What should a good tax adviser point out on a voluntary disclosure with crypto?
A voluntary disclosure works only under narrow conditions. What a good adviser should raise on this, with a checklist and a list of questions. The service in detail: Voluntary disclosure for crypto assets.
- A voluntary disclosure works only as long as none of the bars in section 371(2) AO has occurred, in particular as long as the offence has not been detected.
- It has to be complete and cover at least the last ten calendar years; a partial disclosure does not protect.
- From EUR 25,000 of evaded tax per tax type and period, impunity comes only against a surcharge under section 398a AO.
- A hasty letter to the tax office without reliable numbers is the worst route.
What your adviser should raise on their own
The bars
Section 371(2) AO names, among other things, an audit order or an auditor appearing, an initiated criminal or fine proceeding and detection of the offence. Once one occurs, it cannot be cured retroactively. A good adviser first clarifies whether a bar might already have occurred.
Completeness and period
The correction has to cover all unbarred tax offences of one tax type, at least the last ten calendar years. In especially serious cases prosecution becomes time-barred only after fifteen years; so up to fifteen years are reviewed.
Surcharge under section 398a AO
Above EUR 25,000 per tax type and assessment period, a sum is payable in addition to tax and interest: 10% of the evaded tax up to EUR 100,000, 15% above that up to EUR 1 million, 20% above that. Only after the calculation do you know what lies ahead.
DAC8 and detection
With the data exchange under DAC8, the risk of detection rises from 2026. In our view the blocking effect depends on receipt of attributable data at the tax office of residence. The supreme court has not decided this. See DAC8.
Reconstructing the history
Platforms often no longer exist and accounts are deleted. The data can be reconstructed via the blockchain with a chain of evidence. Without it, completeness cannot be proved.
Process and duration
Depending on the data, four to twelve weeks pass from the first meeting to filing. The process covers a first meeting, inventory, reconstruction, calculation, filing and support.
Consequences if it fails
The penalty range of section 370 AO runs in especially serious cases from six months to ten years. Professional-law consequences can follow. A July 2026 action plan of the Federal Ministry of Finance provides for tightening; details on the service page.
Confidentiality
Professional secrecy under section 57 StBerG and section 203 StGB applies to the meeting from the first minute.
Checklist for the advisory meeting
List of questions
Questions you can ask. Good answers are specific and name their basis.
- Has a bar already occurred in my case, or could it have?
- Which years and tax types does the disclosure have to cover?
- How far back do you review, and why?
- Does section 398a AO come into play, and in what amount?
- How do you reconstruct the history if platforms no longer exist?
- What does DAC8 mean for my timeline?
- How long does it take with my data until filing?
- What does a voluntary disclosure cost, and how is the effort estimated?
- What happens after filing: tax office, criminal and fine proceedings office?
- What applies to my professional or licence situation?
Warning signs
- A voluntary disclosure is filed without an inventory.
- Only some of the years are disclosed.
- Nothing is said about the surcharge under section 398a AO.
- You are assured that nothing will happen without your numbers being known.
Frequently asked questions
When is a voluntary disclosure no longer possible?
How far back must a voluntary disclosure go?
When is a surcharge due?
Legal position: position 12 October 2026. Sources: sections 370, 371, 398a AO, section 169(2) AO, section 376 AO, section 57 StBerG; details on the linked service page. The statement on the time of detection is our legal view. The figures are abridged and are not advice on an individual case. Where this English text and the German text differ, the German text prevails.