Crypto Law Profile
DAC8 expands EU tax administrative cooperation to crypto-assets, requiring reporting crypto-asset service providers to collect and report transaction data for automatic exchange among Member States.
DAC8, formally Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226, is the European Union directive that amends Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in taxation to add crypto-asset tax reporting and automatic exchange of information. The Council adopted the Directive on Oct. 17, 2023, it was published in the Official Journal on Oct. 24, 2023, and the main crypto-asset reporting application date is Jan. 1, 2026.
DAC8 is designed to give EU tax authorities a standardized channel for receiving and exchanging information on reportable crypto-asset users and transactions. The European Commission describes DAC8 as the eighth amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation and states that it expands automatic exchange of information to crypto-assets between EU countries.
The regime applies through Member State implementing measures. It requires national tax authorities to obtain information from Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers, or RCASPs, and exchange relevant information with the Member State of residence of the taxpayer or investor on an annual basis. The Directive’s recitals frame the measure as a response to the cross-border and decentralized features of crypto-assets, which can make income and gains harder for tax administrations to assess.
DAC8 builds on MiCA terminology and the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. Its broad scope includes crypto-assets used for payment or investment purposes, with reportable information divided by type of reportable crypto-asset. Commission guidance states that the scope includes decentralized crypto-assets, stablecoins including e-money tokens, and certain non-fungible tokens, subject to the Directive’s detailed definitions and exclusions.
EUR-Lex lists Directive (EU) 2023/2226 as in force. The Directive entered into force on the twentieth day after Official Journal publication, while Member States were required to transpose the main provisions by Dec. 31, 2025 and apply them from Jan. 1, 2026. The first information is reported for the relevant calendar year or other reporting period beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The Commission states that exchanges for the first reporting year, 2026, are due by Sept. 30, 2027.
DAC8 also includes later phase-ins for certain tax-identification-number reporting and communication provisions, with application dates in 2028 and 2030. A 2025 implementing regulation added standard computerized formats and Crypto-Asset Operator register forms for DAC8 exchanges, applying from Jan. 1, 2026.
DAC8 is not a trading, licensing or prudential market framework. It is a tax transparency directive that sits beside MiCA and the EU transfer-of-funds framework. It relies on MiCA definitions for crypto-asset service providers and crypto-assets while aligning the EU reporting system with the OECD CARF and changes to the Common Reporting Standard.
The Directive does not itself set crypto tax rates or decide whether a particular transaction produces taxable income, gain or loss. Those questions remain matters of national law, using information collected and exchanged under the DAC framework.
For CryptoSlate’s law database, DAC8 should be classified as an EU Directive focused on Taxation & Reporting, with secondary relevance to Licensing & Registration, Privacy & Cybersecurity, and the broader crypto regulatory perimeter. The profile should be reviewed as Member States publish or update national transposition rules and reporting formats.
Member States must require RCASPs to report and conduct due diligence under Annex VI for reportable crypto-asset users and transactions.
Competent authorities exchange reported information with the Member State of residence within nine months after the reporting year.
DAC8 builds on MiCA and CARF concepts and covers reportable crypto-assets and users through detailed Annex VI definitions and exclusions.
RCASPs must identify reportable users and obtain tax-residence self-certifications; pre-existing user review benchmarks fall on Jan. 1, 2027.
Crypto-asset operators that are not MiCA-authorized CASPs register in a single Member State for EU DAC8 reporting identification.
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2263 sets standard computerised formats and Crypto-Asset Operator register forms for DAC8 exchanges.
Commission proposed DAC8 amendments to the DAC framework for crypto-asset reporting and related tax information exchanges.
Council reached agreement on its position regarding amendments to the Directive.
European Parliament adopted its opinion on DAC8 under the consultation procedure.
Council unanimously adopted Directive (EU) 2023/2226 amending Directive 2011/16/EU.
Directive (EU) 2023/2226 was published in the Official Journal as OJ L, 2023/2226.
Directive entered into force on the twentieth day after Official Journal publication.
Member States apply the main DAC8 crypto-asset reporting provisions from Jan. 1, 2026.
Council of the European Union, EU Member States, European Commission, Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers, Tax authorities
Crypto assets, E-money tokens, NFTs, Stablecoins
DAC8 is a tax transparency and reporting directive, not a standalone crypto licensing framework. Track national transposition, domestic filing formats and the first exchange cycle for Member State-specific updates.
