VDA Tax India: What It Is, How It Affects Crypto, and What You Need to Know

When you buy or sell VDA, a Virtual Digital Asset, which includes cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other tokenized assets. Also known as digital assets, it is now treated like property under Indian tax law, not currency. Since April 2022, India has taxed every transfer of VDAs at 30%, with no deductions for losses. That means if you bought Bitcoin for ₹5 lakh and sold it for ₹7 lakh, you pay ₹60,000 in tax—even if you lost money on Ethereum the same year.

This tax isn’t just about income. TDS (Tax Deducted at Source), a 1% withholding tax applied on every crypto transaction above ₹10,000 gets pulled out by exchanges before you even see your funds. So if you sell ₹50,000 worth of SOL, ₹500 disappears right away. And if you move crypto between wallets? That’s still a taxable event. The government tracks everything through exchange data, wallet addresses, and now, the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which India will fully adopt by 2027.

Many think VDA tax only hits traders, but it affects everyone. Staking rewards? Taxable. Airdrops you claim? Taxable. Even gifting crypto to a friend triggers a tax event. There’s no exemption for small holders. No loss carryforwards. No deductions for mining costs or gas fees. It’s a flat 30% on gains, period. And unlike stocks, you can’t offset losses from one VDA against gains from another. Each token is tracked separately.

What does this mean for you? If you’re holding crypto in India, you’re already in the system. Exchanges like BitOffer and others report your trades to the tax department. If you use non-custodial wallets, you’re still required to declare income—no matter how you hold it. The government doesn’t care if you use MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or a hardware device. The law applies to ownership, not custody.

Some try to avoid this by moving abroad. But legal crypto tax relocation isn’t cheap—it costs between $50,000 and $250,000 to change residency properly. And even then, you’re not escaping the past. India can still track your historical trades. Plus, with CARF rolling out, your data will be shared with 100+ countries. Hiding won’t work.

There’s no gray area. The law is clear: every VDA transaction is taxable. The only question is whether you’re reporting it correctly. The posts below break down real cases—from how Uniswap trades on Blast trigger tax events, to why claiming airdrops like KALA or REVV still counts as income. You’ll find guides on how to calculate your tax liability, what records to keep, and how exchanges like BitOffer handle TDS automatically. No fluff. Just what you need to stay compliant without overpaying.