A crypto loss is not automatically deductible simply because your balance is lower. First identify what happened: a completed disposal, an unrealised price fall, a scam, a lost key or an insolvent custodian. Then establish the applicable revenue or capital treatment and the evidence needed for the relevant year.
SARS's general crypto guidance recognises gains and losses within ordinary tax rules. It does not guarantee that every economic loss can reduce salary income or that every missing asset has been disposed of for tax purposes.
Separate the loss types
| Situation | What you can establish now | What still needs tax review |
|---|---|---|
| Sold for less than acquisition cost | Actual sale proceeds and cost records | Classification, allowable costs and restrictions |
| Price fell but you still hold the asset | Current value and continuing holding | Whether any recognition rule applies; no automatic deduction assumed |
| Sent to a scammer | Transfer and fraud evidence | Legal character, timing and possible recovery |
| Lost access to a wallet | Access problem and attempted recovery record | Whether and when a tax-recognised loss arises |
| Exchange insolvency | Account balance and creditor claim | Status and value of the legal claim, later distributions |
Do not combine these into a single “loss” number and expect an export tool to decide the law. The existing SARS guide provides the broader classification context.
Begin with a completed sale example
Assume a hypothetical asset was acquired for R15,000 and sold for R9,000. For the arithmetic only, assume R100 is an allowable disposal cost and the full R15,000 is the relevant tax cost.
Illustrative loss = R9,000 - R100 - R15,000 = -R6,100
That establishes a modelled loss amount under the assumptions. It does not establish how much tax you save, whether the loss can offset a particular income source or whether it may be carried forward. Those depend on classification, statutory restrictions and your wider return.
If the asset is merely quoted at R9,000 while still held, there is no R9,000 sale receipt. Preserve the holding record and ask about the correct treatment rather than pretending the quoted value is disposal proceeds.
Build the evidence before claiming
For an ordinary sale, retain acquisition date, quantity, cost, trade fills, fee currency and bank or wallet movements. Link transfers between your own accounts so the acquisition cost is not lost when the asset changes platforms.
For a scam, preserve the transaction identifier, communications, reports and any recovery or compensation information. Do not manufacture a sale invoice to make the loss resemble an exchange disposal. A police report records an allegation or incident; it does not by itself establish a tax deduction.
For a lost key, document the asset and ownership evidence without disclosing the seed phrase or private key. Keep recovery attempts factual. “I cannot access it today” and “my legal interest has ended” are not necessarily the same proposition.
Ask about limits explicitly
Your reviewer should determine whether the result falls on revenue or capital account, whether any ring-fencing or other restriction applies, how related-party transactions affect it, and what is carried forward, if anything. Ask for the relevant rule and assessment year in the working papers.
Do not rely solely on a short FAQ statement that losses can offset income. It may omit conditions that matter to your case. A calculation of the economic loss alone does not establish a carry-forward entitlement or an offset against salary.
If part of a previously recorded loss is later recovered, retain that receipt and ask how it changes the tax position. Deleting the earlier record would destroy the audit trail.
Reconcile software before trusting its total
Common issues include an imported withdrawal treated as a sale, a deposit assigned zero cost, duplicate trade rows and fees counted twice. Compare opening and closing asset quantities and trace the largest reported losses back to actual records.
Keep an exception list for missing documents. A defensible incomplete file is preferable to a precise-looking total built on invented costs. The cash-out hub helps with withdrawal records and the wallet hub with custody context, but neither settles deductibility.
The completed file should identify the actual event, quantify the economic loss and distinguish that amount from any deduction claimed. If the tax treatment remains uncertain, obtain advice on that specific issue before filing; do not present the modelled R6,100 loss as a promised refund.
Sources and verification
Primary SARS guidance read on 20 September 2026. The linked FAQ was reviewed by SARS in 2021. The examples are original arithmetic illustrations; they do not determine the tax treatment of an individual transaction.