Ahead of budget 2026, KoinX highlights crypto tax disconnect

MUMBAI: As the Union Budget 2026 looms, India’s crypto tax regime is back in the spotlight, and not in a flattering way. A new report by KoinX suggests that for many investors, the taxman walked away with more cheer than their portfolios did.

According to India’s Crypto Tax Story 2025, nearly half of Indian crypto investors ended FY25 in the red. Yet many still paid taxes. The report draws on anonymised data from close to seven lakh Indian users and paints a picture of a system that taxes activity rather than outcomes.

At the heart of the debate is the 1 per cent tax deducted at source. While the levy has improved transaction reporting, KoinX argues it has also frozen capital by skimming every trade, profit or loss notwithstanding. The result is a growing dependence on refunds and a steady squeeze on liquidity.

In FY25 alone, total TDS collected across the crypto ecosystem stood at Rs 511.83 crore. KoinX users contributed Rs 130.16 crore of this amount, but their actual tax liability was only Rs 91.64 crore. That leaves an estimated Rs 38.52 crore locked up as excess deductions.

The burden is unevenly shared. Less than 5 per cent of traders accounted for 87 percent of total TDS collections. Thin margins mean even high volume traders often overpay upfront, while smaller investors feel the pinch in proportion.

KoinX founder and CEO Punit Agarwal said the solution is not scrapping TDS but resizing it. He advocates a uniform cut to 0.1 percent, arguing it would free trapped capital, reduce the drift to offshore platforms and keep compliance intact.

The bigger fault line, however, lies in capital gains taxation. The report shows a near perfect split in outcomes. Around 51 per cent of users posted net gains, while 49 percent booked net losses. Yet taxable gains ballooned to Rs 3,722 crore because losses cannot be set off.

As a result, investors who collectively lost Rs 1,178 crore still paid tax on Rs 180 crore of gains. In plain terms, many paid capital gains tax without any capital gains to show for it.

Agarwal calls this a break from first principles. Across asset classes, no net gain means no capital gains tax. Treating crypto differently, he warns, distorts behaviour and risks driving both traders and liquidity offshore.

As policymakers fine tune the Budget 2026 numbers, KoinX hopes its data offers a timely nudge. The message is simple. A tax system that moves with outcomes, not just volumes, could make crypto less taxing for everyone.