You stake ETH on Kraken. Every week a few tenths of an ETH land in your account as a reward. You have sold nothing, and not a single euro has reached your bank. Do you have to declare it?
Yes. And here is the part that catches most people out: you are taxed the moment you receive the reward, not when you sell it.
What staking is for tax purposes
When you stake, you are committing your crypto to validate transactions on a blockchain (Proof of Stake). In return, you receive periodic rewards.
For the Spanish tax agency, that is investment income — the same category as interest on a bank deposit or dividends on shares.
When exactly is it taxed?
At the moment you receive the reward, not when you sell it.
A practical example:
- In March 2025 you receive 0.05 ETH from staking
- ETH is trading at €3,000 → you have received €150
- Those €150 are taxed in your 2025 tax return, even though you have sold nothing
If you later sell that ETH, you will be taxed again on the difference between the sale price and the €3,000 (the price at which you were taxed as income).
How much do you pay? The investment income bands
| Tax base | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €6,000 | 19% |
| €6,000 – €50,000 | 21% |
| €50,000 – €200,000 | 23% |
| €200,000 – €300,000 | 27% |
| Over €300,000 | 28% |
If you received €2,000 in staking rewards during the year → you pay €380 (19%).
The headache: valuing every single reward
This is where it gets messy. If you stake on an exchange, rewards can arrive:
- daily
- every few days
- when you unstake
Each reward has to be valued at the price in force the moment you receive it.
With 100+ micro-transactions a year, doing that by hand is a nightmare. That is why most people use specialist software or hand the job over to a service such as Cryptoimpuestos.
What about staking in DeFi? (Lido, Rocket Pool and the like)
The tax treatment is identical, but there is an added problem: there is no ready-made history.
On a centralised exchange (Kraken, Binance, Coinbase) you can download your rewards history. In DeFi you have to:
- Trace the transactions on the blockchain
- Work out which of them are staking rewards
- Value each one at the price in force at the time
It is technically possible, but it takes purpose-built tools.
Staking vs lending vs yield farming: are they taxed the same way?
| Activity | How is it taxed? |
|---|---|
| Staking | Investment income (19%–28%) |
| Lending (lending out crypto) | Same as staking |
| Yield farming / liquidity pools | More complex — it may be investment income or a capital gain, depending on the case |
Farming and liquidity pools are a subject of their own and deserve a separate article. If that is where you are, you probably need tailored advice.
What happens if I do not declare my staking?
With DAC8 in force (2026) and automatic exchange of information, exchanges are required to report every transaction you make to the Spanish tax agency, staking rewards included.
It is only a matter of time before the data is cross-referenced. And where undeclared income turns up, penalties run from 50% to 150% of the tax you failed to pay.
The routine for declaring staking properly
- Download the rewards history from every exchange where you stake
- Value each reward at the market price at the moment you received it
- Add up the total income for the year
- Declare it in the right box for investment income on your tax return
- Keep the paperwork in case the Spanish tax agency asks for evidence
Staking and not sure where to start?
At Cryptoimpuestos we handle the lot: we connect your exchanges, calculate every reward automatically and produce the report ready for your tax return.
Víctor Lázaro
Tax adviser, Cryptoimpuestos.es
