Why your ENS purchase is taxed as a capital gain from 2026

With the arrival of the new capital gains tax on crypto from 1 January 2026, a lot changes for Belgian investors and users of digital currencies. Where you often stayed out of range when spending crypto until now, that will soon be different.

A concrete example: you buy an ENS domain (Ethereum Name Service) with 1 ETH.

How does that work today?

• You pay 1 ETH to the ENS smart contract.
• Technically, that is regarded as selling ETH for the value of the market price at that moment.
• In return you receive an ENS name (an NFT-like token that represents your domain).

Until the end of 2025, the following applies:

• For prudent investors ("prudent investor"), this is usually exempt.
• Only those regarded as speculative or professional are taxed on that capital gain.

What changes in 2026?

From 1 January 2026, the capital gains tax on crypto applies to realized profits, regardless of your profile.

👉 That means that every time you spend or exchange ETH, you make a disposal and realize a capital gain:

• Suppose you bought 1 ETH at €1,000.
• At the moment of your ENS purchase, ETH stands at €2,000.
• Then you record a capital gain of €1,000, on which 10% tax is due (above the annual exemption of €10,000).

The ENS name you receive gets a cost basis of €2,000. If you later sell it, that basis is used to calculate the new capital gain (or loss).

How cryptotax solves this

Manually keeping track of such transactions is complex:

• You need to know when you bought your ETH.
• You need to know the EUR value at the moment of spending.
• You need to report this correctly to the tax authorities.

That is why cryptotax automatically detects when your crypto is spent on a contract such as ENS. In your report you immediately see:

• The outgoing ETH with the correct historical purchase price.
• The calculated capital gain according to Belgian rules.
• The purchased ENS name with its new cost basis.

Example in our interface

Here you can see how such a transaction looks in our tool:

Frequently asked questions about ENS and taxes (FAQ)

Is every ENS purchase taxed?

Yes, from 2026 every spend of crypto (including for NFTs or domains such as ENS) is seen as a sale. You pay tax on the realized capital gain.

What if I make a loss?

If you make a capital loss (e.g. ETH bought at €2,500, sold/spent at €2,000), then no tax is due. You do, however, have to report the transaction.

How do the tax authorities know I bought an ENS?

All transactions on the blockchain are publicly visible. The tax authorities can verify that 1 ETH went to the official ENS contract.

Can I avoid this by using crypto directly?

No. Every spend or exchange (to a token, NFT, domain, or service) counts as a taxable event. Only pure self-transfers (to your own wallets) are not taxable.

Does cryptotax do this automatically?

Yes. Our system recognizes known contracts such as ENS and records this correctly in your report. This way you can be sure you are compliant with the Belgian tax authorities.

Conclusion

• From 2026, an ENS purchase with ETH is also taxed as a capital gain.
• cryptotax detects and calculates this automatically for you.
• This way you stay tax-proof, without endless Excel exercises.