Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF)

The OECD approved CARF in 2022 to close a gap in the Common Reporting Standard, which covers bank accounts but not most crypto. Under CARF, crypto-asset service providers collect tax residence and identity details from users and report their exchanges between crypto and fiat, crypto-to-crypto swaps and certain transfers each year to their local tax authority, which then forwards the data automatically to the authorities of the countries where users are tax resident.

Dozens of jurisdictions, including EU member states, the UK, Japan and many financial centres, have committed to implementing it, with the first exchanges of information planned for 2027 or 2028 depending on the country. In the EU, CARF is implemented through the DAC8 directive, which applies from 1 January 2026. The US has its own broker reporting regime and has been slower to sign up to CARF.

For users, the practical effect is that using a foreign exchange no longer keeps transactions out of sight of their home tax authority.