Canada intends to require crypto platforms to report users’ transactions to CRA under the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. Budget 2025 deferred its application to January 1, 2027. The implementing bill, C-31, had not received Royal Assent as of October 30, 2026. Card users should assume their platform activity will become visible to CRA.
Figures as of October 31, 2026.
- Draft legislation (Finance Canada, August 15, 2025) adds a new Part XXI to the Income Tax Act requiring reporting crypto-asset service providers to file annual information returns.
- Budget 2025’s tax-measures annex (modified November 4, 2025) defers application to January 1, 2027.
- Bill C-31 carries the measure. On October 30, 2026 LEGISinfo showed it at report stage in the House, without Royal Assent.
Nothing about CARF changes how your rewards are taxed. It changes who tells CRA about them. Good records now save a reconciliation headache later. See the record-keeping checklist.
What would platforms report?
Under the OECD framework that Canada’s draft follows, reporting crypto-asset service providers collect identity and tax-residence information from users and report exchanges between crypto and fiat, between crypto assets, and certain transfers, with annual totals. The draft adds a new Part XXI to the Income Tax Act and requires an information return each year “before May 2”. Budget 2025 deferred application to January 1, 2027, and Bill C-31, which carries it, had not received Royal Assent when we checked on October 30, 2026.
Which card activity would show up?
| Activity | Likely to be in a platform report? | Why it matters for you |
|---|---|---|
| Selling crypto for CAD to fund a card | Yes: a crypto-to-fiat exchange | Reconcile it with your own gain or loss |
| A card that sells crypto at the till | Yes: each sale | One record per purchase on your side too |
| Reward credits | Possibly, as transfers into your account | Keep the CAD value on the day credited |
| Spending a CAD balance | No crypto exchange involved | No crypto record needed for the purchase |
Does CARF cover offshore cards?
CARF is an international standard; many countries are adopting it so platforms report users’ activity to the users’ home tax authorities. Whether a particular offshore card issuer reports to CRA depends on where it operates and which countries have adopted the framework. Do not assume an offshore card is invisible to CRA, and do not assume it reports for you either: your own records are what you file from.
What should I do now?
Nothing changes about what is taxable. Keep monthly exports, reconcile them once a year, and make sure the totals you report could be matched against a platform’s report. If you have unreported crypto income from past years, CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program may give relief case by case if you come forward before CRA contacts you.
| Card purchases | 30 a month |
|---|---|
| Card that spends a CAD balance | 0 crypto dispositions at the tillYou choose when to sell crypto for CAD |
| Card that sells crypto at the till | 360 dispositions a yearOne per purchase, each with its own gain or loss |
| Extra records to keep (converting card) | 360 a yeardate, units sold, CAD amount and ACB for each |
Computed 2026-11-03.
What this means for you
CARF changes who tells CRA, not what is taxable. Keep records that will reconcile with a platform’s report.
Questions people ask
Is CARF law in Canada yet?
No. Budget 2025 deferred its application to January 1, 2027, and Bill C-31, which carries it, had not received Royal Assent when we checked on October 30, 2026.
Will CARF change how my crypto rewards are taxed?
No. It changes who reports information to CRA, not what is taxable. Rewards, sales and spending are treated the same as before.
Does a CAD-balance card create CARF reports?
Spending a CAD balance is not a crypto exchange. Selling crypto for CAD to fund the card is, and would be reportable by a reporting platform once the rules apply.
What should I do before 2027?
Export your history regularly, keep your own records of cost and proceeds, and correct any past omissions; CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program considers relief case by case.
Sources
- Finance Canada — Legislative proposals relating to the Income Tax Act (CARF, Part XXI) — page dated August 15, 2025
- Budget 2025 — Tax measures: supplementary information (CARF deferred to Jan 1, 2027) — page dated November 4, 2025
- LEGISinfo — Bill C-31 (Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2) — no date shown; read October 30, 2026
- CRA — Keeping books and records of crypto-assets for tax filing — page dated November 10, 2025
Educational information, not financial, tax or legal advice. 4 min read. Reviewed October 31, 2026.