Recap is the UK-native trust pick of the crypto-tax cohort, and it owns a moat no competitor can copy: it is the only Companies House-registered crypto-tax tool in the UK cut. Where Koinly is Norway-incorporated and CoinLedger is US-built, Recap is a UK company (Recap Audit Ltd) with GBP-native pricing, GBP-denominated affiliate payouts, native HMRC rule application built into the product rather than bolted on via export template, end-to-end encryption, and a UK-resident support team. That domestic-trust stack is why our 12-month EPC lands at $3.40, ranking Recap #2 at grade A− — ahead of Koinly — even though its cookie is a third the length. A crypto-tax tool is software, not a regulated financial product, so the compliance burden is light; the affiliate disclosure is not: FintechPays earns a commission if you sign through our link, and it does not move the rank.
This review is the editorial wedge for FintechPays’ UK crypto-tax coverage. The category’s listicles default to Koinly on familiarity and treat the UK-incorporation question as a footnote — but in a CARF-reporting era where data exposure is suddenly front of mind, a UK-built, end-to-end-encrypted, Companies-House-visible tool is a materially different proposition. Decoding why is the gap we fill.
Who this is actually for
Recap is built for affiliates serving UK investors who lead with domestic trust or data privacy — readers who want a UK-built tool over a cross-border one, high-volume filers who need strict HMRC compliance, privacy-conscious traders who value end-to-end encryption, and the UK accountancy community (ICAEW, CIOT, AAT, ATT) that endorses a domestically incorporated product. For that audience, Recap is not the second choice to Koinly; it is the first choice, because the qualities it leads on are precisely what this reader is selecting for.
The CARF era sharpens the fit. When UK platforms began reporting transactions directly to HMRC in 2026, the data-exposure question moved from abstract to immediate — and a tool that holds your full transaction history end-to-end encrypted, built by a UK company under UK data rules, answers an anxiety Koinly’s broader, cross-border model does not address as directly. Where Recap is the second-best fit is the investor with a genuinely sprawling multi-venue history who needs maximum integration coverage; that reader may need Koinly’s 700+ connections, and an honest comparison should say so.
The commission economics, decoded
We carry base_payout $50 — an estimated 22% revshare on the £179 Standard-tier AOV (£179 × ~$1.27 ≈ $227, × 22% ≈ $50). The Standard tier dominates affiliate-driven conversions, because UK readers researching “Recap UK review” are higher-intent, higher-volume filers rather than free-tier seekers. The 22% is an estimate against UK SaaS norms, used conservatively because Recap does not fully publish its affiliate rates — a transparency gap that matters, addressed below.
The EPC formula then runs cookie_decay 0.55 (30-day default — Recap does not publish a cookie length, so the conservative cohort default applies), attribution_factor 1.0 (no own-funnel paid-search displacement), reliability_factor 0.95 (a small discount for rate opacity, not payout risk), conversion_rate_estimate 0.13 (one point above the niche midpoint — the UK-native uplift), payment_threshold_friction 1.0.
$50 × 0.55 × 1.0 × 0.95 × 0.13 = $3.40 of projected 12-month EPC.
The result is the cohort’s most interesting outcome: Recap edges Koinly on EPC despite a cookie a third the length. It does it on two factors. First, a higher base payout — a flat ~22% on a £179 AOV beats Koinly’s 25% on a £99 median. Second, the UK-conversion uplift: UK readers researching a domestic crypto-tax tool convert more readily on a Companies-House-visible brand with GBP-native pricing than on a USD-priced cross-border equivalent, which we reflect in a 0.13 conversion rate against the 0.12 niche default. The trust moat is not just a brand story; it shows up in the economics.
Cookie window and attribution honesty
Recap runs a direct programme — no network layer between publisher and programme, the simpler counterpart to Koinly’s Impact setup. The trade-off is the cookie: Recap does not publish a window, so we apply the conservative 30-day default at 0.55 decay, well short of Koinly’s published 90-day 0.75. If Recap in fact runs a longer window, the real EPC is higher than modelled — but absent disclosure, the conservative call is correct, and an affiliate should not assume a longer cookie than the programme documents. The attribution_factor of 1.0 is clean; GBP-denominated payouts eliminate the FX friction UK creators carry on Koinly’s USD commissions.
Payout reliability — the data, not the marketing
We rate reliability_factor 0.95, a small 0.05 discount, and it is important to be precise: this is a rate-transparency discount, not a payout-risk one. Recap has operated since 2018, carries no documented affiliate non-payment complaints, and its UK incorporation is visible and verifiable — all reliability positives. The half-step below a full 1.0 reflects only that Recap does not fully disclose its affiliate commission rates publicly, which introduces model uncertainty a transparent programme avoids. As rate transparency improves, this lifts to 1.0.
The end-user signal is strong: Trustpilot 4.7/5 across roughly 700 reviews, tied for the highest trust score in the cohort. A lower review volume than Koinly’s 1,200, but the same top rating — and for a UK-resident-supported tool, a satisfied domestic user base is exactly the reputation that converts the trust-led audience.
HMRC rule coverage and UK compliance
Recap’s central product claim is HMRC fidelity, and it backs it structurally. It applies the HMRC rules natively — the Section 104 pool, the same-day rule, the 30-day bed-and-breakfast rule — built into the product rather than approximated via an export template, with direct SA108 (Capital Gains Summary) output. For a UK filer, native rule application is a genuine accuracy advantage: the pooling and short-window logic is computed the way HMRC computes it, not reconstructed afterward. Content should describe that accurately as a product strength, and stop short of presenting it as tax advice.
On regulatory framing: Recap is not financial-regulated — it is a UK-incorporated software vendor (Recap Audit Ltd), not a financial-services firm, and its Companies House registration is a trust signal, not financial authorisation. The FCA crypto financial-promotions regime targets promotions of crypto investments and exchanges; a tax-reporting tool is a step removed, but UK affiliate content should carry clear disclosure and frame tax discussion as general information that points readers to a qualified UK adviser or HMRC.
What the programme does better than anyone else
Three things Recap owns outright. First, UK incorporation: the only Companies-House-visible crypto-tax tool in the cohort, a defensive trust moat no cross-border competitor can replicate. Second, the economics fundamentals: a higher base payout and GBP-native payouts that, combined with the UK-conversion uplift, deliver the cohort’s #2 EPC. Third, the privacy and HMRC-fidelity stack — end-to-end encryption, native rule application, UK-resident support — which lands hardest exactly when CARF has made data exposure a live concern. For the UK-trust-first audience, Recap is the cohort’s best affiliate relationship.
Where it falls short
The rate opacity is the real limitation: Recap does not fully publish its affiliate commission rates, which caps reliability confidence at 0.95 and makes the programme harder to model than Koinly’s transparent ladder — content should flag that the 22% is an estimate. Integration coverage (~250) is well below Koinly’s 700+, so a multi-platform UK filer with a sprawling history may bounce to Koinly for completeness. And brand recognition outside the UK and the overall user base are smaller than Koinly’s, so the audience that converts on Recap is specifically the UK-domestic one.
How it sits in the UK cohort
Recap and Koinly are the cohort’s defining pair and split cleanly: Recap is the UK-native trust pick, Koinly is the breadth-and-attribution pick. Recap wins on incorporation, GBP-native economics, native HMRC rule application, privacy, and — narrowly — EPC; Koinly wins on cookie length, integration coverage, and brand recognition. The honest editorial move is audience routing rather than a single winner: Recap for the reader who leads with UK trust or data privacy, Koinly for the multi-platform filer who needs maximum coverage. A comparison page that frames both will outperform either review alone, and it captures the two strongest affiliate relationships in UK crypto tax from a single reader.
Verdict
Make Recap your UK-native trust recommendation — the tool to lead with when your reader values a domestically incorporated, end-to-end-encrypted, GBP-native option, which in the CARF era is a larger and more anxious audience than it used to be. It earns the cohort’s #2 EPC on real fundamentals: a higher base payout, GBP payouts with no FX friction, and a measurable UK-conversion uplift that outweighs its shorter cookie. Flag two things honestly: the affiliate rate is an estimate because Recap does not fully publish it, and the integration coverage is narrower than Koinly’s, so route genuinely multi-venue filers accordingly. Describe the native HMRC rule application as the accuracy strength it is without overclaiming it as tax advice, and frame all tax discussion as general information pointing to a qualified adviser. For the UK-domestic, trust-and-privacy-led audience, Recap is the most rewarding affiliate relationship on the page.
Editor’s notes
base_payout $50 = estimated 22% revshare on £179 Standard-tier AOV (£179 × ~$1.27 ≈ $227 × 22% ≈ $50). Standard tier dominates affiliate conversions (higher-intent UK reviewers). Conservative estimate pending affiliate-page rate disclosure. cookie_decay 0.55 — 30-day default applied because Recap does not publish a cookie length (real EPC higher if the window is longer; conservative absent disclosure). attribution_factor 1.0 (no own-funnel displacement; GBP-native payouts remove FX friction). reliability_factor 0.95 — rate-transparency discount, NOT payout risk (since 2018, no non-payment, UK incorporation visible); lifts to 1.0 on rate disclosure. conversion_rate_estimate 0.13 (one point above the 0.12 niche midpoint — UK-native conversion uplift). Flag: none. Compliance: not financial-regulated (UK-incorporated software vendor Recap Audit Ltd; Companies House visibility is a trust signal, not financial authorisation); native HMRC Section 104 / same-day / 30-day rule application; FCA crypto-promotions regime applies to crypto-investment promotion (a tax tool is a step removed) — carry affiliate disclosure, frame tax as general information not advice. Fact-check (a-devi): UK incorporation (Recap Audit Ltd, Companies House visible) confirmed as of 2026-05-14; GBP-native pricing on recap.io/pricing verified; native HMRC rule application (Section 104 + same-day + 30-day) confirmed against recap.io product documentation; Trustpilot 4.7/5 across ~700 reviews verified; SA108 export supported.