Bitcoin bookkeeping: worked examples

Last checked 1 November 2026. The UK example is HMRC's own. The US figures are an illustration. Your accountant decides which rules and methods apply to your company. If anything here conflicts with the linked source, the source wins.

Bitcoin bookkeeping comes down to a clean transaction log and the right cost method for each country. In the UK, a company usually keeps a pool of cost for each type of token. In the US, a company tracks each purchase as a separate lot. The worked examples below show both, and the free workbook does the arithmetic for you.

Step 1: the transaction log

Record every movement, including transfers between the company's own wallets and network fees. For each line: date and time, type, amount of bitcoin, the sterling or dollar value at the time, fees, the transaction ID, and a reference to the invoice, exchange statement or board minute.

Example only Illustrative entries only.

UK: the section 104 pool (HMRC's example)

HMRC says that where tokens are dealt in without identifying which ones are disposed of, they are pooled under section 104 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, with one pool for each type of token. Its Corporation Tax example: V Ltd buys 100 tokens for £1,000, then 50 more for £125,000, giving a pool of 150 tokens with allowable costs of £126,000. It later sells 50 tokens for £300,000.

After the sale the pool is 100 tokens with allowable costs of £84,000.

Companies have two exceptions. Tokens bought on the same day as a disposal are matched first. Tokens bought within the previous nine days of a disposal, and that would otherwise go into the pool, are matched next, first in first out. Only then is the pool used.

Source: HMRC: CRYPTO41350: Corporation Tax on chargeable gains, pooling and the same day and ten day rules.

Whether the chargeable gains rules or the intangible fixed asset rules apply depends on how the company accounts for its bitcoin. HMRC's manual explains the difference.

Source: HMRC: CRYPTO41150: Corporation Tax, intangible fixed assets, HMRC: CRYPTO41200: Corporation Tax on chargeable gains, introduction.

US: lots, specific identification and FIFO

The IRS says you may choose which units are disposed of if you can specifically identify them and substantiate their basis, for example with records showing, for each unit, the date and time acquired, basis and fair market value, and the date, time and value when disposed of. If you do not identify units, they are treated as disposed of first in, first out. Since 2025, basis has to be tracked wallet by wallet or account by account, and Revenue Procedure 2024-28 set out how to allocate unused basis at the changeover.

Source: IRS: Frequently asked questions on virtual currency transactions, IRS: Revenue Procedure 2024-28: allocating unused basis to wallets and accounts (PDF).

Example only A company buys 1.0 BTC for $60,000 (lot A) and later 0.5 BTC for $45,000 (lot B). It then sells 0.5 BTC for $50,000 from the same wallet.

Both figures are correct under their method. What matters is that the method is applied consistently and the records support it. In the accounts, under ASU 2023-08, the remaining bitcoin is measured at fair value, separately from tax basis.

Source: FASB: ASU 2023-08, Intangibles: Goodwill and Other, Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60).

Month end reconciliation

1. Balance check

   The bitcoin balance in the log equals the balance shown in a watch-only wallet for each address or descriptor, and in each exchange or custodian statement.

2. Fees

   Every on-chain transaction has a fee line. In the US, a fee paid in bitcoin is itself a disposal.

3. Values

   Each line has a sterling or dollar value from a source the company records and uses consistently.

4. Sign off

   A second person reviews the reconciliation and signs it.

Source: eCFR: 26 CFR 1.1001-7(b)(1)(ii): digital assets used to pay transaction costs are a disposition, HMRC: CRYPTO40100: Conversion to sterling and accountancy.

Read next

• Accountant's corner, year end evidence and exports.
• Company tax on bitcoin, the rules behind these numbers.
• Audit evidence, what an auditor will ask for.

Sources

Primary sources only. Each link was checked on 1 November 2026. Rules change, so confirm the current version with your adviser.

1. HMRCCRYPTO41350: Corporation Tax on chargeable gains, pooling and the same day and ten day rules
2. HMRCCRYPTO41150: Corporation Tax, intangible fixed assets
3. HMRCCRYPTO41200: Corporation Tax on chargeable gains, introduction
4. IRSFrequently asked questions on virtual currency transactions
5. IRSRevenue Procedure 2024-28: allocating unused basis to wallets and accounts (PDF)
6. FASBASU 2023-08, Intangibles: Goodwill and Other, Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60)
7. eCFR26 CFR 1.1001-7(b)(1)(ii): digital assets used to pay transaction costs are a disposition
8. HMRCCRYPTO40100: Conversion to sterling and accountancy