How to Report Crypto on Your Taxes in 2026: Five Easy Steps

The IRS treats cryptocurrency like property, like stocks. This means US taxpayers must:

• Track crypto gains and losses upon disposal

• Report any crypto income received

For a smooth, compliant crypto tax filing, keep your complete transaction history across exchanges and platforms and follow these steps:

Here’s a closer look at the five critical steps for accurate and compliant crypto tax filing in the US.

Step 1: Collect your crypto records before you calculate anything

Start by exporting CSVs from every centralized exchange you used. Then export transaction history from each wallet you controlled. If you used DeFi, include on-chain activity such as swaps, bridges, LP activity, and mints.

Accuracy is critical. Missing transactions often create missing cost basis, and missing cost basis can make your gains look larger than they really were.

Step 2: Separate taxable disposals from non-taxable transfers

Before you run any math, make sure you can tell the difference between:

• Transfers: moving crypto between wallets or accounts you control and

• Disposals: selling for USD, swapping one coin for another, or spending crypto

Transfers are typically not taxable in themselves, but they matter because they link your crypto cost basis and holding period to the eventual disposition. Complete and accurate records are necessary.

Step 3: Calculate gains and losses for each taxable disposal

For each taxable disposal, you generally calculate:

• Proceeds: what you received at the time of disposal (usually fair market value), minus selling fees

• Cost basis: what you paid, or what the crypto was worth when you received it, plus acquisition fees

Example: sale for fiat

• You bought 1 ETH for $2,000 plus a $20 fee.

• You later sold it for $2,600 and paid a $20 selling fee.

• Basis is $2,020. Proceeds net of fee are $2,580.

• Your capital gain is $560, either short-term (if you held for less than a year) or long-term (if you held for a year or more).

Example: crypto-to-crypto swap

• Let’s say you bought 15 SOL at $48 each and paid a $3 fee, so your total basis is $723.

• You later swap the 15 SOL for BTC when SOL is $60, so the gross value is $900.

• Assuming the $12 swap fee is deducted from the SOL you sold, your proceeds are reduced to $888.

• This means your short- or long-term capital gain is $888 − $723 = $165, with a new BTC cost basis of $888.

Step 4: Generate the tax forms

This is the part most consumers misunderstand. You report crypto disposals on Form 8949 (often as an attachment) and summarize on Schedule D. Most filers handle it like this:

• Do not hand-enter every trade unless you truly have to.

• If you have extensive activity, you typically attach a transaction statement generated by crypto tax software (like TokenTax), then carry the totals to Schedule D.

• If you have only a few disposals, you can enter them directly, but many people still prefer software so totals flow correctly.

• If you receive Form 1099-DA, use it to cross-check but not as your only source of truth. For the 2025 tax year, proceeds may appear with an incomplete cost basis or none at all.

Step 5: Report crypto income, finish Form 1040, and save your backup

If you received crypto as income, you generally report the fair market value in USD when you can control the asset. Many filers report smaller, non-business activity on Schedule 1, while business activity with a profit motive often goes on Schedule C.

Then complete the return, accurately answer the digital asset question on Form 1040, and save the exported files and reports you used. Save the exact CSVs, wallet exports, and reports you used. This is what you’ll want on hand should you face a crypto tax audit.

Pro tip
Timing your sales matters. Consider our guide to cashing out and crypto taxes to develop a winning strategy.

Here’s a breakdown of the common, relevant crypto tax forms the typical US crypto trader might see.

Pro tip
A 1099 crypto form is an information return that reports some crypto sales or income to you and the IRS. Use it as a starting point for your tax reporting. It is not meant to be a complete record of everything you did across wallets and exchanges.

• Disposals: selling crypto for cash, swapping one coin for another, or spending. These can create capital gains or losses.

• Income: getting paid in crypto or receiving rewards, like staking, mining, interest, referral bonuses, and airdrops. These typically create ordinary income at fair market value upon receipt and control of the coins.

Moving crypto between wallets you control does not, by itself, create a taxable event. Still, you want those transfers labeled correctly so your crypto cost basis is not misstated.

Current tax rates for cryptocurrency

Tax rates vary by state and territory and do change annually. See our crypto tax guide for current short- and long-term federal rates.

Form 1099-DA is a broker tax form for certain digital asset dispositions. If you receive one, use it as a helpful cross-check, but do not assume it captures your full tax picture. Even when a broker reports proceeds, cost basis can still be missing or incomplete, especially when you moved assets between wallets, exchanges, or DeFi apps.

Keep your own records as the source of truth and reconcile any broker form totals back to your transaction history.

Yes, always. If you disposed of crypto or earned token income, you must report it. That includes tiny trades and small rewards.

If you only bought and held without earning or selling, you generally do not have a reportable event, but you should always answer the digital asset question on Form 1040 accurately.

For US taxpayers, disposals result in crypto capital gains or losses based on holding period and netting rules. Short-term gains are taxed at ordinary rates, long-term gains use preferential rates.

Income in tokens is ordinary income at the value when received and becomes the basis for future gain or loss when you dispose of those tokens.

There is no dollar threshold for reporting gains, losses, or income. A $5 taxable event still needs to be reported on your return.

Platform forms help, but they do not replace your own records. Keep dates, amounts, fees, and wallet addresses so totals reconcile.

Losses tied to crypto hacks, scams, and exchange failures can be complicated, and the tax result depends on the exact facts, your intent, and the type of loss. Many situations are not deductible for individual filers or are only deductible under narrow rules.

If you think you may have a deductible loss, document everything: wallet addresses, transaction hashes, platform statements, support tickets, and any legal claims.

Yes. Centralized exchanges typically provide CSVs and year-end tax documentation, including the new 1099-DA.

You can also export crypto wallet histories and save on-chain transaction hashes. DeFi users can access the blockchain itself through tools like Etherscan.

Why detailed crypto reporting matters

You’re responsible for your own crypto tax reporting, which is why you need to understand and keep your own transaction records.

Discrepancies can raise red flags and result in a crypto tax audit, which of course everyone wants to avoid. If you ever undergo an audit, having thorough records at hand will make the process much less stressful.

What platforms provide statements?

Major crypto exchanges provide annual reports and CSVs, and starting in 2025 will provide the new 1099-DA form.

Wallet apps typically allow you to export histories, and block explorers like Solscan and Etherscan will provide address-level activity for your DeFi crypto wallets.

You can enter each line on Form 8949 or attach a detailed statement and put subtotals on the form. Either method is fine if the attachment includes all required fields.

Regardless, ensure your calculations are accurate. Keep the exact files you used in case the IRS requests support. When in doubt, speak with one of our crypto tax experts.

TokenTax lets you gather all your exchanges and wallets into one place so you can file with confidence. You get unlimited integrations, AI-powered reconciliation, AI CSV support, tax loss harvesting, tax liability previews, automatic version history, and tax year number freezes.

Our secure platform then generates the crypto tax outputs you need, including Form 8949, an Income Report for mining, staking, and airdrops, FBAR for foreign accounts, international tax forms, and direct exports to file with TurboTax and TaxAct.

If you need hands-on help, our crypto tax experts are available.