TL;DR
CoinTracking automatically classifies fees from margin, derivatives, and futures trading for correct tax reporting. When the § 20 EStG option is enabled, these fees count as capital income and reduce profits; otherwise, they remain private income. Positive funding rates are treated as income, negative ones as losses.
Most exchanges do not provide realized profit/loss (PnL) data for margin, derivatives, and futures trades via API or CSV export, so these results cannot be imported automatically and must be entered manually using the dedicated "Margin Gain" or "Derivatives/Futures Loss" transaction types, only for closed positions. Fees, on the other hand, can be added manually using "Other Fee" or "Other Income," while APIs handle fee-related transactions automatically. A delta (Δ) is calculated for fees (and for margin losses) paid in crypto to capture gains or losses from price changes. This ensures full tax compliance and accurate reporting for all margin-related transactions.
Why Can't Margin, Derivatives, and Futures Trades Be Imported Automatically?
Most exchanges do not make the realized profit/loss (PnL) data for margin, derivatives, and futures trades available through their API or CSV export. Since this information is simply not provided by the exchange, CoinTracking cannot automatically calculate or import these trading results. They need to be added manually.
If automatic PnL import for margin/futures trading is important to you, it can help to let your exchange (e.g., Bitpanda) know that you would like this data to be made available through their API. The more users request this, the more likely it becomes that exchanges add this data to their exports in the future.
How Do I Manually Enter Margin/Futures Trading Results (PnL)?
Only enter closed positions as PnL. Open positions should not be entered, since a profit or loss is only realized once a position is closed.
Use the dedicated transaction types for the trading result itself:
"Margin Gain" for profits.
"Derivatives/Futures Loss" for losses.
If a loss is paid out or settled in cryptocurrency, a separate delta is calculated to capture the gain or loss resulting from the price fluctuation of that crypto between acquisition and use. This calculation is explained in more detail in a separate help article dedicated to the margin loss delta.
To ensure correct tax treatment of these fees, CoinTracking provides a dedicated option available under “Create New Tax Report.”
When this option is enabled, all fees related to margin, derivatives, and futures trades are treated in accordance with Section 20 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG). These fees directly reduce realized profits and are shown separately in the report.
How Are Fees Displayed in the Tax Report?
The funding rate can be positive or negative.
A positive funding rate is treated as income.
A negative funding rate is treated as an loss.
All funding rate transactions are displayed separately in the transaction history.
Within the capital income section, all applicable fee amounts are deducted.
Gains or losses appear under Section 1.1 “Private Sales Transactions.”
Example:
A margin fee of 10 USDC is shown as –10 EUR in the “Total” column (assuming 1 USDC = 1 EUR).
For positive funding fees, no gain or loss is calculated; the amount is displayed only in fiat currency (e.g., EUR).
For negative funding fees, a gain or loss is calculated. The fee itself is displayed in EUR or the user’s base currency.
Correct Assignment of Transaction Types
If you are adding transactions manually, please use the following types. When importing transactions via API, this process is handled automatically, and no manual adjustments are required.
Open Position:
Use the transaction type “Other Fee” or “Margin Fee” and tag the group as “Position Open.”
Fee for Opening a Position:
Use the transaction type “Other Fee” and tag it as “Position Open.”
Positive Funding Rate:
Use the transaction type “Other Income” and tag it as “Funding Rate.”
Negative Funding Rate:
Use the transaction type “Other Fee” and tag it as “Funding Rate.”
Close Position:
Use the transaction type “Other Fee” and tag it as “Position Close.”
For the trading result itself (profit or loss from the closed position), use “Margin Gain” for profits or “Derivatives/Futures Loss” for losses, as described above.
All other transaction types can be used as usual.
What Does the “Grouping” Setting Do?
Grouping OFF:
Each transaction is displayed individually.
Every fee (e.g., funding rate, margin fee, settlement, position open/close) appears separately.
Grouping ON:
The system automatically consolidates identical fee types (e.g., all funding rate fees or all open/close fees).
Fees remain categorized by type (funding, margin, etc.).
How Are Fees Treated for Tax Purposes?
Whether fees are classified as capital income (§ 20 EStG) or private income depends on the enabled setting:
Setting enabled: Fees are treated as capital income under § 20 EStG.
Setting disabled: Fees remain categorized as private income.
All funding rate fees are displayed together if they fall under the same tax category (§ 20 EStG).
Why Is a Separate Δ (Delta) Calculated for Fees?
To ensure complete tax accuracy, CoinTracking calculates a separate Δ (delta) for each fee type (e.g., funding rate or margin fee).
This delta represents the gain or loss incurred when cryptocurrency is used to pay a fee.
Background:
The value of a cryptocurrency may fluctuate between the time of purchase and the time it is used to pay a fee.
When crypto is used for fee payment, this can trigger a private sale gain or loss under § 23 EStG.
There are two resulting processes:
The gain or loss is reported under Section 1.1 “Private Income.”
- If the holding period exceeds one year, the gain is tax-exempt.
The fee amount in EUR is deducted under Section 1.2 “Capital Income.”
The same principle applies to margin losses settled in crypto: a separate delta captures the gain or loss from the price fluctuation of the crypto used, as covered in the dedicated article on the margin loss delta calculation.
If Fees Do Not Fall Under § 20 EStG
Section 1.1: Negative funding rates, margin fees, settlement fees, and other derivative-related fees.
Section 1.3: Positive funding rates.
Important:
Sections 1.1 and 1.3 display only the calculated gain or loss, not the EUR fee amount.
Example:
A purchases 40 USDT for €40 on January 5, 2025. On January 11, 2025, A pays a funding rate worth €43.39.
The resulting gain of €3.39 is shown in the report.
