The tax treatment of cryptocurrencies in Germany experiences significant changes. The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) has published new guidelines, while at the same time initial judgments were specially made to meme coins. For crypto investors, this results in more extensive documentation obligations and new procedures in the tax treatment of their digital assets.
BMF publishes new guidelines for crypto taxation
On March 6, 2025, the Federal Ministry of Finance new published for taxation of crypto values. The document defines extensive cooperation obligations for taxpayers and specifies the requirements for an “actual communication” with the tax authorities.
The new guidelines represent a reaction to the increasing spread of cryptocurrencies and are intended to create more legal certainty in this area. However, despite the BMF letter, many questions remain open, and some aspects are already questioned by current judgments.
First court ruling on meme coins
The Nuremberg Finance Court recently made a pioneering judgment specifically on meme coins. It is the first court ruling that explicitly deals with this category of cryptocurrencies after previous judgments only Bitcoin (BTC),, Ether (Eth) and Monero (XMR) concerned.
According to CEO of Pekuna GmbH, Werner Hoffmann, according to CEO, it is noteworthy that the court has been partially deployed from his earlier critical attitude towards crypto taxation. After all, the LIFO procedure (last-in-first-out) accepted for the assessment, contrary to the FIFO method preferred by the tax office (first-in-first-out)-at LIFO, the recently purchased units are sold first, which is often tax-priced for investors than the FIFO method, in which the oldest purchases are first sold.
However, the judgment also has a partial shift in the burden of proof from the tax office to the taxpayer.
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Stricter cooperation obligations for crypto investors
The new regulations have stricter tax regulations for cryptocurrencies. Crypto investors must now have more extensive documentation of their transactions.
In the future, the focus of the tax authorities could be increasingly aimed at meme coins, as can be seen from publications of Wirtschaftswoche and Cryptopolitan. The increased documentation and verification obligations present many investors to challenges, especially if they are active on various platforms or have to demonstrate older transactions.
Possibility of “actual communication”
An important instrument in dealing with incomplete data is the so -called “actual communication”. This procedure enables a contractual agreement with the tax office via a fact if the data situation is incomplete – for example after the bankruptcy of a crypto exchange.
According to Matthias Steger, a tax consultant specializing in cryptocurrencies, the prerequisite for this procedure is the transparent disclosure of the data gaps in the tax return. He Warns on LinkedIn Before that that an unclean representation of the situation can be the “direct way to criminal proceedings”.
The tax treatment of Cryptocurrencies remains complex and sometimes unclear despite the new regulations. Complete legal certainty does not seem to be achieved yet, and there are expected to provide further judgments until all disputed questions have been clarified.
For crypto investors, this situation means an increased need for action: You should check your documentation and records and, if necessary, adjust to meet the increased requirements. If in doubt, the consultation of a tax consultant specializing in cryptocurrencies can be advisable in order to avoid both tax disadvantages and legal risks.