HM Revenue and Customs has withdrawn the January 1, 2027 opening date for its cryptoasset reporting service, saying the online system will not be available by then. The change does not extend the first reporting deadline: the department's current guidance still requires covered providers to submit their 2026 information by May 31, 2027.
The changes appear in guidance updated on November 2. HMRC also removed a January 31, 2027 registration deadline, explaining that this date does not apply in the first reporting year. The department has not provided a replacement opening date in that guidance and says it will update the instructions when the service is available.
The distinction matters for businesses preparing their first Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, or CARF, submission. The opening of an upload service and the final deadline for supplying information are different dates. The November update changes the former and clarifies first-year registration; it does not announce that providers can stop collecting the information needed for their reports.
The first report still covers 2026
HMRC's reporting instructions retain January 1 to December 31, 2026 as the first reporting period. Subsequent annual reports are due by May 31 for the preceding calendar year. The department has not removed that timetable from its current page.
Providers collect details of all users, but submit information about those tax resident in the UK or another CARF country, together with transaction summaries. HMRC says a provider with no information to report for a year need not submit a report.
Reports must use XML, following OECD and HMRC requirements. Files can be up to 250 megabytes, with larger datasets split across files; compressed zip files are not accepted. The upload service is not yet live.
Which businesses fall within the rules
The department's technical manual describes a reporting provider by what it does: as a business, it enables exchange transactions for customers. That can include acting as their counterparty or intermediary, or making a trading platform available. The definition is not confined to businesses that call themselves an exchange.
The manual gives examples including brokers, dealers and operators of cryptoasset ATMs. It also says certain participants in decentralised exchanges or decentralised finance arrangements fall within the functional definition. This concerns service providers and their activities, rather than imposing the same provider-reporting obligation on every individual who owns a token.
The manual's UK connection rules cover tax residence, incorporation or legal personality, central management and control, and a regular place of business, including a branch. Some of these tests are subject to separate rules preventing duplicate reporting across jurisdictions. Location and organisational arrangements therefore matter alongside the service being provided.
Data collection continues before the portal opens
HMRC's collection guidance requires names, dates of birth, home addresses and residence information for individual users. UK residents' identifiers include a National Insurance number or Unique Taxpayer Reference. For non-UK residents, the guidance specifies a tax identification number and its issuing country, with an exception when a number cannot be issued. The guidance gives the example of a country that does not issue tax identification numbers: in that case, one need not be provided. For entity users, the collection rules extend beyond companies to partnerships, trusts and charities. These are existing collection requirements, not additions announced in November.
Entity records include legal business names and addresses, with company registration numbers for UK companies and tax identifiers for non-UK companies. Some entities also require information about controlling persons. For non-UK companies, the department also requires the country that issued the tax identifier. Providers must record transaction values, asset types, transaction types and units, and verify accuracy through due diligence. The separate reporting instructions warn that failures, lateness or inaccurate, incomplete or unverified reports can attract penalties of up to £300 per user.
Dalimss News has separately covered HMRC's Self Assessment reminder for individual taxpayers and Hong Kong's CARF legislation. Those are different developments. The latest UK change concerns the service timetable for provider reporting, not a new tax rate, a cancellation of personal tax duties or an extension of the May deadline.
