Online fraud has become a scourge in recent years. Scammers have specialized in various schemes designed to instill trust and steal our savings. Who among us hasn't received an email from a "Nigerian prince" wanting to share his fortune, or from a terminally ill millionaire from a distant country who, in exchange for keeping his assets in his bank account for his children, will let us keep 30%. Of course, most of us, upon seeing such emails, immediately delete them. Furthermore, they are sent from suspicious email addresses and often written using an online translator (of questionable quality, at that). These emails are sent in bulk. They don't require significant costs on the part of the scammers, and if they manage to "catch" even a fraction of the recipients, they still make a profit.
However, there are scams targeted at specific people, such as romance scams ( What is a romance scam and how to avoid it? | LEX TV ) where the scammer spends their time trying to prove themselves credible and extort funds from a specific person.
Scammers often prey on the desire to make a quick buck. They offer access to software allegedly secreted by a group of the wealthiest (most famous, smartest, etc.) people, which allows them to achieve exorbitant returns on investment. Who wouldn't want to double, or maybe even triple, their savings in a week?
The end result of the scam is always the same: the victim transfers their savings to the scammer, and then contact ceases. The supposed millionaire's email address disappears, the person they met online who was supposed to be their lifelong companion stops responding to messages, and the platform that was supposed to multiply their savings is shut down.
Fraud victims then wonder what to do next. Should they report the theft to law enforcement, and will it cause problems with the tax office? This is a particularly pressing issue for those who have lost their cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency tax is payable upon disposal. Tax liability arises when cryptocurrency is exchanged for fiat currency (e.g., złoty, dollars, euros) or when cryptocurrencies are used to pay for goods or services. So, as a result of cryptocurrency theft, do we need to include this in our tax return? Do we have to pay tax?
We file a tax return (PIT-38) if we earned income or incurred costs related to the sale of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, if we purchase cryptocurrencies, we must report the purchase expense as an expense in our annual tax return. If we sell cryptocurrencies or use them to pay for goods or services, we report income in our tax return. If the income exceeds the costs of earning income, we will generate income on which tax must be paid.
However, when withdrawing cryptocurrencies to a fraudster's wallet, we neither exchange them for fiat currency nor make a payment. Therefore, we do not generate any income from this transaction. We do not have to declare it in our annual tax return. It also does not result in a tax liability. Previously incurred costs for purchasing stolen cryptocurrencies can still be deducted if we generate income from sales in subsequent years.
But what if, for example, a hacker locks our computer and demands payment in cryptocurrency to unlock it? In that case, isn't this payment for a service? After all, someone is obligating to unlock our computer—that is, to perform a service—for remuneration in the form of cryptocurrency. The answer is clear: the State Treasury cannot enrich itself through a tort. Just as income from selling drugs is not taxable, paying protection money to regain access to data cannot give rise to a tax liability.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of August 17, 2025.
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