The short answer: crypto gifted to you by a close relative is tax-free in India, whatever it is worth. Crypto from a friend, colleague or online stranger is tax-free only while the year’s total of such gifts stays at ₹50,000 or less. Cross that line by one rupee and the whole value, not just the excess, is added to your income.
That cliff matters more for crypto than for almost any other gift, because the value of a coin moves while it sits in your wallet.
The rule, in plain words
The Income Tax Department’s own guide to gifts lists virtual digital assets (VDAs, the law’s term for crypto and NFTs) as “prescribed movable property”, alongside shares, jewellery and bullion. If the aggregate fair market value of such property you receive without paying for it in a year exceeds ₹50,000, that value is taxed as income from other sources at your slab rate. This was section 56(2)(x) of the 1961 Act; under the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force since 1 April 2026, the relatives exemption sits in section 92(3), as a chartered accountant told Mint.
Fully exempt, with no ceiling:
- Gifts from a spouse, siblings, your spouse’s siblings, your parents’ siblings, parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren (and their spouses).
- Gifts received on your marriage, under a will or by inheritance.
Everyone else counts toward the ₹50,000.
BtcMedia’s math: where the cliff falls today
At ₹76,55,242 per bitcoin (CoinGecko, 10:47 AM IST, 29 October 2026), the ₹50,000 line is about 0.00653 BTC. Here is what one extra ten-thousandth of a bitcoin from a friend does:
| Gift from a friend | Value today | Taxable income | Tax at 20% slab + 4% cess | Tax at 30% slab + 4% cess |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0065 BTC | ₹49,759 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| 0.0066 BTC | ₹50,525 | ₹50,525 | ₹10,509 | ₹15,764 |
A ₹766 difference in the gift creates up to ₹15,764 of tax. And the 0.0065 BTC gift would itself cross the line if bitcoin were about 0.5% higher on the day it arrived, at roughly ₹76.92 lakh. Value is taken on the date you receive it, so the same number of sats can land on either side.
Remember the limit is yearly and shared. A ₹30,000 gold coin from a friend in May plus ₹25,000 of ETH from a colleague in October makes ₹55,000, and all of it becomes taxable.
When you sell the gifted crypto
Selling is a separate event, taxed at the flat 30% (plus cess) that applies to all crypto gains, with 1% TDS on the sale. What changes is your cost of acquisition:
- Gift from a relative: your cost is what the donor paid. If your father bought ₹15 lakh of BTC and you sell it for ₹70 lakh, your gain is ₹55 lakh, as Mint’s example shows. Keep his exchange statements.
- Taxable gift from a friend: your cost is the value already taxed when you received it. In our table, if the 0.0066 BTC is later sold for ₹60,000, the gain is ₹9,475 and the tax is ₹2,956 at 31.2%.
The BtcMedia crypto tax calculator handles the sale side once you know your cost, and the live Bitcoin price in rupees shows where the ₹50,000 line sits on any day.
What it means for Indian investors
- Gifting within the family is the clean route: no tax on receipt, but the donor’s cost travels with the coins, so the paper trail matters.
- Friends who want to send crypto should check the rupee value on the day it lands, and count every other non-family gift you have had that year.
- A taxable gift is reported as income from other sources in your return, separate from Schedule VDA for sales.
BtcMedia verdict: the gift rule is simple, but the cliff is unforgiving. With crypto, a gift’s rupee value is decided by the market on arrival day, not by the sender’s intention.
FAQ
Is a crypto gift from my brother taxable in India? No. Siblings are specified relatives, so the gift is tax-free with no limit. When you sell, his original purchase price becomes your cost.
Is only the amount above ₹50,000 taxed? No. Once the year’s total of gifted property from non-relatives crosses ₹50,000, the entire amount is taxable.
A friend sent me ₹40,000 of USDT. Do I owe tax? Not on receipt, as long as your other non-family gifts that year keep the total at ₹50,000 or less. Selling the USDT later is taxed at 30% on any gain.
How we calculated this: BTC/INR ₹76,55,242 from CoinGecko at 10:47 AM IST on 29 October 2026; tax = value × slab rate × 1.04 for 4% health and education cess, ignoring surcharge. Rules from the Income Tax Department’s gift guide and Mint.
This is general information, not tax or financial advice. Consult a chartered accountant for your situation.