Latvia has passed a change to the way crypto investment-account gains are taxed, shifting attention from individual trades to what an investor ultimately withdraws from an eligible account.
TL;DR: New Latvian legislation taxes qualifying account withdrawals above deposits and provides a one-time 2027 process for declaring older holdings. The country is also considering crypto tax payments, but that payment service is not yet established.
The reform passed parliament on October 15. Under the investment-account approach described in reporting on the law, moving between crypto assets inside the account no longer automatically creates the same tax event as withdrawing more value than the amount contributed. Investors will still need records that establish their deposits and withdrawals.
There is also an attempt to resolve a practical problem for people who bought digital assets years ago and cannot reconstruct their original cost basis. A declaration mechanism would let eligible holders regularize historical positions at a 10% charge based on their value at the end of 2026. Applications are scheduled for April 1 through May 31, 2027, with payment due by July 23.
The proposed ability to pay taxes with cryptocurrency is a separate issue. Officials have discussed it as a potential step for 2027, but the currencies, provider and operational arrangements have not been announced. It should not be confused with the tax law parliament has already adopted.
For the wider EU market, Latvia’s move illustrates how governments are adapting old tax concepts to assets that can be exchanged continuously. The details of account eligibility and recordkeeping will decide how helpful the change is in practice.
Written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.