Countries that don't tax crypto (2026): tax-free gains and the catches

Tax & Residency
, ,
1

The countries that don’t tax an individual’s crypto gains fall into two groups. The first has no personal income tax at all: the UAE, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda. The second taxes income but exempts private investment gains under conditions: Germany after a one-year holding, Switzerland for private investors, Portugal after 365 days, and Singapore and Malaysia, which have no capital gains tax for individuals. None of this helps unless you actually stop being tax resident where you live now. If you’re a US citizen, it doesn’t help at all.

Last checked: October 2026

In short:

  • No personal income tax: the UAE, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda. Conditional exemptions: Germany (held more than one year), Portugal (held 365 days or more), Switzerland (private investors) and Singapore (investment, not trading).
  • The exemptions are for investors. Frequent trading, mining, staking and running a business can be taxed as income almost everywhere on this list.
  • Hiding it is getting harder. Under the EU’s DAC8 rules, crypto platforms have been collecting user data since 1 January 2026, with the first exchanges between tax authorities due by 30 September 2027.

The comparison table

Country Tax on individual crypto gains Conditions Catches
UAE None (no personal income tax) Must be genuinely resident An individual running a business with turnover above AED 1 million falls into 9% corporate tax
Cayman Islands None (no income or withholding tax on individuals) Residence permit needed High cost of living; residency is expensive
Bahamas None (no personal income tax) Residence permit needed You still need to break residence where you came from
Bermuda None (no income tax on individuals) Residence permit needed Payroll tax and social insurance apply to employment
Germany 0% if held more than 1 year; otherwise personal income tax rates Gains under €1,000 a year are tax-free (a threshold, not an allowance) The Finance Ministry is working on a reform to scrap the holding period. It is not law yet
Switzerland 0% on private capital gains Must be a private investor, not a professional trader Annual cantonal wealth tax on market value; staking and mining income taxed
Portugal 28% if held under 365 days; exempt at 365 days or more The exemption depends on where the counterparty is Professional trading and mining are taxed as business income
Singapore 0% if held as an investment Intention at purchase matters (“badges of trade”) Trading gains are taxable income
Malaysia No capital gains tax for individuals Capital gains tax from 2024 applies to companies, not individuals Trading as a business is income
Puerto Rico (Act 60) Full exemption or reduced rates under a decree Bona fide residence plus a decree Gains on crypto held before the move can still be US-source
Italy (counter-example) 33% from 1 January 2026 No minimum: the €2,000 tax-free threshold was abolished from 2025 —
Spain (counter-example) 19% to 30% savings rates Rates rise in bands up to 30% above €300,000 —

Tax residency is the whole game

A low-tax country only matters if you become tax resident there and stop being tax resident everywhere else. Most countries don’t use a simple day count. They look at where your home is, where your family lives and where your economic interests are. The details are in Tax residency explained: why the 183-day rule is a myth for most countries.

US citizens are the big exception. The IRS says citizens and resident aliens abroad are “subject to tax on worldwide income from all sources.” For US tax, digital assets are “property, not currency,” so selling crypto is a taxable disposal wherever you live. Brokers have had to report gross proceeds on Form 1099-DA for transactions on or after 1 January 2025. Moving abroad doesn’t change this. Only giving up citizenship does, and that has its own costs. See US expat taxes (2026): filing, FEIE, FBAR and catching up.

Leaving can also trigger an exit tax on unrealised gains. Check before you sell. See Exit tax explained: which countries charge it when you leave.

No income tax at all: UAE, Cayman, Bahamas, Bermuda

UAE. PwC’s tax summary says “there is currently no personal income tax in the United Arab Emirates.” There’s one catch for active traders. A natural person who conducts a business in the UAE becomes liable for 9% corporate tax once business turnover goes over AED 1 million. PwC notes that wages, personal investment income and real estate investment income don’t count towards that turnover.

Cayman Islands. “There are no income or withholding taxes imposed on individuals,” according to PwC.

Bahamas. PwC says “there is currently no personal income tax (PIT) in The Bahamas.”

Bermuda. PwC says income taxes “are not imposed on individuals in Bermuda.” Payroll tax and social insurance do apply to employment, so a salaried move is not tax-free.

All four require a legal right to live there. More options are in Tax-free countries (2026): no income tax countries you can actually live in.

Conditional exemptions: Germany, Switzerland, Portugal

Germany. A sale of crypto is a private sale transaction under section 23 of the Income Tax Act. CMS’s guide explains that the gain is taxable only if no more than one year passes between buying and selling. If you hold longer, the sale is tax-free. Total private sale gains under €1,000 in a calendar year are also tax-free. This is a Freigrenze, a threshold: go over it and the whole amount is taxed, not just the excess.

The rule may not last. In May 2026 the Bundestag Finance Committee recommended rejecting a Green Party bill to abolish the holding period (Drucksache 21/6112). Then in September 2026, BTC-ECHO reported a Finance Ministry draft to tax crypto like shares, at the flat capital income rate, from 1 January 2028, with coins bought before 2027 keeping the old rule. The ministry says the details are still being agreed within government. Treat it as live risk, not law.

Switzerland. The Federal Tax Administration’s working paper says gains made by individuals holding crypto as private wealth “are in principle tax-free capital gains,” and losses are not deductible. You pay something else instead. Crypto is subject to cantonal wealth tax and must be declared at market value at the end of the tax year. The exemption disappears if you qualify as a professional securities trader. That is decided case by case under Circular No. 36 of 27 July 2012, looking at the “type, scope and financing” of your transactions.

Portugal. According to CMS, swapping crypto for fiat is taxed at 28%, or you can opt to aggregate it with other income at progressive rates of 14.5% to 48%. Gains on crypto held for 365 days or more are exempt. The exemption only applies where the counterparty is in the EU or EEA, or in a country with a tax treaty with Portugal. Portugal’s newer resident regime is covered in NHR Portugal is closed: what IFICI (NHR 2.0) offers instead (2026).

Investing versus trading: Singapore, Malaysia

Singapore and Malaysia don’t have a general capital gains tax for individuals. That doesn’t mean all crypto profit is tax-free.

Singapore. IRAS’s e-Tax Guide on digital tokens says that if you hold tokens as a long-term investment, “the disposal gains/losses of the payment tokens are not taxable/deductible.” If your activity is trading in nature, gains are taxable. The test is “the intention at the point of purchase,” judged by the badges of trade: how often you trade, how long you hold, how it’s financed and whether you’re organised like a business.

Malaysia. PwC notes that individuals pay capital gains tax mainly on real property, through real property gains tax. The capital gains tax introduced on 1 January 2024 covers companies, LLPs, co-operatives and trust bodies, not individuals. Regular trading can still be treated as business income. For how territorial systems work, see Territorial tax countries compared: where foreign income isn’t taxed.

Puerto Rico Act 60: for Americans, with a 10-year catch

Puerto Rico is the one place a US citizen can cut US tax without giving up citizenship. You have to become a bona fide resident. Under Act 60, resident individual investors with a decree from the Department of Economic Development and Commerce get full exemption on interest and dividends. PwC says capital gains get “full exemption or reduced rates” under certain conditions. Eligibility is for people who weren’t Puerto Rico residents in the prior 10 years, and it runs through 31 December 2035.

The catch is crypto you already own. Under US Treasury regulation 1.937-2(f), if you were a US citizen or resident in any of the 10 years before becoming a bona fide resident, gains on property you owned before the move are generally US-source income. That means US tax. You can elect to treat the part of the gain from your time as a Puerto Rico resident as Puerto Rico source. Coins bought after the move are the cleaner case.

Counter-examples: Italy, Spain and Greece

Italy. CMS says the substitute tax on crypto gains was “26% until 31 December 2025, 33% from 1 January 2026,” and the €2,000 tax-free threshold was abolished from January 2025.

Spain. Crypto gains fall into savings income, taxed at 19% on the first €6,000, 21% up to €50,000, 23% up to €200,000, 27% up to €300,000 and 30% above that, per PwC.

Greece (proposed). A draft bill published for consultation in October 2026 would tax individuals’ crypto gains at 10%, with the first €500 a year exempt, per Reuters. Consultation runs to 22 October and the government plans a vote in parliament in November, so it is not law yet. See Greece proposes 10% tax on crypto gains, vote due in November.

Often cited, not confirmed: El Salvador and Georgia

Both countries regularly turn up on “crypto tax-free” lists. We couldn’t confirm either claim from an official or Big 4 source for 2026. PwC’s summary for El Salvador describes a general capital gains tax of 10%, with assets sold within 12 months taxed as ordinary income, and says nothing about a crypto exemption. PwC’s summary for Georgia covers gains on property and vehicles but doesn’t mention crypto. If either country is on your shortlist, get a written opinion from a local tax adviser.

Reporting is catching up: CARF and DAC8

The OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) is a standard for crypto platforms to report users’ transactions to tax authorities, which then share the data with each other. The EU applies it through DAC8. The European Commission says DAC8 applies from 1 January 2026. Exchanges for the first reporting year (2026) “will take place by 30 September 2027.” As of March 2026, 76 Global Forum members had announced plans to start CARF exchanges. Switzerland has adopted it too. CMS reports that its first exchange is expected in 2028, covering transactions from 1 January 2027.

If you’re still resident at home, your tax authority will see your exchange activity. A move has to be real and complete before you sell.

Related guides: Tax-free countries (2026): no income tax countries you can actually live in · Tax residency explained: why the 183-day rule is a myth for most countries · Exit tax explained: which countries charge it when you leave · Territorial tax countries compared: where foreign income isn’t taxed · US expat taxes (2026): filing, FEIE, FBAR and catching up · Greece proposes 10% tax on crypto gains, vote due in November · France committee votes to extend exit tax to crypto above €800,000

Quick answers

Q: Which countries have no tax on crypto gains for individuals?
The UAE, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda don’t tax individuals’ income, so personal crypto gains are untaxed. Germany exempts coins held more than one year, Portugal exempts holdings of 365 days or more, and Switzerland and Singapore exempt private investment gains. Trading, mining and staking can still be taxed.

Q: Can a US citizen avoid crypto tax by moving abroad?
No. The IRS taxes US citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, and treats crypto as property, so sales are taxable. The main exception is becoming a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico with an Act 60 decree. Even then, gains on crypto held before the move can still be US-source under a 10-year rule.

Q: Is crypto still tax-free in Germany after one year in 2026?
Yes, as of October 2026. Private sales of crypto held for more than one year are tax-free, and total gains under €1,000 a year are tax-free. The Finance Ministry is working on a reform to tax crypto like shares, reportedly from 2028, but it has not been passed.

Sources

This is general information from the Nomad Forums team, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; check the official source or a qualified adviser before acting.

Over to you: If you’ve moved tax residence partly because of crypto, how did your old country treat the move, and did anyone ask you to prove when you bought your coins? And has anyone had a ruling in Switzerland on private-investor versus professional-trader status?

France committee votes to extend exit tax to crypto above €800,000
Greece proposes 10% tax on crypto gains, vote due in November