Tax and SARS knowledge base
How should a crypto provider report base cost on an IT3(c)?
What base-cost information should a crypto-asset service provider prepare for SARS IT3(c) reporting?
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Direct answer
A crypto-asset service provider that falls within the applicable third-party reporting rules must prepare IT3(c) data using the current SARS specification. Base cost must come from supportable transaction data and the prescribed reporting logic, not from a rough market-value estimate.
The provider reports data. It does not determine every taxpayer's final capital gain, because the taxpayer may hold assets across platforms, transfer assets between wallets or have costs outside the provider's records.
What this means in practice
Maintain lot-level transaction history, fees, wallet transfers and asset identifiers. A transfer between wallets should not automatically be treated as a disposal or a new acquisition.
Flag missing acquisition history rather than inventing a zero or market-value cost unless the current specification expressly requires a defined treatment.
Step-by-step
- Confirm that the entity and reporting period are in scope.
- Map each supported crypto asset to a consistent identifier.
- Reconstruct acquisitions, disposals, transfers and fees from source ledgers.
- Apply the current IT3(c) field and validation rules.
- Reconcile units and values by asset and customer.
- Submit through the approved channel.
- Investigate SARS rejections and source-data gaps.
- Correct accepted-but-wrong records through the original channel.
Documents and records to keep
- Transaction and wallet ledger.
- Asset-identifier mapping.
- Base-cost methodology and exceptions.
- Customer-level reconciliation.
- Submission responses and corrections.
Important limits and exceptions
Third-party base-cost reporting does not replace the taxpayer's own gain or loss calculation.
Crypto tax treatment can depend on facts indicating capital or revenue intention. An IT3(c) label does not settle that legal character.
When to get tailored advice
Get specialist advice for migrations, forks, airdrops, staking receipts, missing wallet history or assets transferred from another provider.