How this crypto tax calculator works
Pick a coin for reference, then enter your investment amount, buy price, sell price, holding period, taxable income, filing status, fee, and state. The coin picker does not change the math.
The calculator estimates the gain on that sale and applies 2026 federal ordinary or long-term capital gains rates, based on your holding period, plus an estimated state rate.
Qualifying purchase fees can increase your cost basis. Qualifying disposal fees can reduce your amount realized. Both can reduce the taxable gain. If you enter a single fee in the calculator, treat it as the combined estimate of those costs for this one sale.
Your income and filing status help determine which federal rate may apply. Gains on crypto held for one year or less are generally short-term and taxed at ordinary income tax rates. Gains on crypto held for more than one year generally qualify for the 0%, 15%, or 20% long-term capital gains rates.
The state estimate applies to the same sale. This calculator does not account for local taxes, the Net Investment Income Tax, deductions, tax credits, or capital losses from other transactions.
Use this calculator for a quick estimate of a single crypto sale or to plan a transaction. For a complete tax calculation across your wallets and exchanges, TokenTax can import your transaction history and calculate gains and losses across supported accounts.
Your 1099-DA is not a tax return
Form 1099-DA reports information about certain digital asset sales handled by brokers, but it does not calculate your complete crypto tax liability.
For 2025 sales, brokers generally report gross proceeds but are not required to report cost basis. For sales effected after 2025, brokers generally must report basis for digital assets that are covered securities.
Basis can still be missing for noncovered assets, including certain crypto acquired before 2026 or transferred into a broker from another wallet or account. Form 1099-DA does not report staking rewards, and DeFi platforms generally do not issue it.
Proceeds are not the same as profit. If you sell ETH for $10,000 and your adjusted cost basis is $7,000, your gain generally starts at $3,000, not the full $10,000 sale amount.
TokenTax can combine proceeds, cost basis, fees, and transaction history when preparing your crypto tax reports.
How is cryptocurrency taxed?
The IRS generally treats cryptocurrency and other digital assets as property. Selling, swapping, or spending crypto held as an investment can create a capital gain or loss. Crypto received as compensation, staking rewards (generally when you have dominion and control), or certain other forms of income can instead be taxed as ordinary income.
The table below gives an overview of what crypto and related products are taxable.
Transaction | Generally taxable? | Typical treatment |
|---|---|---|
Sell crypto for USD | Yes | Capital gain or loss |
Swap one crypto for another | Yes | Capital gain or loss |
Spend crypto on goods or services | Yes | Capital gain or loss |
Receive staking rewards | Yes | Generally ordinary income when you have dominion and control |
Receive crypto as payment | Yes | Generally ordinary income |
Buy crypto with USD and hold it | No | No disposal yet |
Transfer crypto between your own wallets | No | Basis and holding period generally carry over. A network fee paid in crypto is generally a disposal of that crypto (IRS FAQ A62). |
Crypto held for one year or less generally produces a short-term capital gain or loss when sold. Net short-term gains are generally taxed at ordinary federal income tax rates.
Crypto held for more than one year generally produces a long-term capital gain or loss. Most long-term capital gains fall into the 0%, 15%, or 20% federal brackets, depending on taxable income. See crypto tax rates for more.
Calculating crypto capital gains and losses
The basic calculation is:
Gain or loss = Amount realized minus adjusted cost basis
Your adjusted cost basis generally starts with what you paid to acquire the crypto, including qualifying acquisition costs. Your amount realized generally starts with what you received when you disposed of the asset, reduced by qualifying disposal costs.
For example, say you buy 1 ETH for $2,000 and pay a $20 qualifying acquisition fee. Your basis is $2,020. You later sell the ETH for $3,000 and pay a $10 qualifying disposal fee, leaving $2,990 of amount realized.
$2,990 minus $2,020 = $970 capital gain
The holding period determines whether that $970 gain is short-term or long-term.
This calculator estimates a single sale based on the information you enter. It does not import transactions or determine which crypto lot you sold. TokenTax can reconcile lots across supported wallets and exchanges for tax reporting. Since January 1, 2025, basis is tracked wallet by wallet (Rev. Proc. 2024-28).
See lot methods: crypto accounting methods.