VestreamIf you receive tokens on a vesting schedule and you're UK tax resident, one question decides your numbers: are you taxed when the tokens vest, or when you claim them into your wallet? It matters because token prices move. A tranche worth £10,000 on the day it unlocked might be worth £4,000 by the time you claim it, or £25,000.
HMRC has not published guidance written specifically for tokens released by on-chain vesting contracts. This article sets out what HMRC's manuals do say, cites each source, and is explicit about where that guidance runs out. Your own facts decide your position, so confirm it with a UK tax adviser before you file.
For most UK recipients paid in tokens for work, the likely tax point is when the tokens are provided to you. For on-chain vesting that usually means the unlock date, not the claim date, and claiming later is typically not a second income event. Tokens you bought, rather than earned, are generally a Capital Gains Tax matter instead.
First, why you got the tokens decides which tax applies
HMRC has no single rule for "vesting tokens". The treatment follows why you received them, and three situations cover almost everyone.
| How you got the tokens | Main tax | What HMRC's guidance says |
|---|---|---|
| Paid for work: a team, employee, contributor or advisor allocation | Income Tax and National Insurance on the value, then Capital Gains Tax when you dispose of them | Tokens received as employment income count as money's worth and are subject to Income Tax and National Insurance on their value (CRYPTO21100) |
| Bought: a seed, presale or SAFT allocation that vests | Usually no Income Tax, because you paid for them. Capital Gains Tax when you dispose of them | Treated under HMRC's Capital Gains Tax rules for cryptoassets, using what you paid as your cost |
| Airdropped, or a community allocation | Depends on whether you did something in return | Income Tax may not apply if you received them without doing anything in return, but does apply if they were provided for a service. Capital Gains Tax can apply when you dispose of them either way (CRYPTO21250) |
Sources: CRYPTO21100, CRYPTO21250, HMRC's Capital Gains Tax guidance for cryptoassets.
So when are you taxed: at vest or at claim?
This is where HMRC's crypto guidance goes quiet. Nothing in its Cryptoassets Manual deals with tokens that sit in a vesting contract until you withdraw them. So the answer has to come from the general employment income rules, and those point fairly clearly in one direction.
Tokens paid for work are money's worth, not money. HMRC's Employment Income Manual says money's worth is taxed in "the year the benefit is provided" under section 19(4) of ITEPA 2003 (EIM42210). So the real question is: when have the tokens been provided to you?
For most on-chain vesting, the natural answer is the unlock date. At that moment the tranche is yours. What remains is sending a transaction to move tokens you already own, which is administration rather than a new payment.
HMRC's treatment of restricted stock units points the same way. In its RSU example the employee is charged "on the market value of the shares received at vesting" (ERSM20194), not at grant and not when they later sell. Tokens are not shares, so this is an analogy rather than a rule HMRC has applied to tokens. It is, however, the closest official guidance on vesting there is.
Say a tranche unlocked on 10 March 2026 and you claimed it on 20 May 2026. The likely tax point is 10 March. That puts the income in the 2025–26 tax year, valued at the sterling price on 10 March, even though you only moved the tokens in the 2026–27 tax year.
When the answer might be different
- Unlocked tokens can still be taken back. If the sender can still reclaim tokens that have unlocked until you claim them, those tokens arguably haven't been fully provided until you do. Check what your particular contract allows.
- There's a condition to meet at claim. If claiming needs more than sending a transaction, such as still being employed on the claim date, entitlement may only arise once that condition is met.
- The tokens come from a third party. If a foundation or another company provides the tokens rather than your employer, Part 7A of ITEPA 2003 can create an Income Tax charge (CRYPTO42300). The timing question is the same, but the reporting route can differ.
- You weren't UK resident for the whole vesting period. Vesting that spans a move to or from the UK raises questions that need an adviser.
How the income gets reported
How you report depends on whether HMRC treats the tokens as readily convertible assets. It considers exchange tokens generally will be, where trading arrangements exist for them.
- Readily convertible, the usual case: your employer should account for Income Tax and National Insurance through PAYE, using its best estimate of the value (CRYPTO21100). Check your payslips and P60 before assuming you owe more.
- Not readily convertible: your employer doesn't run PAYE on them and handles Class 1A National Insurance instead. You declare the value on the employment pages of your Self Assessment return and pay the Income Tax yourself (CRYPTO42250).
Either way, values have to be in pounds sterling at the time the income arose. HMRC's guidance refers to the "pound sterling value (at the time of receipt)" (CRYPTO21200). If your records are in US dollars, convert at the rate on that day, not at today's rate.
Then Capital Gains Tax when you dispose of them
Income Tax covers the tokens arriving. Any change in value after that, up to the point you dispose of them, is a matter for Capital Gains Tax.
The value you were taxed on as income should form your starting cost. For employment-related shares and securities, HMRC's stated aim is "to prevent the same value difference being charged to both Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax" (CG56321A). That page is written for shares and securities rather than tokens, so confirm how your tokens are treated with an adviser, but not being taxed twice on the same value is the principle behind it.
Three matching rules then decide which cost applies when you dispose of tokens (CRYPTO22200):
- Pooling: tokens of the same type go into one pool with an average cost, called a section 104 pool, rather than being tracked lot by lot.
- Same-day rule: tokens acquired and disposed of on the same day are matched against each other first.
- 30-day rule: if you dispose of tokens and acquire more of the same type within the next 30 days, the new tokens are matched to that disposal instead of the pool.
The Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount is currently £3,000. Check gov.uk for the figure for the year you're filing.
Why the vest-or-claim date changes your bill
Using the wrong date doesn't just move income between tax years. It changes how much income you record, and that figure then becomes your cost for Capital Gains Tax. Here is one tranche of 10,000 tokens, later sold for £0.80 each, recorded both ways.
| Unlock date basis | Claim date basis | |
|---|---|---|
| Price on that date | £1.20 | £0.50 |
| Income recorded | £12,000 | £5,000 |
| Tax year | 2025–26 | 2026–27 |
| Later sold for £8,000 | £4,000 capital loss | £3,000 capital gain |
Same tokens, same sale. One basis records £12,000 of income and a £4,000 loss, the other £5,000 of income and a £3,000 gain. That is why the date matters far more than it first appears.
Finding your unlock dates and values
In practice the hard part isn't the rule, it's the records. Vesting contracts don't send statements, and exchange history won't show tokens that moved straight from a contract into your wallet. For every tranche you need the unlock date, the amount, the sterling value on that date, and separately the date you claimed it.
Vestream reads this directly from the chain across the major vesting protocols. Its tax tool lets you switch between Unlock basis and Claim basis, shows both side by side for every tranche, and flags any token it couldn't price so you can enter a value yourself. You can scan a wallet free, and the full income statement and exports are part of Vestream Pro. For how the US and other countries treat vesting, see our token vesting tax guide.
Key dates for the 2025–26 tax year
- Tax year: 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026
- Paper return deadline: 31 October 2026
- Online return and payment deadline: 31 January 2027
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay tax on vested tokens I haven't claimed yet?
If you received them for work, they have unlocked and they can't be taken back, you are likely taxable on them in the tax year they unlocked, even while they sit in the vesting contract. HMRC hasn't issued guidance specific to tokens on this, so confirm your position with an adviser.
Is claiming my tokens a taxable event?
Usually not in itself. If the tokens were already yours at unlock, claiming moves an asset you own rather than paying you something new. Disposing of the tokens later is what can bring Capital Gains Tax into play.
Are vesting tokens from a presale taxed as income?
Generally not, because you paid for them. They are a Capital Gains Tax matter when you dispose of them, using what you paid as your cost.
What value do I use for tokens with no market price?
HMRC expects a sterling value at the time of receipt, and for employment tokens your employer works from its best estimate of the value. Where there's no market price, you or your adviser need a reasonable valuation, and you should keep a record of how you reached it.
Does National Insurance apply to vesting tokens?
For tokens received as employment income, yes. HMRC treats them as subject to Income Tax and National Insurance on their value. Where they are readily convertible that runs through PAYE, and where they are not, your employer handles Class 1A National Insurance.
What's the deadline to report tokens that vested in 2025–26?
31 January 2027 for an online Self Assessment return and for paying what you owe. Paper returns are due by 31 October 2026.
Sources
- CRYPTO21100: earnings from employment, readily convertible assets
- CRYPTO42250: exchange tokens that are not readily convertible assets
- CRYPTO42300: employment income provided through third parties
- CRYPTO21250: airdrops
- CRYPTO21200: staking, sterling value at the time of receipt
- CRYPTO22200: pooling, same-day and 30-day rules
- EIM42210: basis of assessment for money's worth
- ERSM20194: restricted stock units taxed at vesting
- CG56321A: interaction between employment income and Capital Gains Tax
- GOV.UK: Self Assessment deadlines
- GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax allowances
Tax law and HMRC guidance change, and HMRC has not directly settled the position on tokens released from vesting contracts. Use this article to understand the questions and the records you need, then confirm the answer with a UK tax adviser. Last reviewed 15 September 2026.