Germany is moving to end one of Europe’s most generous crypto tax regimes. Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has finalized a plan to abolish the country’s 1-year holding period exemption for crypto.

The plan is part of the 2027 federal budget “Eckwertebeschluss” and is expected to be passed by the Federal Cabinet this week.

Under current rules, set out in Section 23 of Germany’s Income Tax Act, crypto is classified as a “private asset.” Investors who hold Bitcoin or other tokens for more than 12 months pay zero tax on disposal.

Under the Klingbeil plan, crypto would be treated like stocks or funds, with gains taxable at Germany’s 25% capital gains rate plus solidarity surcharge and church tax where applicable, regardless of holding period.

What the SPD failed to pass in 2025 returns under different framing

As Cryptopolitan reported in April 2025, the SPD pushed the same proposal during coalition negotiations a year ago. The party wanted to remove the holding period and raise the flat tax on private capital income to 30%.

The CDU/CSU pushed back, and the proposal was dropped from the May 2025 coalition agreement that brought the Merz government to power.

Klingbeil, who chairs the SPD and now serves as Finance Minister, has revived the proposal under a different framing. Rather than a standalone tax hike, it sits inside a broader 2027 budget package targeting a €98 billion deficit.

The budget also includes spending cuts on health, social welfare, and pensions, alongside new levies on alcohol, tobacco, sugar, and plastic.

Industry warns of constitutional and structural problems

The Bitcoin Bundesverband, Germany’s main crypto industry body, opposes the change. “The political trick is obvious,” the group said, framing the reform as a disguised tax hike running counter to earlier coalition promises of relief.

Constitutional law specialists have flagged that applying stricter rules specifically to crypto while preserving favorable treatment for comparable private assets could face scrutiny under Germany’s equal-protection principle.

Bitpanda co-founder Eric Demuth called the plan “an extremely stupid decision,” citing Austria’s 2022 abolition of a similar exemption.

Austria now applies a flat 27.5% tax on crypto gains regardless of holding period, and Demuth argued the change produced more bureaucracy than revenue.

No formal legislation has been introduced in the Bundestag yet. Whether grandfathering provisions would protect existing holdings remains unclear.

The plan is the fourth attempt to scrap the holding period exemption in 18 months. Each previous effort failed. Embedded inside a budget package now, this version is the hardest one to derail.

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