If you traded, earned, or disposed of crypto in New Zealand during the tax year, you need to report it on your Individual Income Tax Return (IR3). The IRD does not yet have a dedicated crypto field on the form, which leads to a fair amount of confusion. This guide walks through exactly where crypto income and losses go, what supporting records you need, and how to file with confidence.

Do you need to file an IR3 for crypto?

Most NZ taxpayers file an IR3 when they have income that is not already taxed at source through PAYE. Crypto income falls firmly into that category. You will generally need to file an IR3 if you:

• Sold, traded, or swapped crypto and made a taxable profit during the year

• Earned staking, mining, lending, or airdrop rewards that count as taxable income

• Used crypto to buy goods or services where the disposal is taxable

• Had any other reportable crypto activity that does not flow through automated tax reporting

If your only crypto activity for the year was buying with NZD and holding (with no disposals), you generally do not have a taxable event to report. For everything else, the IR3 is where it lands. For the underlying tax framework, see our New Zealand Crypto Tax Guide.

Key dates for the 2025/2026 tax year

• 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026: The 2025/2026 NZ tax year

• 7 July 2026: Standard IR3 filing deadline (if you file yourself)

• 31 March 2027: Extended deadline if you file through a tax agent registered with the IRD

• 7 February 2027: Terminal tax payment deadline (any balance owed)

Where crypto figures go on the IR3

There is no dedicated cryptocurrency box on the IR3, so where your numbers land depends on the nature of the activity:

Net crypto trading gains and losses

For most retail investors, net crypto profits or losses go in "Other income" on the IR3. You report a single net figure for the year, calculated as your total taxable disposals less your total cost base. Losses that exceed gains in the same year can generally offset other income, subject to the usual IRD rules on capital vs. revenue treatment.

Mining, staking, and lending income

Income from mining, staking, lending, or yield protocols is typically reported as "Other income" on the IR3, valued in NZD on the date of receipt. If your activity is at the scale of a business, it goes under the business income sections instead.

Airdrops and forks

Where airdrops or forks are taxable on receipt (for example, where you provided a service or run a crypto business), the value at receipt goes in "Other income". If they are taxable only on disposal, the gain or loss is reported when you sell the assets.

Crypto businesses

If you run a crypto business (mining at scale, professional trading, NFT creator selling commercially, or operating a crypto-focused service business), you report your income through the business income sections of the IR3 and may also need to register for GST.

Step-by-step: filing your IR3 with crypto income

1. Reconcile your full year of transactions. Pull data from every exchange, wallet, and DeFi protocol you used. Convert every transaction to NZD using rates from the date of the transaction.

2. Calculate your net taxable position. For disposals, apply FIFO (the IRD default) or specific identification consistently. Add staking, mining, and other income at the NZD value on the date received.

3. Generate your tax report. If you are using Summ, the NZ tax report gives you the total figures broken down into the IR3 categories you need.

4. Log in to myIR. Your IR3 form will be available under the relevant tax year. Click through to the income sections.

5. Enter your figures. Drop your net crypto trading gain or loss into "Other income". Add staking, mining, and lending rewards under the same heading. Add a clear description in the notes field, for example "Net crypto disposals" and "Staking and lending rewards".

6. Attach or retain supporting records. Save your full tax report, transaction history, and cost base calculations. The IRD requires you to keep these for at least 7 years.

7. Submit and pay any balance. Submit through myIR before the deadline. Terminal tax is due by 7 February the following year.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Reporting gross instead of net. The IRD wants the net taxable figure for the year, not every individual disposal as a separate line.

• Missing staking and yield income. A surprising number of NZ filers report disposal gains but forget to add staking rewards, lending interest, and similar income. With CARF reporting from 1 April 2026, this is one of the easier mismatches for the IRD to spot.

• Mixing tax years. The NZ tax year runs 1 April to 31 March, not the calendar year. Make sure your transaction window matches.

• Inconsistent cost basis methods. If you use FIFO, use it consistently across the same crypto asset within a tax year.

• Missing the 7 July deadline. Late filing penalties apply, and the IRD has been increasingly active in pursuing crypto-related non-compliance. Use a tax agent if you cannot meet the deadline.

How Summ makes IR3 filing simple

Summ aggregates every transaction across exchanges, wallets, and DeFi protocols, applies NZ-specific tax logic, and produces a report broken down into the figures you actually need to enter on the IR3. Get started with Summ to generate your NZ tax report in minutes.