- Spot trades fall under the capital gains tax (10% above €10,000), Kraken Earn and lending are movable income (30%), margin and futures are speculative (33%), and your account falls under the CAP reporting obligation.
Last updated: June 2026 · Reading time: 5 minutes
Kraken is one of the most popular exchanges among Belgian crypto users, but not every action on your account counts the same way for tax purposes. A spot sale, a staking reward via Kraken Earn, and a margin position each fall under a different tax category. In this overview we list all Kraken activities: what is taxable, which category it falls under, and where to find the detailed explanation per topic.
🔍 The short version (TL;DR)
- 💱 Spot trades (buying, selling, swapping) fall under the capital gains tax: 10% above the annual exemption of €10,000 for normal management
- 🌱 Kraken Earn, staking, and lending generate movable income (roerende inkomsten): 30% on the value of the rewards at the moment you receive them
- 📈 Margin and futures are usually regarded as speculative: miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten) at 33%
- 🏦 Deposits and withdrawals are not taxable in themselves, but your Kraken account does fall under the CAP reporting obligation with the National Bank
- 📅 Since 1 January 2026, the new regime applies, with automatic reporting via DAC8
🧾 Overview: which Kraken activity falls under which tax?
| Kraken activity | Tax category | Rate (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Buying with euro | No taxable moment (cost basis only) | 0% |
| Selling for euro | Capital gain, normal management | 10% above €10,000 |
| Crypto-to-crypto swap | Capital gain (every swap is taxable) | 10% above €10,000 |
| Kraken Earn / staking | Movable income (roerende inkomsten) | 30% |
| Lending / interest | Movable income (roerende inkomsten) | 30% |
| Margin / futures | Miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten) (speculative) | 33% |
| Depositing / withdrawing | Not taxable, but CAP reporting obligation | - |
The category also depends in part on your investor profile. Anyone who trades structurally and with leverage can more quickly end up in the speculative or even professional box. Below we briefly explain each type of activity.
📅 What changes in 2026?
On 3 April 2026, the Chamber definitively approved the capital gains tax on crypto. Since 1 January 2026 you pay 10% on realized capital gains above an annual exemption of €10,000, with the market value on 31 December 2025 as cost basis (the step-up) for those who already held crypto before 2026.
In addition, exchanges automatically report your transactions to the tax authorities from 2026 onward via DAC8. The full explanation of rates, profiles, and the step-up can be found in our guide crypto taxes in Belgium 2026.
💱 Spot trades: buying, selling, and swapping
Most activity on Kraken consists of spot trades. A purchase with euro is not a taxable moment: you only set your cost basis. A taxable moment arises as soon as you close a position, namely when you sell crypto for euro or exchange one coin for another. So a crypto-to-crypto swap (for example BTC to ETH) is also a taxable transaction.
For normal management you pay 10% on the realized capital gain above the exemption of €10,000 per year. A concrete example: you bought 1 ETH for €2,000 and later sold it for €3,500. The capital gain of €1,500 counts toward your annual result. A detailed step-by-step approach for your Kraken tax return can be found in our Kraken CAP and tax return guide.
🌱 Kraken Earn, staking, and lending
If you use Kraken Earn, opt-in staking, or lending, you receive periodic rewards or interest. That income is, in Belgium, movable income (roerende inkomsten) and is taxed at 30% on the value in euro at the moment you receive it.
Important: this is separate from the later capital gain. The received reward gets its own cost basis (the value at receipt), and when you later sell it, you calculate the capital gain again from that point. Read more about how staking and airdrops are treated for tax purposes.
📈 Margin and futures
Kraken also offers margin trading and futures. Because of the leverage and short-term nature, this activity is usually regarded as speculative and taxed as miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten) at 33%. If you lose on such positions, those losses are in principle only deductible within the same category and the same year.
Whether your activity counts as speculative or as normal management depends on your specific situation (frequency, leverage, size). For more context on how liquidated and leveraged positions are taxed, read our guide on crypto liquidation and taxes.
🏦 Deposits, withdrawals, and the CAP reporting obligation
Depositing and withdrawing money or crypto is not in itself a taxable moment. But because Kraken is a foreign institution (Payward Europe Solutions Limited, based in Dublin), your account falls under the CAP reporting obligation: you have to declare the account with the Central Point of Contact (CAP) of the National Bank.
How to do that and which exchanges you precisely have to report can be found in our explanation of the CAP declaration for crypto. We set out the difference between CAP (your reporting obligation) and DAC8 (the exchange's reporting obligation) side by side in the CAP and DAC8 checklist.
⚙️ How Cryptotax does this automatically
You do not have to split this out manually. Cryptotax retrieves your full Kraken history, automatically recognizes which transactions are spot, staking, lending, or margin, and places them in the correct tax category. For each transaction, the capital gain or income in euro is calculated based on the date, and everything is brought together in a filing-ready report.
You can connect your account in a few minutes. See how to import your Kraken transactions or go directly to the Kraken integration.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Do I have to declare every Kraken transaction?
Not every transaction is taxable (a purchase with euro, for example, is not), but you do have to keep your full history to calculate your taxable result correctly. Sales, swaps, staking rewards, and margin results count.
Do my Kraken Earn rewards count as a capital gain?
No. Rewards are movable income (roerende inkomsten) (30%) at the moment of receipt. The later sale of those rewards falls separately under the capital gains tax.
I trade with margin on Kraken, is that 10% or 33%?
Margin and futures are, because of their speculative nature, usually taxed at 33% as miscellaneous income (diverse inkomsten), not at the 10% rate for normal management.
Do I also have to report my Kraken account with the CAP?
Yes. Kraken is a foreign institution, so your account falls under the CAP reporting obligation with the National Bank, separate from the tax on your profits.
✅ Getting started
Want to know what your Kraken activity means for tax purposes without diving into spreadsheets yourself? Connect your account and let Cryptotax automatically calculate your capital gains, staking income, and margin results according to the Belgian rules. Start a free scan and get your crypto bookkeeping in order.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This article is purely informative and not individual tax advice. For concrete cases: consult a recognized Belgian tax specialist or request a ruling from the Ruling Commission (Dienst Voorafgaande Beslissingen).
