First HMRC report due 31 May 2027
Get CARF ready.
Crypto platforms with a UK nexus have been under CARF due-diligence and record-keeping obligations since 1 January 2026, and the data they gather lands at HMRC in 2027. CARFdesk explains what the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework actually requires: who counts as a reporting provider, what you must collect, and what the deadlines and penalties are. Every claim cites its primary source.
31 May 2027
First CARF report to HMRC, covering calendar year 2026. If you are in scope for 2026, registration falls on the same day.
£300
Maximum penalty per user where a valid self-certification was not obtained. It replaces the £100 rate, it does not stack on it.
What this site covers
Written for the person who has to do the work, not for the pitch deck.
Are you in scope?
Reporting status turns on providing, as a business, a service that effectuates exchange transactions for customers, and on having a UK nexus. Neither custody alone nor accepting crypto as payment settles it.
OECD step-by-step guide, paras 67 to 68 and SI 2025/744, reg 3
The deadlines
Due diligence has been running since January 2026. The first report covers calendar year 2026 and is due by 31 May 2027, which makes 2026 the year the data has to be right.
What it costs to get wrong
The due-diligence and self-certification penalties are per user, and the self-certification rule displaces the general due-diligence one rather than stacking on top of it. The detail matters more than the headline number.
The FCA regime, separately
CARF is a tax obligation and is independent of FCA authorisation. A platform can sit outside the FCA perimeter and still be fully caught by CARF, and the two have different dates.
SI 2026/102, reg 1(2) and the FCA cryptoasset regime package
Deadline reminders & guidance updates
One email when something changes: HMRC guidance, OECD schema updates, deadline milestones. No newsletter padding.