Disclaimer: This article is intended as an informative piece. This is not accounting or tax advice. Please speak to a qualified tax professional about your specific circumstances before acting upon any of the information in this article.

An airdrop is when an individual receives an allocation of tokens or other cryptoassets. For example, tokens are given as part of a marketing or advertising campaign. Other examples of airdrops may involve tokens being provided automatically due to other tokens being held or where an individual has registered to become eligible to take part in the airdrop.

If airdrops are received in return for or in expectation of the individual performing a service or doing something in return (even just participating in a social media campaign) in order to qualify, the market value of the cryptoassets received should be recorded on the Tax Return as miscellaneous income, subject to income tax.
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If airdrops are received as part of a trade or business involving cryptoassets or mining; the market value of the cryptoassets received should be recorded on the Tax Return as trading income, subject to income tax.
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