Quick answer
Sell crypto and rebuy the same token within 30 days and HMRC will match the trades — neutralising any loss you hoped to claim.
Tax Filing
United Kingdom
Bed and Breakfasting Rule
HMRC's 30-day rule preventing artificial loss creation by matching a crypto sale and repurchase within 30 days.
United KingdomUnderstanding Bed and Breakfasting Rule on crypto
The bed and breakfasting rule (also called the 30-day rule) under HMRC's crypto guidance prevents taxpayers from selling a cryptocurrency at a loss and immediately repurchasing it to artificially crystallise a tax-deductible loss while maintaining their position. If you sell and repurchase the same token within 30 calendar days, HMRC matches the sale against the repurchase cost rather than the pool cost — neutralising the loss. This rule applies before the Section 104 pool and after the same-day rule in HMRC's matching hierarchy.
The bed and breakfasting rule (also called the 30-day rule) under HMRC's crypto guidance prevents taxpayers from selling a cryptocurrency at a loss and immediately repurchasing it to artificially crystallise a tax-deductible loss while maintaining their position. If you sell and repurchase the same token within 30 calendar days, HMRC matches the sale against the repurchase cost rather than the pool cost — neutralising the loss. This rule applies before the Section 104 pool and after the same-day rule in HMRC's matching hierarchy.
What this means for your crypto activity
Loss matched to repurchase
Selling BTC at a loss and rebuying within 30 days means the loss is matched against the repurchase price, not your pool cost.
Same asset only
The rule only applies to the same asset — selling BTC and buying ETH is not affected.
Wallet transfers excluded
Transferring between your own wallets does not trigger the rule, but a genuine disposal followed by a repurchase does.
Wait 30 days to realise loss
If you want to realise a loss for tax purposes, wait more than 30 days before repurchasing.
30 days in either direction
The rule applies both before and after the disposal date (30 days in either direction counts as a match).
- Selling BTC at a loss and rebuying within 30 days means the loss is matched against the repurchase price, not your pool cost.
- The rule only applies to the same asset — selling BTC and buying ETH is not affected.
- Transferring between your own wallets does not trigger the rule, but a genuine disposal followed by a repurchase does.
- If you want to realise a loss for tax purposes, wait more than 30 days before repurchasing.
- The rule applies both before and after the disposal date (30 days in either direction counts as a match).
Seeing it in action
Example scenario
Dan sells 1 BTC at £25,000 on 1 March (cost in pool: £40,000), crystallising a £15,000 loss. On 15 March — 14 days later — he rebuys 1 BTC at £26,000. HMRC matches the 15 March purchase against the 1 March sale. Dan's gain on the matched trade is £25,000 − £26,000 = −£1,000 (a small loss, not £15,000). His pool is unaffected by the sold BTC, and the full £15,000 paper loss is not available to claim.
How this works across jurisdictions
- United Kingdom
Under Section 106A of the TCGA 1992, any cryptoassets acquired within 30 days after a disposal are matched directly with that disposal in a prescribed statutory priority sequence, overriding the Section 104 pool calculation.
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