At the FDP’s 5th Blockchain Roundtable on January 10, 2025, the one-year holding period was discussed and that capital gains with a holding period of one year are tax-free.

This is very pleasing for a hodler who holds his Bitcoin in Germany for more than a year. It was noted that this solution has advantages over other tax regimes.

But what about someone who buys Bitcoin to pay with it? Who transfers a few Satoshi to their Lightning Wallet to pay in a store that accepts Bitcoin?

Payment with Bitcoin is equivalent to selling Bitcoin.

If he uses Bitcoin that he has already held for more than a year and transfers part of it to his Lightning Wallet, this is unproblematic, as he has already held this Bitcoin for more than a year and the payment is therefore irrelevant for tax purposes.

But what if I get a few Satoshi and transfer them to my Bitcoin Lightning Wallet to pay with them?

The CFO of the Bitcoin Bundesverband and tax consultant Matthias Steger pointed out at the 5th Blockchain Roundtable of the FDP on January 10, 2025 that there is already a regulation for this in §23 of the Income Tax Act.

According to this, items for everyday use are exempt. These can therefore be sold after less than one year without incurring a tax liability.

This would mean that if I hold my Bitcoin for less than a year and they are to be regarded as items of daily use, there would be no tax-relevant facts.

It would perhaps be necessary to clarify what exactly constitutes items of daily use and the legislator would have to introduce an amendment to the effect that cryptocurrencies or Bitcoin or currencies can be regarded as other economic goods.

Frank Schaeffler (MdB), for his part, had proposed that Bitcoin should be regarded as a currency and, taking our advice into account, would actually achieve his preferred solution with a minimal addition to Section 23 EStG: “Foreign currencies and virtual currencies equivalent to them (e.g. Bitcoin) are regarded as everyday consumer goods”.

The Bitcoin Bundesverband is campaigning for this addition to be included in Section 23 EStG so that Bitcoin held for less than one year can be used as a means of payment in a tax-neutral manner.