CARF, DAC8 and KESt in Austria
Austria adds a second obligation on top of reporting. As well as DAC8 reporting to the tax office, Austrian providers have to withhold 27.5% KESt tax on their users' crypto gains at the moment of sale and pay it to the Finanzamt. That is two jobs, not one. Kryptos does both from the same data.
Two obligations, one system
DAC8 reporting tells the authorities who traded what. KESt withholding takes 27.5% tax at the moment of sale and pays it to the Finanzamt, so the user's tax on that gain is done and they file nothing. Both run off the same transaction data, so you integrate once and cover both.
The withholding detail that trips people up
KESt is worked out on the moving-average cost basis, calculated per wallet, and crypto-to-crypto swaps are not taxed. Get any of that wrong and the amount withheld is wrong, and because it is final there is no year-end reconciliation to fix it. Kryptos gets the per-wallet average and the event type right as each trade happens.
The dates that matter
The withholding obligation has been live since 1 January 2024, so it is already running. DAC8 reporting joins it, with the first report due in 2027. A provider in Austria has to have both working, not one at a time.
How this fits together
The report and the withholding read the same classified transaction feed. Kryptos files the DAC8 report to the tax office and computes and pays the KESt from the same integration, so you are not running two builds against the same data.
How Kryptos handles it
It runs on one system. You send your own transaction and account data, Kryptos collects self-certifications and checks tax IDs at onboarding, works out gains on the right basis, and builds the exact file the authority accepts, checked against the schema before you submit.
Common questions
Does Austria require crypto tax withholding as well as reporting?
Yes. On top of DAC8 reporting, Austrian providers must withhold 27.5% KESt on realised crypto gains at source and pay it to the Finanzamt. It is a second obligation on top of reporting.
Can one platform handle both Austrian reporting and withholding?
Yes. Both run off the same transaction data, so Kryptos files the DAC8 report and computes and pays the KESt withholding from a single integration.
How is the KESt amount calculated?
On the moving-average cost basis, worked out per wallet, with crypto-to-crypto swaps left untaxed. Because the tax is final, the figure has to be right at the moment of sale, not corrected later.
Guides and analysis
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