Exporting your Kraken ledger
Kraken stores your activity in a ledger format where every trade is split into separate debit and credit rows linked by a reference ID (refid). Staking rewards, deposits, and withdrawals each appear as their own ledger entries. To build accurate Section 104 pools for your UK tax return, you need to export your complete history.
How to export:
- Log in to kraken.com.
- Click your profile icon (top right) and select Documents.
- In the Exports section, click Create Export (shown as New export in some layouts).
- Select Ledgers as the export type.
- Set the start date to account opening and the end date to today, not just the tax year, and choose CSV as the file format.
- Click Generate. Kraken needs from a few minutes to about a week and sends no email, so check the Documents page.
- When the download icon is enabled, download the file. Kraken keeps exports for 14 days.
Upload the .csv file. If your download arrives as a .zip archive, extract the CSV first; the upload accepts .csv only.
Upload your complete history including prior years. The calculator needs your earliest purchases to build accurate Section 104 pools for every token you have traded. Both Ledger and Trades formats are supported - we auto-detect which one you uploaded.
Section 104, same-day, and bed & breakfast
Every time you sell, swap, or spend crypto from your Kraken account, HMRC treats it as a disposal subject to Capital Gains Tax. CGT rates are 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and 24% for higher and additional-rate taxpayers, updated from October 2024.
The annual exempt amount is £3,000 for 2025-26 and 2024/25. Net capital gains below this threshold owe no CGT.
Section 104 pooling groups all acquisitions of a token into a weighted average pool. When you dispose of that token, the allowable cost comes from the pool's average price per unit. Two rules take priority over the pool when triggered: the same-day rule matches disposals to acquisitions on the same day first, and the bed & breakfast rule matches to reacquisitions within the following 30 days.
- Taxable events: Sells, crypto-to-crypto swaps, spending crypto, gifting crypto (except to spouse or civil partner).
- Non-taxable: Buying crypto with GBP, transferring between your own wallets, gifts to spouse or civil partner.
- Matching rules: Section 104 pooling - weighted average pool cost, with same-day and 30-day B&B rules taking priority.
- Tax forms: Self Assessment tax return with SA108 (Capital Gains - Cryptoassets section).
- Filing deadline: 31 January following the tax year (tax year runs 6 April to 5 April).
- Staking rewards: If the activity does not amount to a trade, staking income is generally treated as miscellaneous income at the sterling value on the day received.
From refid pairs to adviser records
Our parser reads every row in your Kraken CSV, groups debit and credit entries by refid, and reconstructs complete trades. Each disposal in your selected UK tax year gets an allowable cost from the Section 104 pool, proceeds, and matching records for professional review.
Our Section 104 implementation is validated against all 6 official HMRC cryptoasset examples (CRYPTO22251 through CRYPTO22256), covering same-day matching, B&B matching, and pool calculations.
Kraken CSVs report values in the trading pair's quote currency (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.), not always in GBP. Our engine automatically enriches every transaction with historical daily prices and converts all values to pounds sterling using historical daily rates. The report includes a transaction and matching table, crypto income summary, end-of-year holdings with pool cost, and a complete transaction audit trail. The Match column on each disposal shows whether it was matched via same-day rule, bed & breakfast, or the Section 104 pool.
Kraken and HMRC
- No HMRC tax forms from Kraken: Kraken does not issue tax documents for UK users. HMRC's crypto data-sharing agreements are expanding, but you must calculate and report everything yourself via Self Assessment.
- Kraken staking for UK customers: Kraken staking is available for eligible UK customers - check Kraken's current UK terms for your account. Staking rewards in your Ledger export are identified and valued at the sterling value on the day received. If the activity does not amount to a trade, staking income is generally treated as miscellaneous income. Later disposal of staked tokens triggers CGT through the Section 104 pool.
- GBP conversion from native currencies: Kraken supports multiple quote currencies including USD, EUR, and GBP pairs. Regardless of which pair you traded, our engine converts every transaction to pounds sterling using historical daily exchange rates so your report is ready for HMRC.
- Refid pairing handles Kraken's unique format: Kraken's Ledger export lists individual debit and credit entries rather than complete trades. Each trade is split across multiple rows linked by a reference ID (refid). Our parser reconstructs complete transactions by pairing these entries automatically, then runs each disposal through Section 104 pooling.
- Trades format also supported: If you exported using the Trades format instead of Ledgers, the calculator auto-detects and handles it. The Ledger format is preferred because it includes staking rewards, deposits, and withdrawals alongside trades.
- CARF reporting from 2026: Under UK CARF regulations in force from 1 January 2026, in-scope providers may be required to report user data to HMRC. The first reporting window runs from 1 January 2027 to 31 May 2027, covering calendar year 2026. Self Assessment remains your own responsibility.
Related calculators and guides
Kraken calculator: Kraken Tax Calculator (all countries)
UK calculator: UK Crypto Tax Calculator (all exchanges)
Other exchanges in the UK:
Coinbase UK ·
Binance UK
Official UK sources
Use HMRC's guidance and the forms for your tax year alongside professional advice. These sources explain the rules; they do not certify or endorse DYOR.tax.