As the April 30 filing deadline approaches, Canadian crypto investors are starting to piece together their transaction history and figure out what they owe. With the CRA increasing its scrutiny of cryptocurrency activity and expanding its data-matching capabilities with exchanges, getting your crypto affairs in order has never been more important.

The challenge is that crypto taxes are genuinely complicated. Most traders hold multiple wallets, move assets between exchanges, and engage in activities like staking, airdrops, and DeFi. Each of these has different tax treatment, and the record-keeping requirements are significant.

The good news is that a few targeted actions now can save a lot of pain come April 30. Here's where to start.

How does the CRA tax crypto?

The CRA treats cryptocurrency as a commodity for tax purposes. Most transactions involving crypto are subject to capital gains tax or income tax, depending on the nature of the activity.

Any disposal of crypto triggers a capital gains event. This includes selling for fiat, trading one crypto for another, spending crypto on goods or services, and in some cases, depositing into a smart contract or DeFi protocol. When you realise a capital gain, 50% of that gain is included in your taxable income for the year.

Transactions that resemble income are treated differently. Staking rewards, mining income, airdrops, and getting paid in crypto are generally taxable as income at fair market value in CAD at the time of receipt.

A key point: the CRA's visibility is not limited to centralised exchanges. Blockchain transactions are permanent public records. If you've been active in DeFi or trading NFTs, those activities are on-chain and reportable. Omitting them is not a viable strategy.

4 steps to prepare before April 30

The 2025 tax year closed on December 31. The window between now and April 30 is your opportunity to review your position and file accurately. Once April 30 passes, your options narrow considerably.

Tip 1: Sync all your wallets and exchange accounts

Accurate reporting starts with complete data. Every wallet and exchange account you've used in 2025 needs to be included. If you've previously imported accounts into Summ, check that they're fully synced and up to date so that recent transactions aren't missing.

This step matters more than most traders realise. Canada uses the Adjusted Cost Basis method, which means your cost basis for any asset is calculated across your full transaction history, not just within a single platform. A gap in your import history produces a wrong ACB, which means wrong gains and potentially wrong tax.

Tip 2: Review your transactions for accuracy

With all your data in one place, go through your transactions and check for anything that looks off. Missing transfers, uncategorised transactions, and incorrectly labelled events are the most common sources of error.

Summ flags transactions that need attention and walks you through the review process. Pay particular attention to inter-wallet transfers, which should not be treated as disposals, and to staking or airdrop income, which needs to be captured at fair market value in CAD at the date of receipt.

Tip 3: Review any capital losses you realised in 2025

The tax loss harvesting window for 2025 closed on December 31, but there's still important work to do if you sold assets at a loss during the year. Capital losses need to be correctly reported to offset any capital gains you realised. If your losses exceed your gains for 2025, the excess can be carried back up to three years or carried forward indefinitely to offset future gains.

One rule to check carefully: Canada's superficial loss rule. If you sold an asset at a loss and repurchased the same asset within 30 days before or after the sale, that loss is denied. The original cost basis carries forward to the new position instead. This catches more traders than you'd expect, particularly those who sold during a dip and bought back quickly.

Summ applies the superficial loss rule automatically across your full transaction history. If you're calculating manually, make sure you've checked every loss-realising sale against your purchase history in the 30 days either side.

Tip 4: Generate your tax reports and prepare to file

Once your transactions are reviewed and reconciled, generate your reports. Summ produces a summary of your capital gains, income events, and a full transaction history report that you can hand to your accountant or use to complete your T1 return yourself.

If you use an accountant, share the report pack with them now. Leaving it until mid-April puts you at the back of their queue. The April 30 deadline applies to most individual filers. If you or your spouse are self-employed, the filing deadline extends to June 15, but any tax owing is still due April 30.

Summ takes the headache out of crypto taxes

Tracking crypto taxes across multiple wallets, exchanges, and on-chain protocols is genuinely difficult to do manually. Summ connects to 3,500+ exchanges and wallets, applies the CRA's Adjusted Cost Basis method across your full transaction history, handles the superficial loss rule automatically, and generates tax reports you can file directly or share with your accountant.

If you're not already using crypto tax software, there's still time to get your 2025 position sorted before April 30.

Try Summ for free →

The information provided on this website is general in nature and is not tax, accounting or legal advice. It has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs and seek professional advice. Summ disclaims all and any guarantees, undertakings and warranties, expressed or implied, and is not liable for any loss or damage whatsoever arising out of, or in connection with, any use or reliance on the information or advice on this website.