Germany has drafted a plan to end the country's tax exemption for crypto

<p>The proposal targets one of the more crypto-friendly tax regimes in Europe, and its main effect for now is on sentiment rather than price, since it only concerns future acquisitions and remains unlegislated. A confirmed timeline could still prompt longer-term German holders to reassess disposal timing around the 2027 cutoff, particularly those weighing whether to realise gains under the current exemption before the new rules could apply. The measure's modest projected revenue, starting near €160 million and rising toward €350 million annually, suggests this is being framed more as a structural alignment with existing capital income rules than as a major fiscal lever. A prior attempt by the Green Party to change crypto tax treatment was rejected in committee in May, a reminder that legislative outcomes here are far from settled.</p><p>---</p><p>Earlier:</p><ul><li><a href="https://investinglive.com/cryptocurrency/ethereum-remains-stuck-in-a-tight-range-as-us-cpi-looms-what-are-the-key-levels-to-watch" rel="follow" target="_blank">Ethereum remains stuck in a tight range as US CPI looms. What are the key levels to watch?</a></li></ul><p></p><p>---</p><p dir="ltr">Germany drafts flat 25% crypto tax to end one-year holding exemption</p><p dir="ltr">Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance has drafted a bill that would end the country's long-standing tax exemption for crypto held over one year, replacing it with a flat 25% capital gains tax. The change would apply only to assets acquired after January 1, 2027, according to a departmental draft reported by Welt and Handelsblatt this week, with earlier holdings staying under existing rules.</p><p dir="ltr">Why it matters</p><p dir="ltr">Under current German law, crypto profits become entirely tax-free once an asset has been held for twelve months. Sell within that window and the profit is taxed at the investor's personal income rate, which can run into the mid-40s. That exemption has made Germany one of the more attractive jurisdictions in Europe for long-term crypto holders.</p><p dir="ltr">The draft would fold crypto into the same capital income category that already covers dividends and share profits (known in Germany as the Abgeltungsteuer), taxing gains at a flat 25% regardless of how long the asset was held. Add the standard solidarity surcharge and the effective rate comes to roughly 26.4%, before any church tax. The existing €1,000 saver's allowance would still apply, and crypto losses could be offset against gains from other assets, including shares.</p><p dir="ltr">What's actually changing, and when</p><p dir="ltr">It's worth separating the two dates in this story, since several outlets have blurred them. The new tax treatment would kick in for crypto bought from January 1, 2027. Automatic withholding by exchanges and platforms, the point at which the tax is actually collected at source, wouldn't start until 2028, giving providers roughly a year to build the reporting infrastructure. Coins bought before the 2027 cutoff would keep today's tax-free-after-one-year treatment, a form of grandfathering.</p><p dir="ltr">Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil first flagged a crypto tax overhaul at the end of April. The Ministry projects the measure would raise around €160 million in 2028, rising to about €350 million a year by 2031, a relatively modest sum next to the political weight of scrapping a decade-old exemption.</p><p dir="ltr">What could change the picture</p><p dir="ltr">This is still a draft circulating within government, not enacted law. It hasn't gone before the Bundestag or Bundesrat, and a similar proposal from the Greens was already rejected by the Bundestag's Finance Committee in May. The Ministry has reportedly not yet responded to detailed questions on the text, and it remains unclear how the new regime would sit alongside the EU's DAC8 crypto reporting rules already being rolled out.</p><p dir="ltr">What to watch next</p><p dir="ltr">The next real test is whether this draft survives contact with the coalition negotiation process and gets formally introduced as legislation. If it stalls the way the Green Party's version did, Germany's one-year exemption remains intact for now. If it advances, expect a scramble among German holders to establish clean acquisition-date records well before the 2027 line, since providers may apply the flat rate by default where purchase history can't be documented. </p><p dir="ltr"></p> This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.