Crypto Taxes India: What You Need to Know About Reporting Crypto Gains and Losses

When you trade, sell, or earn cryptocurrency in India, you’re not just participating in a new financial system—you’re creating a taxable event, a transaction that triggers income or capital gains tax under Indian law. Also known as crypto income, these events must be reported to the Income Tax Department, whether you made a profit or not. Since 2022, India has treated cryptocurrency as a taxable asset, not currency. Every time you swap one coin for another, cash out to INR, or receive a token from an airdrop, you’ve crossed into tax territory.

The 30% flat tax rate, a strict levy applied to all crypto gains with no deductions for losses is the most important rule to remember. Unlike stocks, where you can offset losses against gains, crypto losses in India can’t reduce your tax bill. Even if you lost money on Ethereum but made a profit on Solana, you still pay 30% on the Solana gain. And forget about the 1% TDS—this isn’t just a withholding tax. It’s a separate deduction taken at the point of sale by exchanges, and it doesn’t count toward your final 30% liability. You still owe the full amount if your gains exceed what was withheld.

Then there’s the record-keeping requirement, a legal obligation to track every transaction date, amount, value in INR, and counterparty. If you used Binance, CoinSwitch, or WazirX, you can’t just rely on their statements. The tax department wants proof you know exactly what you bought, when, and for how much. Airdrops like VDR or GPTON? Taxable on receipt. Staking rewards from Gelato or Aura Finance? Taxable as income. Even losing crypto to a hack or scam doesn’t make it deductible. The rules are strict, and audits are growing more common.

Many people think if they don’t withdraw to a bank, they don’t owe tax. That’s wrong. Swapping Bitcoin for Dogecoin is still a taxable trade. If you used a decentralized exchange like OraiDEX or Astroport, you’re still required to report it. The government tracks on-chain activity through exchange data, wallet analysis, and third-party reporting. The SEC-style crackdowns you see in the U.S. are happening here too—just under different names. The 3,018% surge in crypto enforcement seen globally isn’t just a U.S. story; India’s tax authorities are ramping up scrutiny.

You’ll find posts below that cover real cases: how airdrops like VDR or KALA are treated, why zero-tax meme coins like POOH or RYU still trigger tax bills, and how crypto seizures and exchange hacks impact your reporting. Some articles explain how to calculate gains using FIFO or specific identification. Others warn about fake exchanges like BITKER or LocalCoin DEX that leave you with no records—and no way to prove your losses. This isn’t about avoiding tax. It’s about doing it right so you don’t get fined, blocked, or dragged into a legal mess. The tools, rules, and traps are all here. Know them before you trade again.