Where This Edition Fits

On December 26, 2025, the National Tax Agency published Tax Treatment of Crypto Assets and Similar Assets (Information). It is the tenth edition since the first in December 2017 and is the current latest edition. The full text is available from the National Tax Agency's PDF, which you can open and consult.

There are 47 questions, the same as in the previous December 20, 2024 edition. The chapters and question numbering are also unchanged.

Only one contents entry carries an Updated December 2025 note: 2-2, Income Classification of Crypto Asset Transactions. Among the ten published editions, this is the smallest revision.

Overview

Where Is the Updated Question?

From the December 2023 edition, each contents entry began carrying notes such as Updated [month/year] or Added [month/year], showing when a question was revised directly from the contents.

Of the latest edition's 47 questions, only the following has an Updated December 2025 note.

• 2-2 Income Classification of Crypto Asset Transactions

The remaining 46 retain notes dated from December 2020 through December 2024. For example, corporation tax questions 3-1-2 through 3-1-8 remain marked Updated December 2024, while electronic payment instrument questions 3-2-1 through 3-2-4 remain marked Added December 2023.

These notes show when a revision occurred, not what changed. The contents do not reveal which words in 2-2 differ from the previous edition. Establishing that requires comparing 2-2 in the December 2024 and December 2025 editions side by side. Our firm has not completed that comparison. This article can establish only that 2-2 was the sole question marked as updated.

What Does 2-2, Income Classification of Crypto Asset Transactions, Cover?

It is useful to establish the subject of the one updated question. Question 2-2 identifies the income category for profits from crypto asset transactions. For individuals, it is a starting point within the FAQ.

The general rule is stated as follows.

Profits arising from crypto asset transactions are subject to income tax and are generally classified as miscellaneous income (other miscellaneous income).

It then addresses revenue above a specified amount. Beginning with where annual revenue from crypto asset transactions exceeds JPY 3 million, it distinguishes whether books and records are retained as follows.

• Where books and records relating to crypto asset transactions are retained, profits are generally classified as business income.
• Where books and records relating to crypto asset transactions are not retained, profits are generally classified as miscellaneous income from business activities.

The classification thus turns on two conditions: the JPY 3 million revenue threshold and retention of books and records. Even with the same transactions, record retention can change the category, so how records are kept affects income classification. The underlying approach to income classification is Which category of income do individual cryptoasset earnings fall under? We are dealing with that.

What Does and Similar Assets in the Title Refer To?

Another noticeable change is the wording of the link on the National Tax Agency's index page. Earlier editions read Tax Treatment of Crypto Assets (Information), while this edition reads Tax Treatment of Crypto Assets and Similar Assets (Information), adding and Similar Assets after crypto assets.

Since the question count and chapter structure are unchanged, this wording does not indicate new questions. The December 2023 edition, two years earlier, provides a clue.

In December 2023, corporation tax content was divided into 3-1, Crypto Assets, and 3-2, Electronic Payment Instruments, with four new questions in 3-2. Electronic payment instruments are treated under a framework separate from crypto assets. Once that section appeared, the document no longer covered only crypto assets. This development is described in the article on the December 2023 edition We are dealing with that.

We have not confirmed whether the additional wording specifically refers to electronic payment instruments. However, the content has extended beyond crypto assets for two years, and the title appears to have caught up.

How Are the 47 Questions Distributed Across Chapters?

Because this edition contains little change, it offers a useful opportunity to review the overall structure. The number of questions in each chapter is as follows.

Eighteen of the 47 questions, roughly 40%, concern corporation tax. This reflects groups of corporate questions added in the December 2023 and December 2024 revisions. Individuals will mainly consult the 21 questions in Chapters 1 and 2 and the two inheritance and gift questions in Chapter 4.

Was This Revision Accompanied by Tax Reform?

The reform potentially reflected in this edition is FY2025 tax reform. Our firm checked only two chapters of its outline—I. Personal Income Taxation and VII. Tax Administration Environment—and neither mentioned crypto assets. We did not check other chapters. This can be considered alongside the unchanged question count and chapter structure.

Meanwhile, December 26, 2025, the publication date of this edition, was also the Cabinet approval date of the FY2026 Outline of Tax Reform. That outline included a shift to separate self-assessed taxation at 20%, three-year loss carryforwards, and payment reporting. These concern the fundamental crypto asset tax framework.

However, we have not confirmed where or how those outline revisions are reflected in this edition. What is certain is that only 2-2 is marked Updated December 2025 in the contents. Future editions will show which FAQ questions reflect the outline. The overall revision history is covered in History of Crypto Asset FAQ Revisions, while the immediately preceding edition is covered in the article on the December 2024 edition. The origins of the tax system itself are covered in The crypto asset tax system was created this way. We are dealing with that.

Points that require care in practice

• Knowing that 2-2 was updated does not reveal what changed from the contents alone. To establish whether it affects your return, compare 2-2 in the December 2024 and December 2025 editions side by side.
• The JPY 3 million threshold concerns revenue, not profit. Confusing total sale proceeds with the profit remaining leads to applying the wrong classification threshold.
• Because classification depends on retaining books and records, compiling them immediately before filing may be too late. The question heading does not establish how records begun midway through a year are treated.
• The addition of and Similar Assets to the index title may lead some readers to look for a separate document on electronic payment instruments. Those questions have been in section 3-2 of the same document since December 2023.
• A small revision does not mean the edition can be ignored. Whether the question you use retains a December 2020 note or has a December 2024 note affects which edition you should consult.

Sources

• National Tax Agency: Tax Treatment of Crypto Assets and Similar Assets (Information), December 26, 2025 PDF
• National Tax Agency: Archived Information on Crypto-Assets List