German tax knowledge

How to enter staking and crypto services on Annex SO

Last reviewed: August 31, 2026

The inflow from staking, lending, mining or similar activity is generally other income in Germany under section 22 no. 3 EStG. On Annex SO that is the services block — activities related to crypto assets, lines 14 to 20. That is a different block from crypto assets. In chain.report those are staking income, lending income, liquidity mining (unless booked as capital income) and other income.

The facts in brief
Rule	Section 22 no. 3 EStG, other income
Inflow	Market value when the reward arrives
Not here	The later sale of the rewards

Official form (schematic)

Anlage SO

Leistungen im Zusammenhang mit Kryptowerten

Line	Entry	Value
14 · 162	Einkünfte aus Leistungen erzielt?	1 = Ja
15	Art der Einkunft / Betrag	z. B. Staking, Lending
16–17	Weitere Leistungsarten	falls vorhanden
18	Summe der Einnahmen	EUR
19	Werbungskosten	EUR
20	Netto-Einkünfte	EUR

Schematic based on Annex SO / KAP for tax year 2025. Check the heading in ELSTER for your year — line numbers can move. Not a copy of a software screenshot.

What belongs in this block

Market value at inflow. Not the later sale of the coins. If you sell the rewards inside one year, that is a separate disposal in the crypto-assets section. Airdrops without consideration and hard forks are often a tax-free inflow in the report — the later disposal can still be taxable. Keep inflow and sale apart instead of mixing them in one line.

Lines 14 to 20

Line 14 (field 162): 1 if you had income from services. Line 15: type on the left (“crypto services per chain.report”), amount on the right. Further types in 16 and 17, total in 18, expenses in 19 (for example documented mining server costs), net on line 20. The fill aid on the tax year fills line 20 from other-income totals.

What does not belong here

Spot sales and swaps → crypto assets. Futures and margin without delivery → Annex KAP. Tax-free disposals after the holding period → report only. Mixing staking and the later sale in one line makes both the €256 other-income threshold and the €1,000 disposal threshold impossible to check.

Sources

Section 22 EStG — other income German Ministry of Finance letter of 10 May 2022 — virtual currencies

Frequently asked questions

Is the later sale of staking coins a service?

No. The reward is the inflow. The sale is a disposal, often in Annex SO crypto assets if the period is still running.

Where does liquidity mining go?

In chain.report that depends on the setting: other income or capital income. Other income lands here, capital income rather in KAP. The legal split is not a software decision.

Can I skip services if the amount is small?

The €256 threshold applies to the yearly total of this income. Skipping it without checking is risky. The figure must match the history.