Bitcoin Accounting for Companies: HGB, OR, UGB, IFRS and Tax

Short answer: In bitcoin accounting, bitcoin is not cash but an intangible asset. Under the German HGB and the Austrian UGB, you value it at no more than its purchase price: you must book price losses, but not price gains. The Swiss Code of Obligations (OR) allows the market price on the balance sheet date, and US GAAP requires it. For tax, there is no holding period inside a company: every gain is taxable (as of Nov 13, 2026).

Your GmbH (limited company) has money it won't need for years, and you want to hold part of it in bitcoin. Or a customer wants to pay in bitcoin. By the annual accounts at the latest, the question comes up: where does the bitcoin go on the balance sheet, at what value, and what does it cost in tax? Here are the answers for Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with worked examples in EUR and CHF.

What bitcoin is on the balance sheet

Neither the German HGB (Commercial Code) nor the Austrian UGB (Business Code) nor the Swiss OR (Code of Obligations) mentions bitcoin explicitly. Experts largely agree, though, on how to classify it:

• Not cash. Bitcoin is not legal tender and does not belong under cash on hand and bank balances.
• Not a security. There is no issuer and no claim against anyone.
• An intangible asset. Bitcoin can be sold individually and has a value. In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) calls it "other assets" that do not wear out. So there is no scheduled depreciation as there is for a machine.

Whether the bitcoin belongs in fixed assets or current assets depends on its purpose. If it is meant to serve the company as a permanent reserve, it is a fixed asset. If you want to sell it soon or pay with it, it is a current asset. Record the purpose in writing; otherwise bitcoin usually ends up in current assets.

Bitcoin accounting under the HGB in Germany

When you buy, you book the bitcoin at its acquisition cost: the purchase price plus incidental costs such as exchange fees. If you buy in parts, each tranche has its own purchase price. When you sell, you need a fixed order, such as FIFO (first in, first out) or average cost.

After that, on the balance sheet date, the lower of cost or market principle (§ 253 HGB) decides:

So a price crash at year-end reduces profit immediately, while a rise stays invisible as a hidden reserve until you sell.

Where the tax office sees it differently

The tax balance sheet uses the same acquisition cost. A write-down to the lower going-concern value (Teilwert) is only allowed there, however, if the loss in value is expected to be permanent (§ 6(1) no. 2 EStG, the Income Tax Act). Whether a fall in the bitcoin price is permanent is hard to prove and disputed. So you may write down in the commercial balance sheet but not in the tax balance sheet.

Freelancers and cash-basis accounting

If you determine your profit with an Einnahmenüberschussrechnung (simplified cash-basis accounting), the lower of cost or market principle does not apply. You enter bitcoin that belongs to your business assets in a register with purchase date and purchase price. As a rule, the acquisition cost only takes effect when you sell. Price swings in between don't matter.

Tax on bitcoin in a company

Privately, bitcoin gains in Germany are tax-free after one year. In business assets, this period does not apply (§ 23 EStG covers only private transactions). Every gain on a sale or exchange is taxable profit of the company.

If you later take the profit out privately as a dividend, it is taxed a second time, with your country's tax on investment income. Switzerland also taxes the company's equity with a small capital tax.

VAT, on the other hand, plays no role: exchanging bitcoin for euros or francs has been VAT-exempt since the 2015 ruling of the European Court of Justice in the Hedqvist case. Switzerland treats it the same way for its VAT.

Where bitcoin stands against the trend today is shown in the Power Law analysis. On Nov 13, 2026, the price was at about 0.63 times the trend, just above the floor in the Accumulation zone. How the trend and floor are calculated is explained in the methodology.

Withdrawal from the business

Sole proprietors and partners in a partnership can take bitcoin from the business into their private assets. For tax purposes, this withdrawal (Entnahme) counts as a sale at the current value: the hidden reserve is taxed. After that, a new one-year holding period starts privately, from the day of the withdrawal (§ 23(1) sentence 2 EStG). With a GmbH it is not that simple: if it transfers bitcoin to you below value, that is a hidden profit distribution (verdeckte Gewinnausschüttung).

Bitcoin accounting in Switzerland

The Code of Obligations doesn't mention bitcoin explicitly either. In principle, the same applies as in Germany: recognition at the purchase price, write-down if the price falls below it (Art. 960a OR).

The difference lies in Art. 960b OR. You may value assets with a stock exchange price or an observable price in an active market at the price on the balance sheet date, even if it is above the purchase price. For bitcoin, traded daily on many exchanges, this is generally accepted. Two conditions:

1. Consistent. You choose the method for all your bitcoin and stick with it.
2. Disclosed. The notes state that you value at market price.

To cushion strong swings, you may create a fluctuation reserve (Schwankungsreserve) that smooths the profit. It must be identifiable on the balance sheet or in the notes.

For tax, Switzerland follows the commercial balance sheet (the Massgeblichkeitsprinzip, the authoritative principle). If you value at market price, the book gain is taxed even if you haven't sold. That is the price of the nicer balance sheet. Privately, something else applies: there, price gains stay tax-free, as Bitcoin taxes in Switzerland explains.

Bitcoin accounting in Austria

The UGB follows the same principles as the HGB: the purchase price as the ceiling, a strict lower of cost or market principle for current assets, a milder one for fixed assets, and write-ups at most to the purchase price.

The special rules for cryptocurrencies, with 27.5% and grandfathered holdings (Altbestand), apply to private individuals. A GmbH pays 23% corporate income tax on its profit, bitcoin price gains included. Sole proprietors with bitcoin in their business assets can use the special 27.5% rate as long as bitcoin is not their core business. Details are in Bitcoin taxes in Austria.

IFRS and US GAAP: how large companies account

Listed groups in Europe report under IFRS, US companies under US GAAP. The rules there are different:

The IFRS classification comes from a decision of the IFRS Interpretations Committee in June 2019. The US rule came with the standard ASU 2023-08 and applies to fiscal years beginning after Dec 15, 2024.

What that means in figures is shown by Strategy, with 849’327 BTC the largest corporate holder (as of Nov 6, 2026). Since Jan 1, 2025, Strategy has valued its bitcoin at market value. In the second quarter of 2025, its income statement therefore showed an unrealized gain of $14.05 billion, even though no bitcoin was sold. If the price falls, it swings just as hard the other way. More on this in the profile of the Strategy stock. Why companies put bitcoin on their balance sheet at all is explained in Bitcoin treasury companies explained.

The same year, four balance sheets

How differently the same bitcoin can look is shown by an example with two possible year-ends.

Calculate for yourself where the trend could be in the coming years:

In practice: how to set it up

1. Define the purpose. Decide in writing whether the bitcoin is a long-term reserve or will be sold again soon. That determines fixed or current assets.
2. Buy in the company's name. Buy through a company account at a regulated exchange. How to choose a provider is shown in Buying bitcoin; what the EU licence means for providers is explained in MiCA and bitcoin.
3. Set up a company wallet. The company's bitcoin belongs in its own wallet, separate from your private one. With several managing directors, a multisig wallet fits, so that nobody can move funds alone and access doesn't depend on one person.
4. Document every transaction. Purchase statement, date, amount, price, fees, wallet address and transaction ID. The BMF explicitly requires these records, including for wallets outside an exchange.
5. Secure the year-end price. Save the price on Dec 31 from a large exchange or a price service, with a screenshot or export.
6. Agree with your fiduciary or tax adviser. Choose the valuation method and the order of sales once and stick with them.

How gains are taxed privately, with the holding period, the exemption limit and FIFO, is explained in the guide Bitcoin taxes in Germany. All articles on law and tax are collected in the category Law, taxes and practice.