Giving or Receiving Crypto as a Gift in Ireland: CGT, CAT

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: Revenue says you use market value instead of the sale price when an asset is a gift to someone other than your spouse or civil partner. A Revenue manual excerpt says a gift is a disposal for CGT with deemed consideration equal to market value, and the recipient is deemed to acquire at that market value. Separately, the crypto manual says receiving crypto by gift or inheritance may need to be considered for Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT), valued at the euro market value at the valuation date.

The giver (CGT)

Revenue's own worked example uses a painting, not crypto: bought for €6,000, gifted when worth €10,050; gain €4,050, less the €1,270 exemption = €2,780; CGT at 33% (the rate for a July 2025 gift) = €917.40. Applied to crypto (our made-up numbers): crypto cost €2,000, worth €5,000 on the day you give it. Gain €3,000; less €1,270 exemption (if unused) = €1,730. At 31% (expected for gifts from 7 October 2026) = €536.30. The giver pays CGT even though no money was received. Payment dates are the same as for sales (dates).

Spouses and civil partners

Revenue's page lists gifts to someone other than a spouse or civil partner as the market-value case, and an excerpt of the disposal manual says transfers between spouses are generally not disposals. We haven't read the full spouse rules, so confirm before relying on this.

The recipient

Records

Record the date, the euro value and the source of that value, and who received it. Keep records for 6 years (record keeping).

Revenue's eBrief 142/26 (6 October 2026) says the 2% reduction to 31% was announced in Budget 2027 and applies to disposals on or after 7 October 2026; Revenue's How to calculate CGT page (published 7 October 2026) shows 31% (33% before). We did not verify the legislation, so we write 31% per Revenue (Budget 2027), to be legislated and treat it as expected.

FAQ

Does the recipient file a CGT return?

Not on receipt; a later disposal is the recipient's own disposal.

Is a gift to charity treated differently?

Not covered in the pages read.

What we could not verify

  • CAT thresholds, rate, returns and deadlines (not read).
  • Spouse and civil-partner rules in full; charity gifts; gifts to connected persons beyond the excerpt.
  • The crypto application of the painting example (our calculation).
  • Which valuation source Revenue accepts for crypto at the gift date.
  • Enactment of the 31% rate.

Sources (official)

Previous: Crypto-to-crypto swap · Next: Late return

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