Recording NFT purchases and sales
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 6 min
In short
Every NFT has its own cost, so each one needs its own record of what it cost you. Noting the contract address and token ID is what makes a specific piece identifiable later. The tax treatment is a matter for the National Tax Agency's guidance and a tax professional.
Key points
- Contract address plus token ID is what identifies one specific piece
- Record both the crypto amount paid and its yen value at the time
- Marketplace fees and royalties belong in the disposal record
- The artwork usually lives off-chain — note where it is referenced from
Definition
Recording, per NFT, the acquisition date, amount paid and identifying details, and on disposal the date, proceeds and fees.
NFT records differ from fungible crypto in that you cannot average them. Two pieces from the same collection bought at different times have different costs. So the unit of record is not how many of a collection you own but when and for how much you bought token ID 1234. Contract address plus token ID is the only identifier that points at one specific piece.
On acquisition, record the date, contract address, token ID, the crypto amount paid, its yen value at the time, and the network fee. Since payment is made in ETH, SOL or similar, the quantity alone does not fix an amount — the conversion on the day is what makes a later calculation possible. Minting works the same way.
On disposal, record the proceeds and their yen value, plus the marketplace fee and any creator royalty. Both are deducted from what you receive, so the headline price on screen and the amount that actually lands differ. Keeping both numbers lets you explain the difference afterwards.
There is also a preservation angle. The token lives on-chain, but the image and metadata usually sit on an external server or IPFS, and a lost reference means the piece no longer displays. For anything you care about, save the metadata URI and a copy of the file yourself. As for how NFT transactions are categorised for tax, that is set by the rules — confirm with the National Tax Agency's guidance and a tax professional.
Watch out for
- · This page is a general orientation, not tax advice
- · If the metadata or image reference is lost, the NFT may stop displaying correctly
- · How NFT transactions are categorised is set by the rules — check with the National Tax Agency and a tax professional
Frequently asked questions
Is the marketplace's own history not enough?
It helps, but marketplaces close and change. If you hold the contract address, token ID and transaction hash yourself, the trail survives on-chain even if the marketplace does not.