Guide
Eight questions for a crypto accountant, before the fee conversation
Updated
Every question here is derived from a rule HMRC publishes, which means each has a right answer and a wrong one rather than being a matter of style.
On disposals
Which of my transactions are disposals that I have not counted as disposals? A practice that has done this work answers specifically and mentions token-to-token swaps unprompted.
How do you value a token-to-token disposal, and what source do you use for the sterling figure? There is no single mandated source, and a firm should be able to say what it uses and apply it consistently.
On the arithmetic
How do you compute the pooled cost, and can you show me the working for one token?
How do you handle same-day acquisitions and disposals, and repurchases within 30 days? Both rules sit outside the pool and both are published, so a hesitant answer here is decisive.
On costs
Which of my fees are you treating as allowable costs? Transaction fees and valuation expenses are allowable, and network fees paid in the token itself are commonly omitted.
If I mined any of this, how are you treating those costs? HMRC states that the costs of mining activities are not deductible, and this is the specific case people reach for.
On scope and fee
What records do you need from me, and what happens about the exchange that no longer exists? The answer tells you how much reconstruction is in the engagement.
And what drives your fee: transaction count, the number of venues, or the state of the records? All three matter, and the third is usually the largest and the least discussed.
What this page will not tell you
What any of it should cost. Accountancy fees are set by firms and vary enormously with volume and record quality, and no authority publishes a benchmark, so a range here would describe nobody.
And what you owe. That depends on your transactions, and the point of the eight questions is to find somebody equipped to work it out rather than to work it out on a website.