B3Getting the figures right1 min 30 sec
Rewards, airdrops and gifts
Staking rewards, airdrops, forks and gifts each follow their own rule. Here is how to record them.
Key points
- In South Africa a staking reward is income at market value on the day credited, and that value generally becomes its base cost.
- By default in South Africa, an airdrop you did nothing to earn is not income and has a nil base cost.
- An airdrop you performed a task for stays ordinary income at market value.
- A gift you receive takes its market value on the day as base cost; a gift you give is a disposal at market value.
- Record the date, quantity and rand value of every airdrop and fork as it happens.
Chapters
Learn more
- GuideAirdrops and forks
When an airdrop or fork is income, and what base cost it opens at.
- GuideCrypto gifts and donations
Gifts you give, gifts you receive, and when donations tax applies.
- GlossaryStaking
How rewards are taxed on receipt and again on a later sale.
- GlossaryAirdrop
The worked-for and fortuitous airdrop cases side by side.
- GlossaryFair market value (FMV)
The value used for rewards, gifts and airdrops on the day.
Keep learning
Episode 07
Tax rules and the treatment map, 1 min 52 sec, watched
Set your method and classification, decide the unsettled cases, and read the tax treatment map.
Episode 06
Edit a transaction, 1 min 19 sec, watched
Correct a transaction's type and treatment, and undo it if you need to.
B2Getting the figures right
Clear your Needs review list, 1 min 4 sec, watched
Find transactions without a clear type and classify them, one by one or in bulk.
Read the transcript
Not everything that lands in your account is a purchase. Rewards, airdrops and gifts each follow their own rule.
In South Africa a staking reward is treated as income. Set its type to Staking income, and Coinfig books it at market value on the day it was credited. Mining income and interest income are booked the same way in Coinfig.
An airdrop or a fork is different. In Your tax positions, Airdrops and forks offers two treatments: income at market value, or not income with a nil base cost. By default in South Africa, Coinfig treats an airdrop you did nothing to earn as not income, with a nil base cost on a capital account. That follows the SARS Draft Guide, which is not final.
A gift you receive is not a disposal by you. Set its type to Gift. Some countries carry the giver's cost across. In South Africa your base cost is the market value on the day you received it, so leave the donor's cost blank. Giving crypto away is a disposal at market value, so record those gifts too. Your report states every choice you make here. The choice is yours or your practitioner's.
Rewards are income. Airdrops follow your setting. Gifts are recorded at market value.