UAE signs global agreement on crypto tax information exchange: What it means

Dubai: The UAE has signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on the Automatic Exchange of Information under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said on Saturday.

The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is designed to improve global tax transparency in the crypto sector.

What it requires

The CARF guidelines require crypto exchanges, brokers, and wallet providers to report details of customer transactions, including buying, selling, exchanging, and transferring digital assets.

Governments will then automatically share this information with each other, allowing tax authorities to track cross-border activities and ensure individuals and businesses pay the correct amount of tax on their crypto holdings. In effect, CARF extends to digital assets the same kind of international reporting standards already applied to bank accounts.

The UAE move follows the ministry’s announcement in November 2024 that it would adopt the framework.

• Timeline: CARF implementation in the UAE is scheduled for 2027. The first exchange of information is expected in 2028.

• Objective: The framework creates a system for automatically sharing tax-related information on crypto-asset activities between jurisdictions.

• Context: The agreement is part of international efforts to improve tax transparency and prevent the misuse of crypto-assets.

The MoF also opened a public consultation on CARF implementation.

• Stakeholders: Advisory firms, intermediaries, traders, custodians, and exchange platforms are invited to contribute.

• Process: The consultation began on September 15 and will run until November 8, 2025.

• Goal: To shape regulatory rules that reflect market needs and provide clarity for the crypto-asset sector.