DAC8, crypto and LLC: keeping reporting under control

DAC8 brings automatic reporting to EU crypto exchanges. If you use a US LLC, wallets and US banking, Exentax maps the structure so every piece matches.

DAC8 is the piece that completes Europe's tax-information system in the crypto world. From today, all crypto-asset service providers in the EU are required to report to European tax authorities the information of their clients and operations, in line with the CRS model applied to traditional banking. If you hold crypto and reside in the EU, or you have a <a href="/en/blog/us-llc-for-non-residents-tax-structure">US LLC</a> operating with crypto on European exchanges, this affects you directly.

CRS 2.0, CARF and DAC8 for DAC8, crypto and LLC

DAC8 is not a standalone text: it is the European transposition of the CARF that the OECD adopted inside the integrated package with CRS 2.0. That is why the timetable and the scope of the crypto piece match the full package and not those of a stand-alone directive.

The OECD adopted an integrated package combining CRS 2.0 (the revised Common Reporting Standard, which brings EMIs and specified electronic-money products into the perimeter and tightens due diligence on controlling persons) and CARF (the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, which extends automatic exchange to crypto exchanges, custodians and crypto-derivative platforms). The European Union transposed it through Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8), adopted on 17 October 2023, which amends Directive 2011/16/EU to incorporate both components. The substantive application date is 1 January 2026 and the first effective exchange lands in January 2027, on 2026 reporting-year data.

Official sources: <a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/common-reporting-standard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">OECD — CRS</a>, <a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/exchange-of-tax-information/crypto-asset-reporting-framework-and-amendments-to-the-common-reporting-standard.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">OECD — CARF</a>, <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023L2226" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">EUR-Lex — Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8)</a>.

DAC8 and CARF move the reporting discussion from bank accounts into crypto-asset service providers, wallets, exchanges and taxable crypto events. That does not turn a US bank account into a European CRS account, but it does mean a crypto layer inside an LLC must be documented separately from ordinary banking. We unpack the broader privacy layer in <a href="/en/blog/crs-carf-and-us-banking-privacy-for-llc-owners">CRS, CARF and US banking privacy for your LLC</a>.

What DAC8 is

DAC8 is the eighth amendment to Council Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in tax matters. Formally: Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 of 17 October 2023, extending administrative cooperation to the new CARF (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework) developed by the <a href="https://www.oecd.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OECD</a> in March 2023, applicable in Member States from 1 January 2026 with first reporting in January 2027 on FY 2026 data.

DAC8 is for crypto-assets what CRS / DAC2 is for bank deposits and what <a href="/en/blog/dac7-reporting-for-digital-platforms-and-llc">DAC7</a> is for digital platforms: mandatory client identification, standardized data collection, annual reporting to the national tax authority and automatic exchange with other authorities.

Spain will transpose DAC8 via amendment of the General Tax Law and complementary regulations, integrating with the existing Form 721 regime (informative declaration on crypto-assets held abroad, in force since FY2023).

DAC8 extends EU reporting to crypto-asset activity

• OECD: Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), published in March 2023.
• EU: Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8), 17 October 2023; application 1 January 2026.
• EU Regulation 2023/1114 (MiCA - Markets in Crypto-Assets): regulation of crypto-asset service providers in the EU; defines who is required to report under DAC8.
• Spain: Order HFP/886/2023 (Form 721); DAC8 transposition law (in process).

Who is affected

DAC8 affects:

• Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers (RCASP): any crypto-asset service provider regulated under MiCA in the EU. Includes centralized exchanges (Binance Spain, Coinbase Europe, Bitpanda, Kraken EU through subsidiaries), crypto brokers, custodians, DeFi platforms with EU legal presence, regulated stablecoin issuers.
• Service users (clients): individuals and entities, resident anywhere in the world, whose data is reported to their jurisdiction of tax residence.

Unlike CRS, DAC8 has no de minimis threshold: any active client is reported regardless of balance or volume.

What is reported

The detail is granular: by asset, category, quarter.

Schedule

• 1 January 2026: effective application in Member States.
• 2026: first full reportable year.
• 30 June 2027 (approx.): first annual RCASP report to the national tax authority.
• 30 September 2027 (approx.): first automatic exchange between Member States and adhering third countries.

How it affects an LLC owner with crypto

1. LLC with account at European exchange (Bitpanda, Coinbase Europe, Kraken EU): the RCASP identifies the LLC and beneficial owners. Reports balances and operations to its Member State authority, which forwards to the country of the beneficial owner.
2. LLC with account at US exchange (Coinbase US, Kraken US, Gemini): not subject to DAC8. The US is developing its own framework under the infrastructure act and Form 1099-DA, but automatic exchange with the EU is not at the same level. Data may arrive via bilateral request or via the future CARF network if the US adheres.
3. Self-custody wallets: outside the direct report, but transfers between exchange and wallet are reported, allowing the tax authority to detect movements.

Interaction with Spanish Form 721

If you are a Spanish tax resident and you hold crypto-assets on foreign platforms:

• Balance at 31 December > €50,000: Form 721 informative return, filed between 1 January and 31 March of the following year.
• Balance at Spanish regulated exchanges (Bit2Me, etc.): no Form 721, but reported under domestic regime and, from today, via DAC8.
• DAC8 + Form 721 generate a double cross-check: data reaches the AEAT both from the RCASP of the exchange's country and from the taxpayer's own filing.

DeFi operations and self-managed wallets

DAC8 addresses the difficult question of DeFi and self-custody. The directive imposes obligations on regulated RCASPs, but DeFi protocols without identifiable headquarters or operator fall outside direct reporting. However:

1. The entry and exit of funds between regulated exchange and own wallet are reported.
2. DeFi protocols with frontend operated from the EU may fall under MiCA and, by extension, under DAC8.
3. The OECD and the EU are developing additional DeFi guidance.

In practice: on-chain traceability combined with DAC8 makes DeFi opacity much smaller than originally thought.

Build crypto traceability before DAC8 reporting

1. Maintain rigorous crypto bookkeeping. Per-operation tracking with EUR/USD value at the date of each operation, FIFO or specific identification per jurisdiction.
2. Declare correctly in your IRPF (Spain: capital gains and losses on transfers, savings tax 19-28%). Introduced in <a href="/en/blog/crypto-and-trading-with-an-llc-tax-structure">crypto and trading with LLC</a>.
3. Form 721 if you cross the threshold. Non-filing is a specific infringement.
4. DAC8 consistency. What exchanges report must match what you declare.
5. Structure design. If crypto activity is significant, an LLC may make sense for separation; not for "concealment". Full framework in <a href="/en/blog/international-tax-design-3-jurisdictions-max-no-cfc">designing a solid international structure</a>.

Common risks

• "I bought BTC in 2017 and never declared it." If you sell now with gain, the AEAT detects the flow to your bank account and, via DAC8 + CRS, has basis for regularization.
• "I use my own wallet, they don't see me." When you enter fiat through a regulated exchange, they see the flow. On-chain tracing is public.
• "I'll just put the LLC and that's it." If the LLC lacks substance, the AEAT can apply simulation or CFC. We develop this in <a href="/en/blog/international-tax-risks-cfc-banking-and-ownership">tax risks</a>.

The operating point to keep in mind

DAC8 closes the loop. CRS for banking, DAC7 for platforms, DAC8 for crypto. Tax opacity in the digital environment drops drastically from today. Proper planning is not about looking for loopholes; it's about designing a coherent structure and declaring well.

> <a href="/en/book">Review my structure</a>

Operating with crypto from an LLC or want to understand how DAC8 affects you as a resident in Spain or LATAM? book your strategic review.

Put DAC8 inside the real crypto reporting file

Crypto reporting needs more than a wallet list. Exentax connects the LLC, exchange or payment provider, source of funds, bookkeeping and residence position so DAC8/CARF risk is handled as part of the operating file, not as a last-minute explanation.

What DAC8 actually changes for crypto holders inside the EU

DAC8 extends the EU's automatic exchange of information regime to

crypto-asset service providers. From the holder's perspective, the

practical change is that the same kinds of summaries already exchanged

for bank accounts (CRS) are now produced by reporting crypto

platforms about their EU-resident users. The platforms identify

their users, classify the assets, and once a year send a defined

record to the user's tax administration.

This means the matching of platform-reported aggregates with the

holder's annual declaration becomes the baseline of any DAC8-era

crypto compliance plan. If the two reconcile, the report is again a

non-event.

Three real reconciliation patterns

A holder who used a single regulated EU platform for spot trading

ran a clean year because the platform's annual report mirrored the

trade history exported each January, which fed straight into the

home-country declaration. The DAC8 record arrived as expected and

matched.

A user with a mix of EU-licensed and non-EU platforms produced one

master ledger that consolidated all venues, then mapped each line

to its source. The DAC8-reported part was a slice of the master;

the rest was self-declared with the same rigour. The home tax

administration saw a single coherent number.

A long-term holder with custody on a regulated EU platform and a

small DeFi tail kept the DeFi tail as a separately documented

section. DAC8 captured the regulated portion; the DeFi section had

its own paperwork (wallet addresses, transaction proofs, fair

valuation methodology) ready to present if asked.

Mistakes to avoid in the new regime

• Ignoring the platform's user data update request. If your tax

residence on the platform is stale, the report will go to the

wrong country.

• Treating "platform reports it" as "I do not need to declare it".

The reverse is true: declare it, and let the platform report

match.

• Mixing personal and LLC-held crypto. Crypto held by the LLC sits

in a different reporting silo than personal crypto; mixing them

causes painful reconciliations.

• Disregarding cost basis. DAC8 reports gross flows; the home-

country declaration needs the basis to compute the taxable result.

Annual reconciliation checklist

• Refresh user data on every platform in January.
• Pull annual reports as soon as they become available.
• Reconcile platform totals to your master ledger by asset.
• Confirm cost-basis methodology is consistent year-on-year.
• Keep proofs for any non-DAC8 holdings (wallets, validators, etc.).

We treat DAC8 as a structural simplifier, not a complication. Once

the routine is in place, the year-end work shrinks rather than

grows.