In March 2026, the government published a call for evidence on possible changes to the tax rules for stablecoins, including treating certain types of stablecoin as exempt assets for the purposes of capital gains tax (CGT). An earlier article sets out the changes in more detail and explains what stablecoins are. ICAEW has now responded to the government’s call for evidence (ICAEW Representation 33/26). 

ICAEW believes that the overall objective of a stablecoin tax regime should be to remove transactions in relevant assets from the charge to tax as far as possible, unless real economic value is derived by a party to the transaction. As the tax at stake is so minor compared to the administrative burden currently being incurred, the overall impact of the changes should still be positive for the government.

In designing the regime, ICAEW believes that aligning the definition of stablecoins for tax and regulatory purposes would provide the most consistency and simplicity for taxpayers and agents. However, ICAEW has cautioned against fully aligning the tax and accounting treatments at this stage, as there is no consistent accounting treatment for stablecoins. 

ICAEW recognises that stablecoins are increasingly becoming a source of exchange and method of payment for goods and services, suggesting that stablecoins are  increasingly becoming akin to money. Feedback received by ICAEW indicates that companies would generally prefer stablecoins to be treated as money for tax purposes so that they could fall wholly within the loan relationships regime.

Consistency would dictate that stablecoins are also treated as money for personal tax purposes. This would mean that chargeable gains would not arise on disposal and any returns would be treated as interest. However, ICAEW acknowledges that taxpayers with significant savings and investment income, and minimal trading or miscellaneous income, may then suffer higher tax liabilities.