German crypto accounting for complex portfolios

Can you help with crypto tax reporting if I live in Germany?
Yes. We work with crypto investors who have German tax reporting obligations, including people with complex histories across exchanges, self-custody wallets and DeFi. We reconstruct the crypto activity and prepare the reporting package needed for the German return. Where German tax advice or filing by an authorised German professional is required, the report can be supplied to your Steuerberater.

How is staking taxed in Germany?
Passive staking rewards are generally treated as other income under §22 no. 3 EStG and valued when received. The current BMF guidance also confirms that using currency or payment tokens in this way does not extend the normal disposal period to 10 years. When the rewarded crypto is later disposed of, its subsequent disposal may also need to be considered separately.

How does Germany's 1-year crypto rule work?
‍For crypto held as private assets, a disposal within no more than 1 year of acquisition can fall within the private disposal rules under §23 EStG.A disposal after the 1-year period will generally fall outside those rules. The important part for a complex portfolio is establishing which units were acquired when. Crypto-to-crypto exchanges also count as disposals and create a new acquisition for the asset received. We reconstruct those dates from the underlying records.

Can you handle DeFi and NFTs under German rules?
Yes, from a transaction reconstruction and reporting perspective. This distinction matters because the current BMF crypto guidance does not provide specific rules for every DeFi transaction. NFTs and liquidity mining are expressly outside the scope of the current BMF letter. We reconstruct what actually occurred on-chain and separate the transactions so the appropriate German tax treatment can be determined and documented.

What is Germany's €1,000 crypto tax Freigrenze?
‍Under Section 23 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG), the €1,000 Freigrenze is an annual, aggregate exemption threshold for private sales of assets held for less than one year. It applies to your net combined profits across all short-term cryptocurrency trades and other private disposal transactions within a single calendar year, rather than serving as an individual allowance for each specific coin, wallet, or trade.It is critical to distinguish a Freigrenze from a standard tax allowance (Freibetrag). A Freigrenze operates as an all-or-nothing threshold. If your total short-term crypto gains for the calendar year remain strictly under €1,000 (for instance, €950), the entire sum is completely tax-free. However, if your net gains reach or exceed €1,000 by even a single cent, the exemption vanishes entirely, and your full gain is taxed at your regular personal income tax rate. Gains realized on crypto assets held beyond the statutory one-year holding period (Haltefrist) are completely tax-exempt under German law and do not consume any part of your €1,000 threshold. If your taxable short-term gains exceed the €1,000 mark, or if you need to report allowable losses to offset against future gains, your reconciled transaction totals must be formally declared on your Anlage SO when filing your income tax return with the Finanzamt.

How much does German crypto tax accounting cost German crypto investors typically choose between DIY tax software subscriptions and hiring a Steuerberater, who often bills by the hour or according to the statutory fee schedule (StBVV), where reconciling complex on-chain activity can quickly become expensive. CountDeFi offers a transparent alternative by pricing directly on transaction volume and protocol complexity rather than open-ended billable hours. Most of our German clients utilize our Basic plan at $695 or our Standard plan at $1,695, with active traders moving into higher tiers as their on-chain volume and DeFi activity expand. Every plan includes full transaction reconciliation under German Federal Ministry of Finance guidelines, applying the statutory FIFO method, tracking the one-year Haltefrist for tax-free gains, and preparing clear documentation for your Anlage SO submission to the Finanzamt. While our reporting outputs are fully localized for German tax requirements, all CountDeFi service plans are billed in USD.

Can CountDeFi handle and correct complex DeFi transactions like liquidity pools, staking, and lending for German taxes?
Yes. Automated tools frequently mislabel or drop complex on-chain events across protocols like Uniswap, Curve, Aave, and Lido. As decentralized finance tax specialists, CountDeFi manually reconstructs, repairs, and categorizes broken transaction chains to ensure full compliance with German Federal Ministry of Finance guidelines.Under Sections 22 and 23 of the German Income Tax Act, we properly separate ordinary income generated from staking, lending, and yield farming rewards from private capital gains. We resolve distorted cost-basis records and track the statutory one-year Haltefrist for both deposited capital and harvested yields. The result is an audit-ready reporting package formatted for your Anlage SO that you or your Steuerberater can submit directly to the Finanzamt.

Does CountDeFi charge by the hour?
CountDeFi does not bill German crypto tax clients by the hour. Our accounting fee is fixed to your crypto trading volume and quoted upfront. Our Pricing page shows the details of our various plans available to German cryptocurrency traders who need professional accounting support. This provides a predictable alternative to traditional billing under the German Steuerberater statutory fee schedule (StBVV), where reconciling high-frequency trading, DeFi protocols, and multi-wallet histories on an hourly basis can lead to unexpected costs. Instead, you get transparent pricing and a fully reconciled, audit-ready reporting package formatted for your Anlage SO and the Finanzamt.

What is the typical cost of CountDeFi's accounting service for a German investor?
‍Pricing is primarily determined by transaction volume and on-chain complexity under German tax rules. At CountDeFi, most German filers pay between $695 and $2,995. The exact tier depends on factors such as: DeFi & Staking Activity: Income classification from staking, liquidity mining, or lending in accordance with BMF guidelines (§ 22 / § 23 EStG). Holding Period Tracking (Haltefrist): Comprehensive multi-wallet FIFO reconciliation to separate tax-free gains (held > 1 year) from taxable short-term transactions. Documentation Depth: Full preparation of supporting schedules ready for submission alongside your Anlage SO to the Finanzamt.

Does CountDefi's crypto accounting price include a German tax report?
‍Yes. Once we calculate your complete crypto tax position for the year, we issue you a comprehensive, Germany-specific tax report. This documentation is explicitly formatted to help you fill out your Anlage SO (Sonstige Einkünfte) for your local Finanzamt. Our calculations are fully compliant with the latest guidelines from the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and § 23 EStG, automatically applying local rules like the standard FIFO accounting method and tracking the one-year tax-free holding period (Haltefrist).

Can you help if I am a US citizen living in Germany?
‍Yes. We regularly help US expats in Germany whose crypto activity triggers tax reporting in both jurisdictions.  Cross-border crypto taxation is complex because the Internal Revenue Service and the German Finanzamt use different frameworks. In Germany, private crypto sales are tax-free after a one-year holding period, known as the Haltefrist, and require strict FIFO tracking. The US taxes capital gains regardless of the holding duration and allows different accounting methods.  To solve this, we reconstruct a single underlying transaction history from your wallets and exchanges. From this unified data, we generate your German Anlage SO schedules with Euro holding periods, alongside your US Form 8949 and Schedule D in Dollars using historical exchange rates. This ensures both your German Steuerberater and US CPA receive precise, audit-ready documentation based on consistent data.

Can you help with my entire crypto portfolio?
Yes. CountDeFi specializes in complex crypto portfolios across multiple wallets, exchanges, and smart contracts, fully tailoring the final output to German tax law. Whether your activity involves spot trading, decentralized finance liquidity pools, lending, mining, futures, or prediction markets, we reconstruct your entire on-chain history into an audit-ready ledger. Our reporting strictly complies with German Federal Ministry of Finance circulars and the German Income Tax Act. We separate ordinary income streams, like staking and lending rewards, from private sales transactions, apply the required FIFO accounting method, and track the one-year Haltefrist to pinpoint your tax-free gains. The result is a complete documentation package prepared for your Anlage SO filing that you or your Steuerberater can submit directly to the Finanzamt.