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The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework would make crypto platforms report user details and yearly totals to the CRA, starting with the 2027 calendar year. It is not law. Bill C-31 had not received royal assent when checked on 12 November 2026, and the House committee amended it, so every date here is proposed.
What is the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework?
The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, called CARF, is an international standard for sharing tax information about crypto-asset transactions. The bill text says the new rules implement the framework set out in the OECD standards for automatic exchange of information, and that the provisions are to be read consistently with the framework and its official commentary. In plain terms, a business that runs a crypto trading service would collect details about its users and report yearly totals to the tax authority.
It is a reporting regime for platforms, not a new tax. Your gains, income and losses are taxed under the same rules as before, which our page on crypto tax in Canada explains. What would change is that the CRA could see a summary of your activity from the platform side, and that information can be compared with what you report.
Is CARF law in Canada yet?
No, not when we checked on 12 November 2026. The Canadian rules sit in Part 1 of Bill C-31, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2. The LEGISinfo page for the bill showed these steps.
| Step | Status on 12 November 2026 |
|---|---|
| First reading in the House of Commons | Completed 6 May 2026 |
| Second reading and referral to committee | Completed 3 June 2026 |
| Finance committee report | Presented with amendments on 30 October 2026 |
| Report stage in the House | In progress, last debate 4 November 2026 |
| Third reading in the House | Not reached |
| Senate | Pre-study in progress, bill not yet before the Senate for first reading |
| Royal assent | Not reached |
The committee reported the bill with amendments, so the final wording could differ from the first reading version. We read the CARF part of the first reading text and could not read the amended version. Everything on this page about dates and duties is therefore a description of the proposal. Check the current text on the parl.ca bill page before you rely on any detail.
Who would have to report?
The duty falls on a "reporting crypto-asset service provider". The draft defines it as any individual or entity that, as a business, provides a service effectuating exchange transactions for customers, including by acting as a counterparty or intermediary, or by making a trading platform available. An exchange transaction is a swap between crypto-assets and regular currency or between two kinds of crypto-assets.
A provider is caught for a calendar year if, for example, it is resident in Canada, is organized under the laws of Canada or a province and has a filing obligation here, is a partnership managed from Canada, or carries on business in Canada. A provider can be excused if it has already met equivalent requirements in a partner jurisdiction and told the Minister. People who only hold coins in their own wallet and do not use a service provider are not the reporting party. You may still have to report your own income and gains yourself.
What details would platforms collect and send?
For each user who is a reportable person, the draft lists the name, address, country of tax residence, tax identification number and date of birth. For each type of coin the user traded, the platform would report yearly totals, not each trade.
| Item reported for each coin type | What the draft says |
|---|---|
| Purchases with regular currency | Total paid, units and number of transactions |
| Sales for regular currency | Total received, units and number of transactions |
| Swaps from one coin to another | Fair market value, units and number of transactions, for coins acquired and for coins disposed of |
| Retail payments made with coins | Fair market value, units and number of payments |
| Transfers in and out | Fair market value, units and number, split by transfer type where known |
| Transfers to wallet addresses not known to belong to another regulated provider | Fair market value and units |
Values would be reported in Canadian dollars at the time of each transaction. Amounts paid or received in one foreign currency are reported in that currency. A user who does not give a tax identification number when asked could face a $500 penalty for each failure, with exceptions where the number cannot be obtained. The draft does not say that the platform sends your cost base or your gain. Those still come from your own records.
What changes for your 2026 tax return?
Nothing in the draft changes how a 2026 return is prepared. The same property and income rules apply to coins you sold, swapped or earned in 2026, and the return is due on 30 April 2027 (15 June 2027 if you or your spouse run a business, with the balance still due 30 April). Our page on whether crypto is taxable lists the common taxable events.
2026 does matter for one reason. The draft defines a pre-existing user as someone who had a relationship with the platform on 31 December 2026, and these users are covered by a later due diligence deadline. It makes 2026 the last year before the reporting year starts. Records you keep from 2026 onward also become your own cross-check against anything the platform later reports.
What changes in 2027 and 2028 if the bill passes as drafted?
The first reading text applies Part XXI to the 2027 and later calendar years. It requires a provider to file an electronic information return before 2 May of each calendar year for the previous calendar year. Counting from that wording, the first return would cover 2027 and be due before 2 May 2028. That date is our reading of the text and is not stated as a single date in the bill.
| When | What the draft says | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | Part XXI applies to 2027 and later calendar years | Proposed |
| 31 December 2026 | Users with an existing relationship count as pre-existing users | Proposed |
| New users from 2027 | Provider collects a self-certification when the relationship starts | Proposed |
| Before 2028 | Due diligence on pre-existing users must be finished | Proposed |
| Before 2 May 2028 | First annual return for 2027 | Our reading, proposed |
| At least six years | Provider keeps records after the last relevant calendar year | Proposed |
For you, the likely effect is a request from your platform for tax residence details and an identification number, and later a copy of what it reported. The draft does not describe a new form for you to file.
What penalties did Budget 2026 propose?
The Budget 2026 tax measures annex proposes stronger penalties for failing to comply with a duty or obligation under the international reporting regimes, including the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. It says the measure would apply to the 2028 and later calendar years. The annex was tabled on 5 November 2026 and these are proposals until they are legislated.
The annex does not spell out amounts in the part we read. The only dollar figure we found in the bill text itself is the $500 penalty for a user who does not supply a tax identification number on request. The government also said earlier, in its draft legislation release of 15 August 2025, that it would implement the framework. That release did not give the dates we use here, which come from the bill text.
What can you do now?
- Keep complete records for every platform you use, including wallet addresses. The CRA books and records page asks for at least six years of them.
- Check that your tax residence and address on each platform account are current.
- Do not assume that unreported past years go unnoticed. See our page on CRA reviews and voluntary disclosure.
- Re-read the bill status before relying on a date. The bill was moving through the House and the Senate pre-study in early November 2026.
This page is information only. We do not give advice, we do not represent the CRA or any organization, and we do not guarantee accuracy. Bills change, and so does this page's status table.
Frequently asked questions
What is CARF in Canada?
CARF is the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. Bill C-31 proposes to add Part XXI to the Income Tax Act so crypto platforms report user details and yearly transaction totals to the CRA. It would not create a new tax on crypto. It is still a proposal, with no royal assent as of 12 November 2026.
When would crypto reporting start in Canada?
The first reading text of Bill C-31 applies the rules to the 2027 and later calendar years, with returns due before 2 May of the following year. On that wording the first return would cover 2027 and be due before 2 May 2028. The bill was amended in committee, so check the current text.
Will the platform report my gains to the CRA?
The draft lists yearly totals for each coin type: amounts paid and received, units, fair market value of swaps, retail payments and transfers. It does not list your cost base or a calculated gain. You still work those out from your own records and report them on your return.
Does CARF affect my 2026 tax return?
No change to your 2026 return is proposed. The same rules for gains, income and losses apply, and the return is due 30 April 2027, or 15 June 2027 if you or your spouse are self-employed. The reporting regime would start with the 2027 calendar year if the bill becomes law as drafted.
What if I refuse to give my tax identification number to a platform?
The draft says a user who fails to provide it on request is liable to a $500 penalty for each failure, unless the number was applied for in time or cannot be obtained from the country involved. The bill is not law yet, so this applies only if it passes in this form.
Does CARF cover coins in my own wallet?
The reporting duty falls on service providers that carry out exchange transactions for customers, not on private wallets. A transfer to a wallet address the platform does not know to be linked to another regulated provider is reportable. Your own tax obligations on the coins stay the same either way.