CARF
Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework
What is CARF?
CARF is the OECD's crypto-asset reporting framework. In practice, it's an annual return where crypto asset service providers need to:
- identify reportable users
- collect and validate tax residency and TINs
- report in-scope crypto transactions in a standardised format.
Who Has to Report Under CARF?
The firms in scope are reporting crypto-asset service providers (RCASPs). That includes individuals acting as a business. The scope test is all about activity. Do you effectuate exchanges of crypto-assets as a customer-facing service? Then you’re in scope, and the transfers you carry out for those customers are reportable too.
What Crypto Assets and Transactions Does CARF Cover?
CARF reports at transactional level. CRS 2 reports at account level.
Included in CARF
- Fiat to crypto exchanges
- Crypto to crypto exchanges
- Transfers
- Retail payments made with crypto
Excluded from CARF
- CBDCs (dealt with by CRS 2)
- Specified e-money products (dealt with by CRS 2)
CARF in the UK: What HMRC Expects
HMRC wants standardised reporting on crypto users and their in-scope transactions, so it can enforce tax compliance and exchange data internationally where relevant.
The timing is similar to CRS2 in the UK:
- Data collection started from 1 Jan 2026
- The first submission is due by 31 May 2027
Submissions are made annually and in XML using the CARF schema and submitted via HMRCs online reporting service.
CARF in the EU: DAC8
In the EU, CARF comes through DAC8. Each member state had to transpose DAC8 into its own national law, so the rules apply to you through local legislation.
Scope-wise, it affects:
- MiCA-authorised CASPs, who report to the tax authority in their home member state
- Non-MiCA and non-EU crypto-asset operators with EU tax-resident users, who register and report in a single member state
The nexus is EU tax-resident users. Reporting is triggered by them, not by where the platform is HQ’d.
Data needs to be collected from 1 January 2026, with the first XML return due in 2027 on a date set by your member state. Tax authorities then exchange that data with each other.
DAC8 in Ireland
Irish RCASPs register with Revenue and file their CARF returns through ROS. Revenue then handles the exchange out to other tax authorities, depending on where your customers live.
There are three dates for Irish RCASPs to know:
- Registration: register with Revenue through ROS by 31 December by the year you become in scope.
- Annual return: each year's CARF return is due to Revenue by 31 May of the following year. The first, covering 2026, is due by 31 May 2027.
- Customer copy: also by 31 May each year, you must send every reportable customer a copy of the information you reported about them.
Data Needed for CARF Reporting
- Account and wallet: the user's account ID or reference, wallet address or ID, and reportable crypto activity.
- Individuals: name, address, date of birth, all tax residences, and a TIN per country (or a valid reason code).
- Corporates: entity name, address, tax residence and TINs, plus controlling persons with the same fields as individuals.
- Transactions: crypto-asset type, and annual totals by category.
Roadmap for Getting Ready to File CARF
Before you start, you have two important decisions to make: are we in scope, and do we build or buy a solution for this report? Then work back from the 31 May deadline.
- Scope. Confirm whether you fall in scope.
- 12 to 16 weeks out: register. Get your tax registrations in place, as it can take a little time.
- 12 weeks out: extract. Your data team starts extracting the data. If you're building in-house, your engineering team builds the schemas and XML validators. If you don't want the hassle of building a tool and keeping schemas up to date, a vendor can do that.
- 4 to 6 weeks out: prepare. The data team hands over to the reporting team, who populate it, make adjustments, check definitions and get it into a return-ready place.
- 1 to 2 weeks out: file. The reporting team populates the report, generates the XML file and submits it.
File CARF without the headache
From raw customer data to validated, submission-ready reports, we manage it all.
Connect your data
Upload raw files or connect to your existing systems, with no manual data entry.
Errors, in plain-English
Real-time error messages flag inconsistent or missing data before submission.
TIN validation
Built-in TIN validation against OECD requirements across jurisdictions.
Generate compliant XML
Automatically generate your data into the required CRS reporting format.
Submit via API
Submit directly to the relevant tax authority where API submission is supported.
Enterprise features
Built-in approvals, local entity and group view, and a full audit trail.
FAQ
CARF stands for the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. It's the OECD standard for automatic exchange of crypto tax information between countries.
CARF covers fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto exchanges, transfers, and retail payments made with crypto. CBDCs and specified e-money products are excluded, because CRS 2 covers them.
An RCASP has to register with its tax authority, identify reportable users, collect and validate their tax residency and TINs, and report in-scope crypto transactions each year in a standardised format. It also has to tell reportable users that their data is being reported and may be shared internationally.
CARF returns cover each calendar year and are due to HMRC by 31 May the following year.
CARF is the OECD standard. DAC8 is the EU directive that makes CARF, and the CRS 2 changes, compulsory across all 27 member states.
CARF reports crypto at transaction level. CRS 2 reports accounts that can hold a balance, including e-money, at account level. Explicit provisions stop the same asset being counted twice.
