Accounting for crypto receipts
When a customer pays in a crypto-asset, the sale still has to land in your books in Canadian dollars. This guide walks through how the CRA describes the treatment, which value to record, how GST/HST fits in and what records to keep, with a worked example you can repeat.
Key points
- The CRA treats paying with crypto like a barter transaction, so the value received is income at its fair market value in Canadian dollars.
- Fair market value is measured at the time of the transaction, and you need a record of how you determined it.
- GST/HST registrants calculate GST/HST on the fair market value of the crypto received for taxable supplies.
- Converting the crypto to CAD later is a separate event that can produce its own gain or loss.
How the CRA describes a crypto payment
The Canada Revenue Agency treats paying with crypto-assets like a barter transaction. If your business accepts crypto as payment for goods or services, you include the value of what you received in income, using its fair market value (FMV) in Canadian dollars at the time of the transaction.
The revenue line is still the CAD price you charged. What changes is the asset received: units of a crypto-asset that can change in value before you convert them.
Whether a later gain or loss on those units is business income or a capital gain depends on your facts, such as how often you transact, how long you hold, your knowledge and the time you spend. The CRA's Guide T4002 (business income) and Guide T4037 (capital gains) are the usual reference points. See CRA treatment of crypto business income for more, and confirm your position with a CPA.
This reflects CRA guidance as of October 30, 2026. Guidance can change; check the CRA pages under sources.
Pinning down fair market value
FMV is the CAD value of the units at the moment the payment happened. The CRA expects you to keep a record of how you determined it, so the method matters as much as the number.
Write your method down and apply it consistently, so a reviewer could repeat the calculation from the record alone.
- Source: the price feed, quote or conversion record you rely on, named in a short written policy.
- Timestamp: a consistent definition of the time of the transaction, such as the block time of the confirming transaction or the moment the invoice was marked paid.
- Units and precision: the exact number of units received, not a rounded figure.
- Exceptions: what you do when your source is unavailable or a payment arrives in several pieces.
GST/HST is calculated on the fair market value
The CRA's page on GST/HST and crypto-assets (dated November 10, 2025) says that when a GST/HST registrant accepts crypto as payment for taxable supplies, GST/HST is calculated on the FMV of the crypto at the time of the transaction. A practical approach is to price and tax in CAD, then convert the tax-included total to units.
Rates depend on the province. Under the rates in effect on or after April 1, 2025, Ontario charges 13% HST and British Columbia charges 5% GST plus 7% PST. PST is a provincial tax administered separately, so confirm provincial rules for your supplies.
A different question is whether supplying a crypto-asset is itself taxable. The CRA describes the supply of a virtual payment instrument, such as bitcoin or ether, as an exempt financial service, and supplies of other crypto-assets as likely taxable supplies of intangible personal property. How that applies to your own conversions is a question for a tax professional. See GST/HST on crypto payments.
Worked example: two sales, two provinces
The figures below come from the crypto receipt record tool. In this illustration the customer pays in a USD-referenced stablecoin, and we assume one unit is worth $1.37 CAD at the time of the transaction. That value is an illustrative assumption, not a current exchange rate.
Revenue is the pre-tax price; the tax portion is a liability you remit. The units are recorded at their FMV, which becomes the starting point for measuring any gain or loss when you convert them.
| Line | Ontario sale | British Columbia sale |
|---|---|---|
| Price before tax | $1,000.00 | $2,400.00 |
| Sales tax | HST 13%: $130.00 | GST 5%: $120.00 and PST 7%: $168.00 |
| Tax-included total | $1,130.00 | $2,688.00 |
| Units the customer sends | 824.82 | 1,962.04 |
| Revenue recorded | $1,000.00 | $2,400.00 |
| FMV of units received | $1,130.00 | $2,688.00 |
The conversion is a second event
When you convert the units to CAD, compare what you received with the value you recorded at receipt, after fees.
Continuing the illustration: suppose the Ontario units are converted at an assumed $1.36 per unit, with $5 in conversion fees and a $0.05 network fee. Proceeds are $1,121.75, and after fees the result is a loss of $13.30. Suppose the British Columbia units convert at an assumed $1.38 per unit, with $8 in fees and a $0.05 network fee. Proceeds are $2,707.62, and the result is a gain of $11.57.
A more volatile asset or a longer hold can produce much larger swings; see price volatility and conversion.
Posting conversion results inside sales revenue distorts margins and hides currency exposure.
Records to keep for every receipt
The CRA lists the core items: the date and time, the CAD value, wallet addresses and how FMV was determined. A few more fields let each receipt be traced from invoice to bank deposit.
- Date and time of the transaction, with the time zone
- Number of units, the asset and the network it was sent on
- CAD value, plus the source and method used to determine it
- Sending and receiving wallet addresses
- Transaction hash, so the payment can be looked up on the public ledger
- The invoice or order number the payment settles
- Network fees, conversion rate, conversion fees and CAD proceeds once converted
If your business is a FINTRAC reporting entity, such as a money services business, FINTRAC's own record-keeping rules also apply, and records must generally be kept for at least five years. FINTRAC excludes a business that solely accepts payment for goods or services it supplied to its own customer from the MSB definition. See record keeping.
Setting up the books
A simple structure keeps sales, tax and conversion separate; account names may differ. The guide for accountants covers more of the bookkeeping side.
- Create a clearing asset account for each crypto-asset you accept, tracked in both units and CAD.
- At receipt, debit the clearing account for the FMV of the units, credit sales for the pre-tax price and credit GST/HST (and PST, where applicable) payable for the tax.
- Record network fees you pay to move or convert units as a payment-processing expense.
- At conversion, credit the clearing account for the recorded value, debit the bank for the CAD proceeds and post the difference, net of fees, to a separate conversion gain or loss account.
- Reconcile the clearing account in units every month so it matches what is actually held; see reconciling on-chain payments.
Questions people ask
Do I record the sale at the price I charged or at the crypto's value?
Under the CRA's barter treatment, the value of the crypto received, at its FMV in CAD at the time of the transaction, goes into income. If you price in CAD and the customer sends the matching units, the figures line up.
What if the crypto changes in value before I convert it?
That change is separate from the sale. It shows up as a gain or loss on conversion, and whether it is business income or capital depends on your facts, so ask a CPA.
Does the GST/HST rule apply to stablecoin payments too?
The CRA's rule for crypto accepted as payment for taxable supplies is to calculate GST/HST on its FMV at the time of the transaction. Confirm how it applies to your specific supplies and assets with the CRA or a tax professional.
Which FMV source should I use?
The CRA expects you to record how you determined FMV. Choose a documented, reasonable source, apply it consistently at the time of each transaction and keep evidence of the value used.
Sources
- CRA — Income from crypto-asset transactions
- CRA — Tax tip: reporting crypto-asset income when carrying on a business
- CRA — GST/HST and crypto-asset transactions
- CRA — GST/HST rate calculator
Reviewed October 30, 2026. Educational information only; not financial, legal, tax or investment advice. This site does not process payments or hold funds.