How crypto taxation works in Italy: the definitive guide

In Italia, la crypto taxation involves the payment of two different types of tax. 

Both need to be paid, but different guidelines must be followed to calculate the amounts. 

In this article, we will look at the main regulations concerning crypto taxation for private citizens, because for companies, the normal rules already in place for the possession and sale of other financial assets are followed. 

The taxation of crypto capital gains in Italy

First of all, as is the case in the majority of countries, it is necessary to pay a tax on any capital gains. 

It must be said that these rules apply specifically to those who reside in Italy, while for those residing abroad they might be different. 

For example, Swiss law does not impose tax payments on any crypto capital gains for those residing in Switzerland.

In Italy, the aliquota to be used for calculating taxes on potential crypto capital gains is 26% for 2025. In theory, starting from January 1, 2026, it should increase to 33%. However, there is still the possibility that it will be brought back to 26%.

There is, however, a complication.

The calculation of taxes on capital gains

First of all, it must be said that plusvalenze refers only to the potential gains produced by the sale. 

Therefore, in the absence of a sale, there cannot be capital gains, just as there are none in the case of a sale at a loss, or at par. 

To calculate the tax to be paid to the State, simply multiply the total annual sum of all crypto capital gains and losses by the reference rate, which, as mentioned earlier, is 26% for 2025.

The complication is that not all sales generate taxable capital gains. 

It should still be emphasized that it does not matter on which platform the sale is made, because any sale or transfer, including those related to the use of crypto as a means of payment for purchases, can generate a capital gain, provided that they are fiscally relevant. 

The fiscally relevant sales

By “fiscalmente rilevante” in this case, it means the generation of income that is subject to taxation. 

The Italian law establishes that only sales or transfers (technically called “permute”) that occur either between cryptocurrencies and non-crypto assets, or between cryptocurrencies of different types are fiscally relevant. 

Therefore, every exchange of cryptocurrencies for non-crypto assets, whether euros or other goods, is considered fiscally relevant. 

The discussion, however, becomes more complicated for crypto-to-crypto swaps, that is, with the transfer of cryptocurrencies in exchange for other criptovalute.

If a crypto-to-crypto swap occurs between two cryptocurrencies with similar characteristics, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, Italian law considers it as not relevant for tax purposes. In other words, any capital gains generated from the swap of Bitcoin to Ethereum, or vice versa, are not subject to taxation in Italy.

This reasoning applies to all true cryptocurrencies, such as XRP, Solana, BNB, Dogecoin, Tron, Cardano, etc. 

It does not apply, however, when the exchange occurs between a real cryptocurrency and, for example, a stablecoin, or an asset-referenced token like tokenized gold.

It should be noted that there are some algorithmic stablecoins, including in particular DAI (USDS), which are collateralized precisely in Ethereum, Bitcoin, or similar, and therefore fall into the first category. Therefore, an exchange of Bitcoin, or Ethereum, into DAI is not considered fiscally relevant in Italy, and thus does not generate taxable capital gains. 

Obviously, it remains firm that, even in the case of a fiscally relevant exchange, taxes must be paid only if there have been capital gains (that is, if the sale was made at a profit), with the amount of tax to be paid to the state calculated based on the amount of the capital gains and not on the total amount of the sale. 

The amounts are always and only calculated in euros, and to calculate the capital gain, you need to subtract from the amount received the expense previously incurred to purchase the crypto sold. 

The imposta di bollo

However, there is also a second tax to pay, which is effectively a tax on the mere possession of cryptocurrencies, to be paid every year, even in the absence of transactions.

It is called “imposta di bollo“, or IVAFE (Imposta sul Valore delle Attività Finanziarie detenute all’Estero), and it must be equal to two per thousand (0.2%) of the total value in euros of the cryptocurrencies owned by a person at the end of the year. 

This tax applies to any crypto owned, regardless of the type of wallet in which they are kept. 

How to declare and pay taxes on cryptocurrencies in Italy

The Italian law requires that at the end of the year each person declares the total amount in euros of the crypto they own, based on which the “imposta di bollo” is calculated. 

This declaration must be made by properly filling out the quadro RW of your tax return. 

Furthermore, it is expected that any crypto capital gains, if there are any, must be declared in the quadro RT, still within the tax return. 

Once the amounts to be paid to the State have been calculated, the payment can be made at the same time as that of the other income taxes to be paid, and in the same ways. Those who do not commonly make these payments will have to proceed with a specific payment using the classic methods related to the payment of income taxes. 

The (big) difficulties: how to solve with Okipo

All of this is actually much more complicated in practice than it is in theory. 

In fact, it is often very difficult to gather all the information related to all the transactions made throughout the year in order to perform the calculations correctly. 

Furthermore, even doing the calculations correctly is particularly complex (as well as risky), especially in the case of a high number of transactions. 

Finally, for many people, it is not even particularly easy to understand what should actually be reported in the quadro RW or in the quadro RT of the tax return.

However, there is a solution, widely used even by many accountants, that makes all this a bit simpler, and certainly less risky. 

We are talking about Okipo, a platform that allows connecting all the crypto wallets owned by a person. When it comes time to file a tax return, these software programs download all the data related to all the transactions that occurred during the year and perform all the calculations accurately.

In the end, they provide the user with the overall data to be entered in the RW and RT sections of their tax return. 

Software like Okipo provide all the necessary documentation for the tax declaration of one’s cryptocurrencies in compliance with Italian law.