Glossary
DAC8 and CARF glossary
DAC8 and CARF glossary defining DAC, CASP, RCASP, CRS, FATCA, MiCA, AEOI, competent authority, tax residence, reportable users and crypto tax reporting terms.
Updated
This glossary defines the main terms of DAC8, CARF and crypto-asset tax reporting. Each entry is a term followed by its definition.
DAC
DAC is Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation. It is the legal basis for automatic exchange of information between tax authorities in the European Union. It has been amended successively from DAC1 to DAC8, each revision widening the range of data exchanged (financial accounts, rulings, transfer pricing, digital platforms and then crypto-assets). DAC8 is the eighth amendment.
DAC8
DAC8 is Directive (EU) 2023/2226, the eighth amendment to the European Union’s Directive on Administrative Cooperation in taxation. It extends automatic exchange of information to reportable crypto-asset transactions.
CARF
CARF means Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. It is the OECD global standard for automatic exchange of tax information on reportable crypto-asset transactions between participating jurisdictions.
Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework
Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework is the full name of CARF. It defines the reporting providers, users, transactions and data fields used by participating tax authorities for crypto-asset reporting.
CASP
CASP means crypto-asset service provider. In EU usage, the term is closely connected to MiCA and can include exchanges, custodians, brokers, trading platforms and other crypto service providers.
RCASP
RCASP means reporting crypto-asset service provider. It refers to a provider that must collect due-diligence information and report crypto-asset transaction data under DAC8, CARF or a related implementing law.
PSAN
PSAN means prestataire de services sur actifs numériques. It is the French term historically used for digital-asset service providers before the full MiCA CASP framework.
MiCA
MiCA is Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets. DAC8 uses concepts that are aligned with MiCA so that tax reporting and crypto-market regulation rely on compatible terminology.
CRS
CRS means Common Reporting Standard. It is the OECD framework for automatic exchange of financial account information. CARF extends a similar tax-transparency logic to crypto-assets.
FATCA
FATCA is the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. It is a tax-reporting regime for foreign financial accounts held by U.S. persons and is often compared with CRS and CARF.
AEOI
AEOI means automatic exchange of information. It describes systems where tax-relevant data is reported to one authority and then exchanged automatically with other tax authorities.
Competent authority
A competent authority is the administration designated by each jurisdiction to collect reported data and exchange it with the authorities of other participating jurisdictions. Information filed under DAC8, CARF, CRS or FATCA flows between competent authorities.
Tax residence
Tax residence is the jurisdiction in which a person is treated as liable to tax. Under DAC8 and CARF it determines which user is reportable and to which authority their data is sent. A reporting provider establishes it from the self-certification and the information available to it.
Reportable user
A reportable user is a customer or user whose tax residence and activity place them inside the scope of DAC8, CARF or a national implementing law.
Reportable transaction
A reportable transaction is a crypto-asset transaction that must be included in annual reporting. This can include crypto-to-fiat exchanges, crypto-to-crypto exchanges, transfers and certain payment transactions.
Due diligence
Due diligence refers to the procedures a reporting provider must apply to identify reportable users, collect and verify their self-certification and determine their tax residence. It underpins the reliability of the data sent to competent authorities.
Self-certification
Self-certification is the process by which a user provides tax-residence and identification information to a reporting provider. Providers must assess whether the information is reasonable under the applicable rules.
Wallet address
A wallet address is a public blockchain identifier used to receive or send crypto-assets. When linked to civil identity, it can expose public transaction history and create risks that ordinary bank account identifiers do not create.
Distributed ledger address
A distributed ledger address is a blockchain or similar ledger address. Under DAC8 and CARF, reporting concerns transactions and transfers rather than the addresses themselves.