Crypto record keeping for Canadian taxes

What CRA asks you to keep for each transaction

CRA’s page “Keeping books and records of crypto-assets for tax filing” (modified 2025-11-10) lists what to keep. For each transaction, record:

• The number of units and the type of crypto-asset.
• The date and time of the transaction.
• The value in Canadian dollars at the time of the transaction.
• The nature of the transaction (for example, a purchase, sale, swap or reward).
• The other party, which may be only a crypto-asset address.

The Canadian-dollar value is the item people most often skip, and the hardest to rebuild later. Record it at the time, along with the price source you used.

Wallets, balances and costs

Beyond individual transactions, CRA asks you to keep:

• The addresses of each wallet you use.
• The beginning and ending balance of each crypto-asset for each year, plus the cost of the beginning balance.
• Receipts for accounting, legal and software costs related to your crypto-assets.

Yearly balances give you a check on your math. If your records say you should hold 12.5 units at year end and your wallets show 12.1, something is missing: a fee, a transfer you didn’t log, or a disposition you forgot.

If you mine, CRA also asks for hardware receipts, expense records such as power, pool fees, equipment specifications, maintenance and operating time, any pool agreements and exported pool records.

Export platform history, regularly

For exchanges and custodial platforms, CRA points to trade ledgers (buys, sells and swaps), transfer ledgers (crypto and fiat deposits and withdrawals) and other platform records. It advises exporting your activity history regularly, in case the platform closes, stops serving Canada, or you lose access to your account.

That advice comes from experience. QuadrigaCX, a Canadian crypto exchange, collapsed in 2019; an Ontario Securities Commission staff review in 2020 found its founder had committed fraud. Users who had not kept their own records faced a much harder job. See platform failure for more on that risk.

Self-custody and DeFi records

On-chain activity is public, but that does not make it easy to reconstruct. Blockchain explorers show transactions, not their Canadian-dollar values or why you made them. For self-custody and DeFi, add these to CRA’s list:

• The transaction ID for every on-chain action.
• The smart contract address you interacted with, and what it does in plain words.
• Network fees paid, in units and in Canadian dollars.
• Receipt, LP and wrapped token units received and returned.
• A note of the tax treatment you and your adviser chose for each kind of DeFi action.

The record keeper gives you a simple template that follows CRA’s list.

How long to keep records

CRA says to keep records for at least six years from the end of the last taxation year they relate to. For crypto, the last year a record relates to is often later than the year of the transaction.

In practice, keep purchase records for as long as you hold the asset, then for six more years after the tax year in which you dispose of the last of it. If in doubt, keep them.

Platform reporting under CARF: proposed

Canada plans to adopt the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), under which crypto-asset service providers would file annual information returns about their users with tax authorities. As of 2026-10-30, it is proposed, not law:

• Finance Canada released draft legislation on 2025-08-15, with returns due before May 2 of each calendar year.
• Budget 2025 (2025-11-04) said Canada will proceed with a deferred application date of January 1, 2027.
• Bill C-31, introduced 2026-05-07, includes CARF. A committee report with amendments was presented on 2026-10-30, and the bill had not received Royal Assent as of that date.

CARF would not change the tax rules or your duty to keep records. CRA’s record-keeping expectations apply to you whatever a platform reports, and only your own records cover every wallet and every on-chain action you took. See CARF reporting for updates.

If you find past mistakes

Good records sometimes reveal that an earlier return missed something, such as swaps you didn’t realize were dispositions. CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program (page modified 2026-06-15) offers relief on a case-by-case basis to taxpayers who come forward to correct errors or omissions.

Whether the program fits your situation, and what relief might be available, are questions for a tax professional. Bring your reconstructed records to that conversation. Before each filing season, the tax year-end checklist helps you confirm nothing is missing.

Your checklist

• Record units, type, date and time, Canadian-dollar value, nature and other party for every transaction.
• Keep a list of every wallet address you use.
• Note opening and closing balances for each asset each year, and the cost of the opening balance.
• Export full platform history at least quarterly and at year end.
• Save transaction IDs, contract addresses and network fees for on-chain activity.
• Keep records at least six years after the last tax year they relate to.

Sources and dates

• Keeping books and records of crypto-assets for tax filing — Canada Revenue Agencyin force
  Page date 2025-11-10 · checked 2026-10-30. What to record per transaction, wallet addresses, yearly balances; export platform history; keep records at least six years.
• Legislative proposals — Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (Part XXI) — Department of Finance Canadaproposed
  Page date 2025-08-15 · checked 2026-10-30. Draft rules for crypto-asset service providers to file annual information returns about users.
• Budget 2025 — Tax measures: supplementary information (CARF deferred) — Government of Canadaproposed
  Page date 2025-11-04 · checked 2026-10-30. CARF and CRS to proceed with a deferred application date of January 1, 2027.
• Minister introduces second Budget 2025 implementation bill (Bill C-31) — Department of Finance Canadaproposed
  Page date 2026-05-07 · checked 2026-10-30. Bill C-31 includes CARF: crypto platforms to collect and share user information with tax authorities.
• LEGISinfo — Bill C-31 (45th Parliament, 1st session) — Parliament of Canadaproposed
  Page date 2026-10-30 · checked 2026-10-30. Committee report with amendments presented 2026-10-30; no Royal Assent as of that date.
• Voluntary Disclosures Program — Canada Revenue Agencyin force
  Page date 2026-06-15 · checked 2026-10-30. Case-by-case relief for taxpayers who come forward to correct past errors or omissions.