Indonesia to raise tax rate on crypto transactions

JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia will raise taxes on cryptocurrency transactions, with a higher rate on trades hosted by overseas bourses, starting from August 1, according to a new finance ministry regulation.

Cryptocurrencies have become a popular investment option in Southeast Asia's largest economy, where they are legally traded but cannot be used as a means of payment.

The total transaction value of crypto assets tripled in 2024 from a year earlier to more than 650 trillion rupiah ($39.67 billion), regulator data showed. There were over 20 million users in crypto exchanges in the country in 2024, more than the number of investors in the stock market.

Under the new regulation, sellers of crypto assets in domestic exchanges must pay a 0.21% tax on the transaction value, up from 0.1% previously, while sellers in overseas exchanges are charged 1%, from 0.2% previously.

However, buyers would no longer be subject to a value added tax (VAT). Under previous rules, buyers would pay 0.11-0.22% VAT.

Indonesia also raised the VAT rate on mining of crypto assets to 2.2%, from 1.1%.

A 0.1% special income tax rate on crypto mining was removed, subjecting such income to either personal income tax or corporate tax rates, effective in 2026.

Binance-backed Tokocrypto said it welcomed the changes, which reflect Indonesia's shift in categorising cryptocurrencies as financial assets and away from seeing them as commodities, but it proposed a grace period of at least a month to allow companies to adjust.

"We also emphasize the importance of strengthening oversight and tax enforcement on crypto asset transactions conducted through foreign platforms," Tokocrypto said in a statement.

The company called for fiscal incentives to bolster innovation in the industry, as the new crypto tax rate would still be higher than the capital gains tax rate used in stock market investments.

($1 = 16,385 rupiah)

(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Kim Coghill)

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