The FIG regime shelters foreign income and gains for a UK resident's first four years. A lot of new arrivals assume crypto counts — it's held on an overseas exchange, often bought before they ever set foot in the UK, and every other asset class in this position gets the same question: is it foreign? For cryptoassets, HMRC's answer is a flat no, and the reasoning is worth understanding because it's different from how any other asset class gets located.
The situs rule: it follows you, not the exchange
Per CRYPTO22600, HMRC's Cryptoassets Manual, an exchange token isn't a digital copy of some other asset sitting somewhere — it's treated as a new type of intangible asset with no independent location of its own. HMRC's manual states that where a cryptoasset is simply a digital representation of an underlying asset, the underlying asset's location controls. But an exchange token (Bitcoin, Ether, and the like) has no underlying asset — so the only identifiable party left to hang a location on is the beneficial owner, and HMRC's position is that the token is located wherever that owner is tax resident.
For a UK resident, that means every exchange token you beneficially own is UK-situs the moment you become UK resident, full stop. Not "UK-situs unless it's on a foreign exchange." Not "foreign until remitted." UK-situs, by the same test, regardless of the facts that would make almost any other asset foreign — where you bought it, which country's exchange holds it, where the company issuing it (if any) is incorporated.
The exchange-location red herring
This is the assumption that catches people: "my crypto is on a Singapore exchange, bought before I moved, so it's foreign." None of that matters under CRYPTO22600. The exchange's home jurisdiction, the wallet provider's location, the blockchain's own geography — none of it is part of the test. The single fact the manual asks about is who beneficially owns the token and where they are resident. Change your residence and the location of every token you hold changes with you, instantly, without the tokens moving anywhere.
Consequence: no FIG sub-box, on either side
Because a UK resident's crypto is never foreign to begin with, there's nothing for the FIG regime to relieve — and the actual tax return reflects that structurally, not just as a matter of interpretation.
On the gains side, cryptoasset disposals get their own dedicated section on the SA108 Capital Gains Tax summary: boxes 13.1 through 13.8 (number of disposals, proceeds, allowable costs, gains, losses, and so on, per the SA108 Notes 2025-26). Compare that to carried interest gains a few boxes earlier on the same form, which get their own box 13C specifically for the amount claimed under the FIG regime. Cryptoassets get no equivalent box. That's not an oversight — there's genuinely nothing to claim, because the gain was never foreign.
On the income side — staking rewards, mining, lending interest, the things that generate income rather than a disposal — HMRC's guidance treats this as miscellaneous income, reported in box 17 ("Other taxable income") on the main SA100 return, with allowable expenses in box 18. It doesn't go anywhere near SA106 (Foreign), and there's no FIG claim box for it there either, for the same underlying reason.
Worked example: identical amounts, different outcomes
A qualifying new resident in year 2 of their FIG regime window receives £5,000 of foreign dividend income from a genuinely foreign-situs shareholding, and separately, £5,000 of staking rewards credited by an overseas exchange, valued in GBP on the day received. Same amount, same tax year, same taxpayer.
- The dividend: genuinely foreign-situs income. Reported on SA106, claimed under the FIG regime via box 28 on the SA109. Fully relieved — £0 UK tax, assuming no disqualified-income exceptions apply.
- The staking reward: UK-situs under CRYPTO22600, regardless of the exchange. Reported as miscellaneous income in box 17 of the SA100. No FIG claim available. Taxed in full at the claimant's marginal rate — at the additional rate, that's £2,250 of UK tax on an identical £5,000.
Nothing about the underlying economics differs. The entire gap is the situs test, and it applies the same way whether the £5,000 is one large reward or accumulated from a hundred small ones.
What this means in practice
Don't assume an asset is foreign because it lives on a foreign platform — for cryptoassets specifically, HMRC's own test says the opposite. If you're tracking what does and doesn't qualify for FIG relief, treat every cryptoasset you hold as UK income and UK gains by default, and budget the tax accordingly rather than discovering the situs rule at filing time.
FIG Tracker is a calculation aid, not tax advice. Always verify your figures with a qualified tax advisor before filing with HMRC.
Sources
- CRYPTO22600 — Cryptoassets Manual: determining the location of exchange tokens
- Check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets
- SA108 Notes 2025-26 (Capital Gains Tax summary notes), Cryptoassets section, boxes 13.1-13.8 and box 13C
- SA150 Notes 2025-26 (Tax Return notes), box 17 ("Other taxable income") and box 18
- For the general FIG regime claim mechanism (box 28/29) referenced above, see how to fill in the SA109, box by box
- For how OWR — a separate claim from the general FIG regime relief above — gets calculated, see how OWR is actually calculated
- FIG Tracker's OWR calculator