Relai now asks you for your country of tax residence and your tax identification number, or TIN, inside the app. New users see the question during onboarding. Existing users see a prompt on the home screen and receive an email.
Why we ask depends on which Relai entity you have a contract with. For clients of Relai EU SASU it is a legal obligation that has applied since 1 January 2026. For clients of Relai AG in Switzerland it is preparation for an obligation that is not yet active in Switzerland. Both are explained in detail below.
Nothing changes about your own tax return.
The short version
- Relai collects country of tax residence and TIN from all users. In the EU this is mandatory, in Switzerland it is preparation.
- Relai EU is covered by DAC8, the EU directive on administrative cooperation in taxation. Transactions from 1 January 2026 onwards are reportable.
- Nothing is reported about Swiss users for 2026. The Swiss crypto rules on automatic exchange of information do not apply this year.
- Relai stays non-custodial. Your bitcoin remains in your own wallet, and collecting the TIN changes nothing about that.
What changes in the app?
You are asked once for your country of tax residence and your TIN, and not again after that. It takes less than a minute.
There are two ways the number reaches us:
- You enter it yourself. After the address check, you see a field with the name and format used in your country, plus a short explanation of where to find the number. Existing users reach the same screen through the prompt on the home screen.
- We read it from your ID document. In some countries the tax number is the same as the ID number and is stored on the chip you already scanned during identity verification. Where that applies and the details match, we do not ask you at all.
In most German-speaking markets the second route does not work, because the tax number there has nothing to do with the ID number. Users in Switzerland, Germany and Austria therefore enter the number themselves.
Why does Relai need my tax identification number?
Because reporting obligations for crypto service providers have changed. In 2022 the OECD published a reporting standard for crypto assets, the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). The EU brought it into European law through Directive (EU) 2023/2226, known as DAC8. Switzerland implements it through the federal act on the international automatic exchange of information in tax matters.
Both frameworks work the same way. The provider collects tax residence and TIN, reports the data to its national tax authority, and the authorities exchange it with each other. Without a TIN a person cannot be matched to a taxpayer record, which is why the number is central to all of it.
This is not a Relai decision and it is not a new tax. Every licensed provider in the EU has the same obligation.
What applies to you as a client of Relai EU?
For you the information is mandatory, and your 2026 transactions will be reported.
Why: DAC8 has applied since 1 January 2026 to every licensed crypto-asset service provider in the EU. Relai EU SASU is authorised in France under MiCA and falls within its scope.
Who we report to: Relai EU SASU is a French company, so we report to the French tax authority (DGFiP). The DGFiP passes the data on automatically to the tax authority of your country of residence.
What we report:
- Who you are: name, address, date and place of birth, country of tax residence and TIN
- Your activity over the calendar year, aggregated: bitcoin bought and sold, number of transactions, total amounts
- Withdrawals to your own wallet, including the destination address, because Relai is non-custodial
When: Reporting covers transactions from 1 January 2026. The first report to the DGFiP is made in 2027, and the first exchange between tax authorities takes place by 30 September 2027.
What we do not report: What you do with your bitcoin after a withdrawal, and any other address you control. We report the transactions that happen at Relai. That is where our reporting stops.
Your own declaration obligations in your country of residence do not change. DAC8 is a reporting channel between tax authorities, not a new levy.
What applies to you as a client of Relai AG in Switzerland?
Nothing is reported about you for 2026. There is no reporting in Switzerland this year, and Switzerland does not exchange data on its own residents.
Is there a Swiss law requiring this collection in 2026? No. The law is in force, but the obligations only begin once Parliament has approved the list of partner states. In its questions and answers on the automatic exchange of information on crypto assets, the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) states that no obligations exist for Switzerland in 2026 and that Switzerland will also not receive crypto-asset data from abroad for the 2026 calendar year.
So why are we asking? Because we are preparing. Once Parliament approves the partner states, providers have twelve months to have a tax self-declaration on file for every existing client. Collecting from the entire user base inside that window is not realistic. We are starting now rather than rushing it later.
Is that allowed? Yes, and the federal authority says so directly. Asked whether providers may adapt the self-declaration at their own discretion and on their own contractual basis as of 1 January 2026, so that it already meets the requirements of the OECD reporting framework, the SIF answers in one word: yes.
Does DAC8 apply to me? No. DAC8 covers Relai EU SASU, our French entity, and its clients. It has nothing to do with Swiss clients of Relai AG. If you were told otherwise, that was wrong.
Separately from all of this: your bitcoin belongs in your tax return, exactly as before. The reporting standard changes nothing about that.
Where do I find my tax identification number?
On your tax documents. The app shows you the name and format used in your country, and there is a dedicated explainer for the largest markets.
- Switzerland: the AHV number, in the format 756.0000.0000.00. You will find it on your AHV card, your health insurance card and your tax assessment.
- Germany: the steuerliche Identifikationsnummer, eleven digits. It appears on your tax assessment, your annual payroll tax statement and in the letter from the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern.
- Austria: the Steuernummer issued by your tax office. It appears on your income tax assessment and in FinanzOnline.
- France: the numéro fiscal de référence, thirteen digits, on your avis d’impôt.
If you are unsure which number is meant, ask our support team before entering anything. A wrong number has to be reset later anyway.
What happens if I do not provide my TIN?
For clients of Relai EU SASU: after two formal reminders and a notice period, we have to block buying and selling until the number is on file. We announce this by email beforehand.
Three things to keep in mind:
- Your bitcoin is untouched. Only buying and selling is blocked, not your holdings.
- The block is reversible. As soon as you enter the number, buying and selling work again immediately, with no app restart.
- Withholding the number does not affect the reporting itself. We report 2026 transactions either way, just incompletely. Providing it late gains you nothing and only costs you access in the meantime.
Is my TIN safe at Relai?
It sits with the rest of your verification data and is treated the same way. The legal basis is compliance with a legal obligation: in the EU, Article 6(1)(c) GDPR, and in Switzerland the corresponding provision of the revised Federal Act on Data Protection.
We use the number for tax reporting and for the anti-money-laundering checks required by law. Not for anything else.
And because the question always comes up: your keys stay your keys. Relai is non-custodial, before and after.
Does this change anything about my tax return?
No. Your obligations stay as they are. You still declare your bitcoin yourself, under the rules of your country of residence.
What changes is what the authorities can see. In the EU, from tax year 2026 they automatically see what you bought and sold at a licensed provider. If you have declared incompletely in the past, review that with a tax adviser. This article is not tax advice and not legal advice.
Conclusion
In the EU the TIN is mandatory, since the start of 2026, for every licensed provider. In Switzerland it is not mandatory yet, and we are asking anyway, because the window gets too tight later. Two minutes in the app and it is done.
If anything is unclear, message our support team. For questions about your personal tax situation, speak to a tax adviser.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to provide my TIN if I live in Switzerland?
We are asking you to, so that we are prepared when the Swiss obligations become active. Nothing is reported about Swiss users for 2026.
Does Relai report my bitcoin to the tax office?
For clients of Relai EU SASU, transactions from 2026 onwards are reported to the French tax authority, which forwards them to your country of residence. For Swiss clients of Relai AG there is no reporting for 2026.
Why was I never asked for my TIN?
Because we were able to read it from the chip in the ID document you scanned during verification. In that case the step is already done.
Can I skip the question?
Onboarding has a “Do it later” option. The prompt then stays on your home screen until the number is on file. For EU users, the deadline keeps running in the background, and buying and selling are blocked at the end of it.
What if my country does not issue a TIN, or I do not have one?
Contact our support team. Some countries do not issue a TIN to private individuals, and there are edge cases such as dependants filing under someone else. We handle those case by case.
