Austrian Crypto Tax Break for Pre-2021 Bitcoin Holders

Austria's crypto tax regime offers a significant advantage to investors who purchased Bitcoin before March 2021.

Gains on newer holdings are taxed at 27.5 percent, but older coins fall under transitional rules.

The decisive date is February 28, 2021: cryptocurrencies acquired up to that day generally count as legacy holdings.

This means that investors who bought Bitcoin in 2020 and have held it unchanged since can sell their coins tax-free in principle if the speculative period has expired.

Take an investor who bought Bitcoin in 2020 for €10,000 and sold it in 2026 for €80,000. The increase in value of €70,000 is generally tax-free if the coins still qualify as private legacy holdings and no special rules apply.