Russia Drafts Amendments to Tax Crypto Mining and Transactions, Defines Cryptos as Property

Russia is moving forward with a draft amendment to its Bitcoin (BTC) mining legislation, introducing new tax rules for crypto mining, transactions, and related infrastructure.

Russia is set to introduce new tax rules for crypto mining, transactions, and related infrastructure, as part of a draft amendment to its Bitcoin (BTC) mining legislation.

The amendments, announced by the Ministry of Finance on Friday, will establish new guidelines for taxing income and expenses in the crypto mining sector, and outline the tax obligations for operators of mining infrastructure, according to an Interfax report.

Under the changes, cryptocurrencies will be defined as property for tax purposes. Income from mined tokens will be taxed based on their market value when received, and crypto miners can subtract related expenses from their income, the report said.

The amendments also state that crypto transactions will not be subject to value-added tax. Instead, income from these operations will be taxed alongside income from securities transactions, with the highest personal income tax rate on cryptocurrency earnings set at 15%.

Additionally, crypto mining infrastructure operators will be required to notify tax authorities about individuals using their facilities for mining, although the exact details that operators should disclose about their customers remain unclear.

Since Nov. 1, crypto mining in Russia is only permitted for registered individual entrepreneurs and organizations. Individuals without entrepreneur status may still mine Bitcoin within a consumption limit of 6,000 Kw/h per month. The government has also imposed temporary mining bans on certain regions from Dec. 1 until March 15, 2025, due to electricity deficits.