Gifting and Inheriting Bitcoin: Tax Consequences in DE, CH and AT

Short answer: If you give away or leave bitcoin, you pay no income tax, because it is not a sale. Gift or inheritance tax may apply, though. In Germany, children stay tax-free up to €400’000, spouses up to €500’000. In Switzerland the canton decides; spouses are exempt everywhere. Austria has no such tax, only a reporting duty (as of 13 November 2026).

You want to send your child a few sats for their birthday, transfer a whole bitcoin to your partner or plan ahead so your family isn't later left with a tax bill. When you give bitcoin away, the tax question comes up twice: what does the gift itself cost, and what happens when the recipient sells later? Here you get both answers for Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with worked examples.

Two taxes you need to keep apart

When you give or leave bitcoin, two completely different taxes meet. If you mix them up, your numbers will be wrong.

1. Gift and inheritance tax. It taxes the fact that someone receives something without paying for it. What counts is the value on the day of the gift or of death. The purchase price plays no role.
2. Income tax on the gain. It only applies when the recipient later sells the bitcoin. What counts then is your original purchase price and, depending on the country, your purchase date.

The gift itself triggers no income tax in any of the three countries. An occasional present, such as a few thousand sats for a birthday, has no consequences in any of the three countries.

Gifting bitcoin in Germany: tax and allowances

In Germany, gift tax follows the same rules as inheritance tax (ErbStG, the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act). How much stays tax-free depends on how closely you are related.

The allowances apply per giver and recipient and are renewed every ten years. So a child can receive €400’000 from each parent, €800’000 in total, and again after ten years. Everything that comes from the same person within ten years is added together, including a later inheritance.

For inheritances, spouses and children also get maintenance allowances (Versorgungsfreibeträge), €256’000 for spouses. These are reduced by certain pensions the heir receives.

What lies above the allowance

Above the allowance, a tax rate applies that rises with the amount. It applies to the entire taxable amount, not in brackets.

As of 13 November 2026, § 19 ErbStG.

That makes the tax high quickly for friends and unmarried partners. One bitcoin, about €61’900 on 13 November 2026, is €41’900 above the allowance. In class III that costs 30%, or €12’570. For a child, the same bitcoin would be tax-free.

Valuation, reference date and reporting

• The reference date for a gift is the day the bitcoin arrive with the recipient. For an inheritance, it is the day of death.
• The valuation uses the euro price on that day. Note the date, the transaction ID and the price on a major exchange, ideally with a screenshot.
• You must report every gift to the inheritance tax office within three months, both giver and recipient. This applies even if it is below the allowance. The tax office then decides whether it requires a return.

What happens when the recipient sells later

In Germany, the recipient or heir steps into your shoes: your purchase date and your purchase price continue to apply to them (§ 23 EStG, the Income Tax Act). If you held the bitcoin for more than a year, they can sell tax-free right away. If you bought them only recently, the holding period continues with them.

That also means giving bitcoin away is no trick to get around the one-year period. The recipient has to wait it out too. How the holding period, the exemption limit and FIFO work in detail is in the guide Bitcoin taxes in Germany.

Give early or leave as inheritance? What timing changes

For gift and inheritance tax, the value on the reference date counts. Whatever value is added afterwards grows with the recipient without using up any more of the allowances. For long-term holders, this is the most important point of this article.

Work out what your holding could be worth in a few years according to the model:

Where bitcoin stands today relative to the trend is shown in the Power Law analysis. On 13 November 2026, the price was about 0.63 times the trend, just above the floor in the accumulation zone. How we calculate the trend and floor is in the methodology.

Gifting bitcoin in Switzerland

In Switzerland, the federal government levies no gift or inheritance tax. The cantons do, each in its own way.

• Which canton: for a gift, the canton of residence of the giver; for an inheritance, the last canton of residence of the deceased.
• Spouses and registered partners: exempt in every canton.
• Children and grandchildren: exempt in most cantons. A few tax them at low rates or with high allowances, such as Vaud and Appenzell Innerrhoden.
• Schwyz levies neither gift nor inheritance tax.
• Unmarried partners (Konkubinatspartner), siblings, friends: pay in most cantons, often at double-digit rates. Some cantons treat long-term unmarried partners more favourably.

The valuation is at market value on the day of the gift or of death. For income tax, the gift is not income (Art. 24 DBG, the Federal Direct Tax Act). If the recipient later sells the bitcoin from private assets, the gain stays tax-free, just as it would for you. From the end of the year, the bitcoin belong on their tax return and in their taxable wealth.

If you want to give a friend or your partner 1 bitcoin, about CHF 57’200 on 13 November 2026, use your canton's tax calculator before you send it. How bitcoin are otherwise taxed in Switzerland is explained in Bitcoin taxes in Switzerland.

Gifting bitcoin in Austria

Since 1 August 2008, Austria has had no inheritance or gift tax. So giving and leaving bitcoin costs you no tax.

You must, however, report gifts made during your lifetime to the tax office within three months (§ 121a BAO, the Federal Fiscal Code). Inheritances are exempt from this.

If you forget to report, you risk a penalty of up to 10% of the value. Both giver and recipient must report; one report is enough.

For a later sale, the recipient takes over your acquisition cost and your purchase date. Old holdings (Altbestand, bought up to 28 February 2021) stay tax-free with the recipient. New holdings cost 27.5% KESt (Austrian capital gains tax) on the gain since your purchase when sold.

Everything on KESt, old holdings and average price is in Bitcoin taxes in Austria.

DE, CH and AT compared

As of 13 November 2026.

Giving across borders

If giver and recipient live in different countries, two states can claim tax. Germany taxes a gift as soon as one of the two lives in Germany. German citizens also remain liable for five years after moving abroad.

An example: you live in Zurich, your daughter in Munich. Switzerland usually does not tax the gift to your child, but Germany does, with the €400’000 allowance. Between Germany and Switzerland there is a double taxation treaty only for inheritances, not for gifts. Between Germany and Austria there is none any more; Austria levies no tax anyway.

For large amounts across borders, tax advice pays off before the transfer, not after.

How to go about it, step by step

1. Clarify the recipient and the country. Who gets the bitcoin, and where do both of you live? That determines which allowances and reporting duties apply.
2. Check the value and the allowance. Work out the value at the current price and add any earlier gifts from the last ten years.
3. Hand over your purchase records. The recipient needs your purchase date and purchase price; otherwise they can't prove the holding period or old-holding status later.
4. Transfer and document. Send to a wallet that belongs to the recipient. Record the date, transaction ID, amount and euro price, ideally in a short deed of gift.
5. Report. In Germany always, in Austria above the thresholds, in Switzerland according to your canton's rules.

How the recipient sets up their first own wallet is shown in Setting up your first bitcoin wallet. How your family can get to your coins at all in the event of inheritance, with an emergency letter, seed and multisig, is explained in Passing on bitcoin. How to bring up the topic with your family is in How to talk to your partner and family about bitcoin. All articles on law and taxes are collected in the category Law, taxes and practice.