Which Coins Did I Sell? Ireland Cost Matching
Updated 17 October 2026 · Information only · Not tax or financial advice
Educational information only. Not tax, legal or financial advice. We are not Revenue (the Irish tax authority) and are not affiliated with it. Check revenue.ie and consider a qualified adviser. Last checked against Revenue pages: 17 October 2026. Anything marked expected should be re-checked. Examples use made-up numbers. This page contains no affiliate links.
Short answer: If you bought the same coin at several prices and sell part of it, which purchase cost do you use? Revenue's crypto manual says the CGT calculation is done "separately on each asset on a disposal-by-disposal basis". It does not say how to match units sold with units bought. We found no FIFO, average-cost, pooling or crypto-specific four-week rule in that manual, so this page does not give one.
What the Revenue manual says
- Gains are calculated as proceeds less cost, for each disposal of each asset (TDM 02-01-03, section 1.3).
- There are no special tax rules for crypto: the manual says the ordinary rules apply, with proper records kept (executive summary and section 7).
- Records must be kept for 6 years and made available on request, including those held in a wallet or on a device.
What it does not say
- Which purchase is treated as sold first when identical units were bought at different times.
- Whether units of the same coin held in several wallets or exchanges are treated as one holding.
- Whether any anti-avoidance rule on quick sell-and-rebuy applies to crypto. Silence in one manual is not approval of any method. If you have a large or complicated position, ask a qualified Irish tax adviser which method they use, and ask them to confirm it with Revenue if needed.
A simple way to stay safe (practical, not a Revenue rule)
Write down the method you use, apply it the same way to every disposal, and keep the records that let you rebuild each calculation. Do not switch method between years to get a better result without advice.
Made-up illustration
You bought 1 unit at €1,000 and 1 unit at €3,000, then sold 1 unit for €4,000. Using the first purchase as the cost gives a gain of €3,000; using the second gives €1,000; using an average gives €2,000. All three are different numbers, which is why the method matters and why Revenue's silence is worth knowing about.
Related
Swapping crypto for crypto: worked example · Record keeping, six years · Which price to use · Annual exemption and losses
FAQ
Is FIFO the Irish rule?
We found nothing in Revenue's crypto manual that says so. Whether another Revenue page sets FIFO for shares is not something we read, and it should not be assumed to apply to crypto.
Does the four-week rule apply?
Not stated for crypto in the manual we read.
Does the €1,270 exemption change this?
No, it applies after losses to your total gains for the year.
What we could not verify
- Any Revenue statement on FIFO, average cost or pooling for crypto (none found in TDM 02-01-03; other Revenue pages on shares not read).
- Whether a four-week or similar rule applies to crypto sell-and-rebuy (not stated).
- Revenue's view where identical coins are held on several platforms.
Sources (official)
- Revenue, Tax and Duty Manual Part 02-01-03: Taxation of Crypto-Asset Transactions (document last reviewed January 2026) — https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-02/02-01-03.pdf (read in full 17 October 2026)