Crypto Tax India 2025: Rules, Rates, and What You Must Know

When you trade or hold crypto tax India 2025, the legal requirement to report and pay taxes on cryptocurrency gains under Indian law. Also known as cryptocurrency taxation in India, it’s not optional—it’s tracked through exchanges, bank flows, and blockchain analysis tools. The rules haven’t changed since 2022, and in 2025, enforcement is tighter than ever.

If you bought Bitcoin, sold Ethereum, earned rewards from staking, or even swapped one token for another, you owe tax. The government treats crypto as a virtual digital asset, a category defined under Indian income tax law that includes all cryptocurrencies and NFTs. There’s no distinction between short-term and long-term gains. Every sale triggers a 30% tax on profits, no deductions allowed—not even for losses from other trades. That means if you made ₹50,000 from selling Solana but lost ₹30,000 on Dogecoin, you still pay tax on the full ₹50,000. Losses can’t be carried forward or offset. It’s a flat, harsh system designed to make crypto trading expensive.

On top of that, every crypto transaction now has a 1% TDS (Tax Deducted at Source), a mandatory withholding tax applied by exchanges on every sale or transfer of crypto in India. This isn’t an extra fee—it’s tax collected upfront. If you sell ₹10,000 worth of ETH, ₹100 is taken out before you get your money. You can claim this back when you file your return, but only if you’ve filed your ITR and linked your PAN to your exchange accounts. Most people forget this step and lose money they’re owed.

What about mining or airdrops? They’re taxable too. If you got free tokens from an airdrop, their market value on the day you received them counts as income. Mining is treated as business income—so you need to track electricity costs, hardware depreciation, and other expenses, even if you’re just doing it from your home. The Income Tax Department has been cross-referencing data from CoinSwitch, WazirX, and ZebPay with bank statements since 2023. If your bank shows sudden deposits matching crypto sales, you’ll get a notice.

And yes, you must report foreign wallets. Even if you used Binance or Kraken, the Indian government still expects you to declare those holdings. Not reporting can lead to penalties up to 200% of the tax due. The government doesn’t care if you didn’t know the rules—you’re still liable.

There’s no amnesty, no grace period, and no softening in 2025. The system is built to catch you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t plan. Knowing exactly what’s taxable, how TDS works, and where your data is being tracked lets you avoid surprises. Below, you’ll find real cases, exchange-specific reporting tips, and how to handle crypto gifts, staking rewards, and DeFi earnings under Indian law—all pulled from actual filings and audits.