Companies that hold crypto assets are subject to general accounting and record-keeping obligations, as well as specific requirements regarding documentation, valuation and the tax treatment of transactions. Eight key aspects help to minimise risks and ensure compliance with legal and tax requirements.
1. Fulfilment of the general tax accounting and record-keeping obligations
Tax accounting and record-keeping obligations for companies are regulated in the German Commercial Code (Sections 238 et seq. HGB), in the German Fiscal Code (Section 90 (3), Sections 141, 143 to 144 AO) and in other tax laws (Section 22 UStG, Section 4 (3) sentence In addition, the tax authorities have commented on the principles of proper accounting (GoB) in several publications. According to § 238 HGB, every merchant is obliged to keep accounts.
As a result, all merchants are obliged to document all tax-relevant business transactions, including sales, profits, losses and other tax aspects that are necessary for the correct determination of the tax burden.
2. ‘Individual, complete, correct, timely and organised’ accounting and record keeping in accordance with § 146 para. 1 sentence 1 AO
One of the core requirements for accounting and record keeping is that all postings and records must be ‘individual, complete, correct, timely and organised’ in accordance with § 146 (1) sentence 1 AO.
a) Completeness
According to § 146 Abs. 1 S. 1 AO, all business transactions must be recorded in full. Each business transaction, regardless of its nature or effect, must be documented in a complete and comprehensible manner. Even transactions that have no impact on profit or loss must not be omitted. Offsetting or netting of business transactions is not permitted, as this would impair traceability and transparency.
For crypto companies, this means that every single transaction must be recorded in detail and in full. This includes not only the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, but also all transfers, exchanges and internal transfers between wallets, even if these transactions have no direct impact on profits. All relevant information, such as timestamps, transaction amounts and addresses involved, must be carefully recorded to ensure full auditability.
b) Correctness
146, para. 1, sentence 1 AO requires both the substantive and formal correctness of the postings. A posting is materially correct if it reflects the business transaction as it actually took place. This requirement corresponds to § 154 AO, which requires the truth of the account and prohibits the use of false or invented names. Formally correct means that the posting is correctly taken from the document, correctly assigned to the account and technically executed without error.
Since cryptocurrencies are known for their high volatility, this poses a significant challenge for valuing and accounting for transactions. Therefore, crypto businesses must ensure that the values at the time of acquisition and disposal are accurately recorded and that any changes in value are properly documented. They must also be able to provide all the necessary receipts and supporting documents for each entry to ensure formal accuracy, especially since blockchain transactions often involve pseudonyms. Furthermore, it is important that each transaction is correctly assigned and the corresponding accounts are kept separate from each other.
c) Orderly booking
It is not necessary to post or file business transactions in chronological order; instead, a meaningful classification system can be used. What is important is that the principle of clarity is always maintained. An expert third party must be able to obtain an overview of the crypto company’s business transactions and financial position within a reasonable period of time. The chosen classification system must be clearly defined and documented.
c) Individually
Transactions must be recorded and logged continuously and individually so that their origin and processing can be fully traced.
For crypto companies, this means that each transaction must be clearly identified and documented. This is done by means of a unique transaction ID (transaction hash), which makes it possible to precisely track the transaction at any time. This transaction ID is stored in the blockchain and remains permanently immutable.
3. Principle of immutabilityaccording to § 146 (4) AO
The principle of immutability according to § 146 (4) AO ensures that postings or records may not be changed in a way that makes the original content unrecognisable. Incorrect entries must be corrected by visible adjustment entries, whereby each change to the original entries must be clearly marked and the time of the change must be recorded, as required by § 146 para. 4 sentence 2 AO.
In practice, adhering to this principle can be quite challenging. Although blockchain technology provides an immutable record of transactions, manually recording all of these transactions for tax purposes is extremely time-consuming. As a result, companies use specialised crypto tax tools (so-called ‘cointracker’) that assist in generating transaction reports. However, due to the technical complexity of exchanging data and transferring value between different blockchains (cross-chain transactions), errors and inaccuracies may occur in the reports. To correct these, the software allows for retrospective changes in the final documentation. This results in the tax documentation being ‘altered’, which in theory violates the principle of immutability. In practice, however, this is not the case if the corrections and changes made are documented in a transparent and comprehensible manner, so that it is clear where and when the changes were made and for what reason. In this way, the requirements of the principle are met, so that there is basically no violation of immutability.
4. Procedural documentation
When using specialised software to fulfil accounting and record-keeping obligations in connection with cryptocurrencies, companies must ensure that this software meets the requirements of the German principles of proper accounting for digital records (GoBD). This includes the creation of procedural documentation, which also applies to the use of coin trackers. As an entrepreneur, you must therefore provide a detailed explanation:
- How it works: Which modules and functions are used, and how do they contribute to the recording and processing of business transactions?
- Processing of transactions: How does the software treat, record and account for different types of cryptocurrency transactions, such as purchases, sales, exchanges, mining or staking?
- Determining results: How does the software calculate results, including profit and loss determination, tax valuation and reporting?
Detailed process documentation ensures that all accounting processes are transparent and traceable, which meets the requirements of the GoBD.
5. Proper storage obligations in accordance with § 147 para. 1 AO
According to § 147 AO, all records that are relevant for taxation must be properly stored. This includes both paper documents and electronic records, such as digital transaction overviews, CSV files, commercial or business letters, accounting vouchers and other tax-relevant documents.
6. Right of access to data of the tax authorities in accordance with § 147 para. 6 AO
Companies that keep books, records and documents that are subject to retention requirements in whole or in part by means of a data processing system must observe the tax authorities’ right of access to data in accordance with section 147 (6) AO. This also applies to special software solutions used by crypto companies to fulfil their record-keeping obligations (such as Cointracking or Blockpit). As part of an external audit, the tax authorities can demand access to this data in order to check tax obligations.
7. Release of documents not subject to retention
In addition to the documents subject to retention, the tax authorities may also demand the submission of further documents as part of an external audit if these are necessary for understanding the records and determining the tax-relevant facts. This is regulated by section 200 (1) sentences 1 and 2 AO and may be particularly relevant for companies in the crypto sector when it comes to the traceability of transactions and their tax treatment.
Consequences of non-compliance
Companies that fail to comply with accounting and record-keeping requirements face serious consequences.
- The wilful or negligent violation of accounting and recording obligations is regulated in § 379 AO and can be punished as an administrative offence with a fine of up to 5,000 euros.
- According to § 162 AO, the tax authorities can make tax estimates that often result in a higher tax burden.
- In serious cases, inadequate accounting can be considered tax evasion in accordance with § 370 AO, which can result in criminal prosecution.
- Furthermore, inadequate records can lead to civil law problems, especially when it comes to providing evidence in court proceedings.
Adherence to accounting and record-keeping requirements is therefore an indispensable task in a company’s finance and accounting. It forms the basis for calculating profits, calculating the tax burden and disclosing information to third parties such as banks or investors.
Recording requirement under MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation)
Pursuant to Article 68(9) of the MiCA, crypto-asset service providers must ensure that they keep records of all services, activities, orders and transactions involving crypto-assets that they provide. These records must be sufficient to enable the competent authorities to fulfil their supervisory duties and take enforcement action. In particular, they must be able to determine whether the service providers have complied with all obligations, including those to customers or potential customers and in relation to market integrity. The records must be kept for a period of five years and, if requested by the competent authority before the end of the five-year period, for up to seven years.
Conclusion
By taking the above seven requirements into account, companies can ensure that they not only comply with legal requirements, but also make their business processes more efficient and secure. A proactive approach to these obligations is essential to minimise risks and ensure long-term success.
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If you have any questions regarding the taxation of cryptocurrencies or blockchain tax advice for companies in general, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Your ACCONSIS contact

Dr. Christopher Arendt
Lawyer, specialised lawyer for tax law
Managing Director of ACCONSIS
Service phone
+49 89 547143
or via email
c.arendt@acconsis.de
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