Concepts & events

How to declare crypto on your ITR12

A practical walkthrough for South African individuals: reconcile your accounts, classify capital vs revenue, enter figures on your annual tax return (ITR12), and what to attach for SARS.

Last reviewed: · Reviewed by Johan Pretorius, Registered Tax Practitioner

What you are declaring

Your ITR12 is SARS's annual individual income tax return. Crypto does not get its own return — you declare it through the existing capital-gains and income sections, using figures you (or your software) have already classified as capital or revenue.

Step 1 — Reconcile every account

Before you touch the ITR12, pull a complete history from every exchange, wallet and CSV import for the year of assessment (1 March to 28 February). Every disposal — sales to rand, crypto-to-crypto swaps, spending crypto, gifts — must have a rand value on its date. Transfers between your own wallets are not disposals, but must still reconcile so your holdings tie out.

Step 2 — Classify each event

Decide capital vs revenue for each disposal and income type for each receipt (staking, mining, salary in crypto, trading profits). This classification drives which section of the return the amount lands in. Do not mix capital and revenue in one bucket.

Step 3 — Capital gains section

Roll up your net capital gain or loss for the year from crypto (and any other capital assets). Enter the aggregate in the capital-gains section of the ITR12. SARS applies the R40,000 annual exclusion and 40% inclusion rate once your figures are in — you do not manually apply those steps on the form in most eFiling flows, but you must know your underlying numbers.

Step 4 — Gross income

Include revenue crypto amounts in gross income: trading profits, staking and mining rewards, salary paid in crypto, and other receipts taxed as income. Use the rand market value on the date of accrual or receipt.

Step 5 — Supporting schedules

Many taxpayers attach a transaction schedule or working papers (Coinfig produces tax-year CSVs once you licence the year) so your practitioner — or SARS in an audit — can reconcile the return to source data. Keep the schedule consistent with what exchanges will report under CARF from 1 March 2026.

Provisional tax reminder

If you are a provisional taxpayer, you should already have estimated crypto tax in your August and February IRP6 payments. The ITR12 is the final true-up — not the first time crypto tax appears.

Not tax advice

Filing mechanics change and depend on your facts — confirm with a registered tax practitioner before submitting.

Frequently asked questions

Where on the ITR12 do I declare crypto?
Net capital gains go in the capital-gains section; crypto income (staking, mining, trading profits, salary in crypto) goes in gross income. There is no separate crypto page — use the standard sections with reconciled figures.
Does crypto tax software file my ITR12?
No. Software calculates your gains and income and produces reports you or your accountant use to complete the return. Coinfig maps outputs to SARS codes but does not submit to SARS.
Do I need a transaction schedule?
Not always legally required, but a reconciled schedule is strongly advisable — especially if you have many swaps or expect CARF exchange data to match your return.

Sources