In a recent decision, the National Tax Tribunal decided whether a salary bonus paid in cryptocurrency should be equated with money for tax purposes. The question was relevant because it has an impact on whether the received salary bonus was subject to labor market contributions.
Over the years, a company that issued a cryptocurrency had paid part of its employees' salaries in the cryptocurrency in question. In connection with a control case, the question arose as to whether the salary bonus in question should be considered A-income subject to labor market and withholding tax.
The answer to the question depends primarily on whether the cryptocurrency in question should be considered money for tax purposes according to the Labor Market Contribution and Withholding Tax Act.
During the case, the Tax Agency argued that the concept of money should be interpreted broadly and thus also include assets that can be equated with money.
However, the National Tax Tribunal concluded that the cryptocurrency in question should not be equated with money. The employees could thus receive the cryptocurrency as a salary bonus without paying labor market contributions, just as the employer was not obliged to withhold A-tax.
The National Tax Tribunal specifically emphasized that the cryptocurrency in question was not a stablecoin and that its use as a means of payment was very limited. The National Tax Tribunal also assessed that it could not lead to a different result that the cryptocurrency in question could be exchanged for money through trading platforms.
The decision of the National Tax Tribunal differs from the decision published as SKM2025.56.LSR, where it found that the stablecoin Dai should be considered money according to the Labor Market Contribution Act.
With this decision, the National Tax Tribunal has taken a line whereby stablecoins are considered money for tax purposes, while non-stablecoins are not. In practice, this means that employers can pay salaries to their employees in non-stablecoins without these employees having to pay labor market contributions, just as the employer is not obliged to withhold A-tax.
The decision is particularly important for companies that issue a cryptocurrency and, for example, as part of an incentive scheme, want to expose their employees to the price development of the cryptocurrency in question.
It should be noted that the National Tax Tribunal's decision is specifically formulated and that practice in the area is modest.
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