Staking tax guide
Solana Staking Tax
Staking on Solana generates SOL rewards. Understanding when those rewards are taxable and how to report them correctly is one of the most common questions for Solana holders. The answer depends on your country, but the starting point is always the same: get a complete record of every reward you received.
Last updated 21 September 2026
How Solana staking rewards are taxed
The general rule across most jurisdictions
In most jurisdictions - including the US, UK, and EU - staking rewards are treated as ordinary income at the fair market value of SOL when received. That means each epoch reward is an income event at the price of SOL on that date.
- When you receive staking rewards, the SOL is taxable as income at its value on that date.
- When you later sell that SOL, any price appreciation since the reward date may also be subject to capital gains tax.
Tax rules are evolving. The US IRS issued staking-specific guidance in 2023. Always verify the current rules for your country and consult a qualified tax professional before filing. ExportMyWallet does not calculate tax liabilities and this page is not tax advice.
Types of Solana staking
Native staking
Delegating SOL directly to validators through your wallet. Rewards accrue per epoch (roughly every 2-3 days) and are credited to your stake account. Each reward is a separate income event.
Most straightforward for tax purposes, but the rewards are not visible in wallet-address history.
Liquid staking
Protocols like Marinade (mSOL) and Jito (JitoSOL) issue a token representing your staked position. Rewards are reflected in the token's exchange rate rather than as direct SOL deposits, so the tax event may differ from native staking.
mSOL, JitoSOL and stSOL are more complex - consult a tax professional.
DeFi yield
Lending and liquidity pool rewards from protocols like Kamino and Orca are treated similarly to staking income in most jurisdictions. Rewards received are taxable as ordinary income at the value when received.
LP rewards create a cost basis for those tokens when sold.
What your export covers, and what it does not
This is the part most staking guides get wrong, so it is worth being exact. Native staking rewards are credited by the network to your stake account, not to your wallet address. An export scoped to a wallet address therefore cannot see them, and no amount of scanning the wallet will surface them.
In your CSV
- Stake and unstake transactions, labelled
stake - Reward or claim transfers that actually land in the wallet address
- Liquid staking token transfers and swaps (mSOL, JitoSOL and similar)
- Everything else in the wallet and its currently open token accounts
Not in your CSV
- Native epoch rewards credited to a stake account
- History from token accounts that have since been closed
- Any valuation - Net Worth columns are left empty for your tax tool to price
To capture epoch rewards, pull them separately from a validator report, a block explorer's stake account view, or a tax tool that reads stake accounts directly, then reconcile the two records before you file.
Calculating your staking income
To calculate taxable staking income you need two things for each reward: the SOL amount received and the price of SOL on that date. Your export supplies the date and amount for every transaction it covers. Your tax tool supplies the historical price.
- 1Export your wallet history to CSV. Each row is one movement, with the UTC date, amount, asset and transaction signature.
- 2Add your epoch reward history from your validator or stake account record, since the wallet export cannot include it.
- 3Import both into Koinly or CoinLedger. These tools fetch the historical SOL price for each date and calculate the income.
- 4Review the classified transactions. Check anything flagged for manual review, and confirm stake rows are treated as transfers rather than disposals.
- 5Export your tax report - a summary of staking income by tax year, ready for your return or your accountant.
Frequently asked questions
Are Solana staking rewards taxable?
In most countries, yes. The US IRS and HMRC in the UK both treat staking rewards as ordinary income at fair market value when received. Always check the rules in your jurisdiction.
When are Solana staking rewards received?
Native staking rewards are distributed per epoch, which runs roughly every 2-3 days on Solana. Each epoch reward is a separate income event for tax purposes.
Does the ExportMyWallet CSV include my staking rewards?
No. Native epoch rewards are credited to your stake account rather than to your wallet address, so an export scoped to a wallet address cannot retrieve them. Your export does include the stake and unstake transactions themselves, labelled 'stake', plus any reward transfers that actually land in the wallet. Obtain epoch reward history separately from a validator report, a block explorer's stake account view, or a tax tool that reads stake accounts directly.
Will my staking show up as a sale in my tax software?
It should not. Moving SOL into a stake account is not a disposal, and the export labels those rows 'stake' so Koinly treats them as a transfer rather than a sale. If you imported a file exported before 7 September 2026, check the stake rows carry that label, because earlier files left it blank.
How do I report liquid staking (mSOL, stSOL) for taxes?
Liquid staking tokens are more complex than native staking. The rewards are typically reflected in the token's exchange rate rather than as separate deposits, so the tax event may occur when you unstake or sell. Consult a tax professional for guidance specific to your situation.
Related guides
Export your Solana wallet history
Preview your transactions free, then download the full CSV. Stake and unstake rows are labelled so your tax tool does not read them as sales. No login required.
Export Solana TransactionsWorks with Phantom, Solflare, Backpack, and any Solana wallet.