Presale taxes — what's owed in the US, UK, EU

This guide is a starting point, not advice. Tax rules around presales are unsettled in most jurisdictions, evolving fast, and case-specific. Talk to a crypto-literate accountant before filing — most generalist accountants get this wrong.

The default assumption to start from

In every jurisdiction we cover, the default position is:

1. The receipt of tokens at TGE is a taxable event — usually as ordinary income at fair market value (FMV).
2. Subsequent unlocks of vested tokens may also be taxable events, depending on jurisdiction.
3. Selling tokens is a separate capital gain or loss event, with cost basis = FMV at receipt.

The trap: people think “I haven’t sold, so no tax” — that’s almost never true for presale tokens.

United States

The IRS treats crypto as property (Notice 2014-21). For a presale:

• Token receipt at TGE → ordinary income at FMV. The income is the FMV of tokens received minus your purchase price (since you paid for them, the income is usually $0 if you bought at the same price).
• Vested unlocks → if there’s a substantial risk of forfeiture, the income event is at vest date. If not, generally at TGE.
• Sale → capital gain/loss = sale price minus cost basis (FMV at receipt). Held >1 year = long-term rates; <1 year = ordinary income rates.

Worthless tokens. If the project rugs and tokens go to zero, you may claim a capital loss — but you have to actually dispose of the tokens (e.g. send to a burn address) to claim it. Just letting them sit doesn’t qualify.

Form 1099 reporting. Starting tax year 2025, US exchanges file 1099-DA forms. Presale platforms typically don’t, so you’re on your own.

United Kingdom

HMRC’s Cryptoassets Manual treats crypto as a chargeable asset for CGT.

• Token receipt at TGE → no UK income tax on receipt for typical presale buyers (unless you’re a “trader” by HMRC’s tests). Receipt establishes cost basis.
• Sale → CGT applies on disposal. The £6,000 (2024-25) annual exempt amount applies.
• “Pooling” — UK applies same-day, 30-day, and Section 104 pooling rules to crypto disposals. Track meticulously.

Worthless tokens. A “negligible value claim” can crystallize a loss without selling. Submit to HMRC with evidence of negligibility (e.g. token delisted, project abandoned).

HMRC enforcement. HMRC has data-sharing arrangements with major exchanges including Coinbase and Binance. Presale platforms are a gap, but expect this to close.

European Union

The EU is fragmented. MiCA (Regulation 2023/1114) governs issuance, not investor taxation. Tax remains national.

Germany. One-year holding period — sell after 12 months and gains are tax-free up to €1,000 annual exempt. This is the most retail-friendly EU regime.

France. Flat 30% tax on capital gains (12.8% income + 17.2% social).

Ireland. 33% CGT rate. Annual exempt amount €1,270.

Portugal. Was tax-free; 2023 reform now applies 28% CGT on holdings under 365 days. Long-term holds remain favourable.

Spain. Progressive: 19-28% CGT depending on size. Form 720 reporting if foreign-held assets exceed €50K.

Get country-specific advice. Even within the EU, rules differ enormously.

What records you actually need

For every presale position, keep:

1. Date and amount of presale purchase, in fiat and in the crypto used.
2. Transaction hashes for the purchase.
3. Date of TGE.
4. FMV at TGE — preferably documented from CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap snapshots.
5. Date of every unlock event.
6. FMV at every unlock event.
7. Transaction hashes of every transfer.
8. Date and price of every disposal (sale, swap, send to burn).
9. Wallet addresses involved.

Most retail loses this data and ends up reconstructing from chain explorers — slow and error-prone. Use a tracker (Koinly, CoinTracker, CryptoTaxCalculator) from day one of any presale you participate in.

The traps people fall into

1. “I haven’t sold, so no tax.” Wrong in most jurisdictions for tokens received via presale at TGE.
2. “It’s worthless, so no tax.” Receiving worthless tokens can still trigger income tax at a positive FMV at receipt date, even if the tokens later go to zero. The loss is a separate event.
3. Cost basis confusion. Your cost basis is what you paid, not zero. Most retail under-claims their cost basis and over-pays tax.
4. Crypto-to-crypto swaps. Swapping ETH for the presale token is itself a taxable disposal of ETH. You owe gain/loss on the ETH side.
5. Airdrops. Receiving an airdrop is income at FMV in most jurisdictions.

What to do before TGE

Decide your exit plan in advance, with the tax in mind. Selling a portion at TGE to cover the tax bill is the most common rational play — otherwise you risk owing tax in Year N on tokens that have crashed by Year N+1 filing.

In the US, this is especially important: ordinary income tax on receipt is owed regardless of subsequent price action, and the IRS doesn’t care that the tokens are now worth a fraction.

The honest summary

Buying presale tokens is taxable. The receipt event triggers income or cost-basis recording in every major jurisdiction. The sale event triggers capital gain/loss. Worthless tokens may give you a deductible loss, but only if you formally dispose of them.

Track everything from day one. Sell enough at TGE to cover the receipt-tax bill. Talk to a crypto-literate accountant before filing.

This is one of the most expensive areas to “figure out later”.