Income Tax Treatment of Digital Tokens - e-Tax Guide - Part A and Part B - IRAS

Sep 19, 2026

Income Tax Treatment of Digital Tokens is an IRAS e-Tax Guide explaining how Singapore income tax applies to transactions involving payment tokens, utility tokens, and security tokens, as well as proceeds from Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). It outlines the relevance criteria for taxpayers, summarizes treatment at a glance, and describes general outcomes for each token type, including barter trade treatment for payment tokens and generally deferred revenue for utility token issuance. The guide further covers ICO proceeds taxability, ICO failure, pre-commencement expenses, founder’s tokens, record-keeping, and updates.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time7 min

AccessFree to download

Aim

At a Glance

Glossary

Background

Part A: Tax treatment for digital tokens

Tax treatment of payment tokens

Tax treatment of utility tokens

Tax treatment of security tokens

Part B: Tax treatment for ICOs

Taxability of ICO proceeds

ICO failure

Pre-commencement expenses

Founder’s tokens

Record-keeping

Contact Information

Updates and amendments

Annex A – Income Tax Treatment of Receipt and Disposal of Payment Tokens

Annex B – Treatment of ICO Proceeds

IRAS e-Tax Guide Income Tax Treatment of Digital Tokens Published by Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore Published on 30 Jan 2026 First edition on 17 April 2020 Second edition on 9 Oct 2020 Disclaimers: IRAS shall not be responsible or held accountable in any way for any damage, loss or expense whatsoever, arising directly or indirectly from any inaccuracy or incompleteness in the Contents of this e-Tax Guide, or errors or omissions in the transmission of the Contents. IRAS shall not be responsible or held accountable in any way for any decision made or action taken by you or any third party in reliance upon the Contents in this e-Tax Guide. Except where specific contents carry legal force, this information aims to provide a better general understanding of taxpayers’ tax obligations and is not intended to comprehensively address all possible tax issues that may arise. While every effort has been made to ensure that this information is consistent with existing law and practice, should there be any changes, IRAS reserves the right to vary its position accordingly. © Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording without the written permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the publisher. Such written permission must also be obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any nature. Table of Contents Page 1. Aim ...................................................................................................... 1 2. At a Glance ......................................................................................... 1 3. Glossary .............................................................................................. 2 4. Background ......................................................................................... 2 Part A: Tax treatment for digital tokens .................................................... 3 5. Tax treatment of payment tokens ........................................................ 3 6. Tax treatment of utility tokens ............................................................. 5 7. Tax treatment of security tokens ......................................................... 5 Part B: Tax treatment for ICOs .................................................................. 5 8. Taxability of ICO proceeds .................................................................. 5 9. ICO failure ........................................................................................... 6 10. Pre-commencement expenses ............................................................ 6 11. Founder’s tokens ................................................................................. 6 12. Record-keeping ................................................................................... 7 13. Contact Information ............................................................................. 7 14. Updates and amendments .................................................................. 8 Annex A – Income Tax Treatment of Receipt and Disposal of Payment Tokens ......................................................................................................... 9 Annex B –Treatment of ICO Proceeds .................................................... 15 1. Aim 1.1 This e-Tax Guide provides information on the income tax treatment of transactions involving digital tokens. The types of digital tokens within the scope of this e-Tax Guide are payment tokens, utility tokens and security tokens. 1.2 This e-Tax Guide will be relevant to you if you transact in digital tokens. Such transactions include: (i) receiving digital tokens as payment for goods and services; (ii) receiving digital tokens as employment remuneration; (iii) using digital toke

FAQs

What digital tokens are covered in this e-Tax Guide?

The guide covers payment tokens, utility tokens, and security tokens, and applies to transactions involving each type.

How does IRAS generally treat payment tokens for tax purposes?

Payment tokens are regarded as intangible property, and using them as payment is viewed as barter trade, with the value determined at the point of transaction.

On what basis is the taxability of ICO proceeds determined?

Taxability depends on the rights and functions of the tokens issued to investors, including whether the proceeds resemble taxable amounts for payment tokens, deferred revenue for utility tokens, or capital nature for security tokens.

Sep 19, 2026

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