional—they’re enforced. If you made any profit from crypto in 2024 or 2025, you owe taxes. The government tracks transactions through exchanges, wallet addresses, and bank deposits. Ignoring it won’t make it disappear.

India’s crypto tax rules, a 30% flat tax on all crypto gains with no deductions for losses. Also known as digital asset taxation, it applies whether you traded Bitcoin, swapped tokens, or earned rewards from staking. You can’t offset losses from one coin against gains from another. Even if you lost money on Ethereum but made $5,000 on Solana, you pay 30% on that $5,000. Plus, there’s a 1% TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) on every crypto trade over ₹10,000—taken automatically by exchanges like CoinSwitch or WazirX. That’s not a fee. That’s tax being pulled out before you even see your profit.

Then there’s crypto income, earnings from airdrops, mining, or staking rewards. Also known as crypto earnings, these are taxed as "other income" at your regular slab rate, not the 30% flat rate. If you got 100 PNUT tokens in a 2024 airdrop and sold them later, the value when you received them is your taxable income. Same goes for earning FLUX tokens from a protocol or getting BAMP tokens from a fake airdrop scam—yes, even scams are taxable. The IRS isn’t the only one watching. India’s Income Tax Department uses blockchain analytics tools to trace wallet activity across platforms.

You also need to report every single transaction in your ITR. That means recording the date, amount, type of crypto, purchase price, sale price, and platform used. No more guessing. No more spreadsheets with scribbles. If you used FXDX, Nexus Trade, or UZX—each trade counts. Even if you swapped tokens on a decentralized exchange like FairySwap or Mars Ecosystem, it’s still taxable. The government doesn’t care if the platform is regulated or not. If you touched it, you owe tax.

And don’t think moving crypto between wallets avoids tax. Transferring from Binance to your MetaMask wallet? No tax. Selling that crypto for INR? Tax due. Gifting crypto to family? Taxable event for the giver. The only way to avoid tax is to hold and never sell. But even then, if you stake or earn rewards, you’re still on the hook.

There’s no amnesty. No grace period. Penalties for late filing or underreporting start at 50% of the unpaid tax and can go higher. The government has already audited dozens of high-volume traders. If you’re wondering whether your small trade matters—yes, it does. One person’s ₹5,000 gain is another’s audit trigger.

Below, you’ll find real examples of how crypto tax works in India, what exchanges report, how to track your transactions, and what happens if you don’t comply. No theory. No fluff. Just what you need to stay legal and avoid fines.