Crypto tax documents: Form 1099-DA, Form 8949 and the wallet records
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In brief
Crypto tax documents start with Form 1099-DA from each exchange, but that form rarely tells the whole story. You also need full transaction exports, self-custody wallet histories, the dollar value of staking or mining income when received, and the purchase records that set the cost basis of every coin you sold.
The checklist: Crypto records file: exchanges, wallets and cost basis
Fill in one line per exchange and per wallet. Tick each item when it is in the folder, and write "n/a" where it does not apply.
- PDFPrint it or tick it off on screen.Free, no email
- WordEdit it and send it under your name.Free, with your email
- Excel trackerOne row per item, with a status column.Free, with your email
Build your own list: Answer 10 yes-or-no questions and the tax document checklist generator combines the lists that apply into one checklist.
Forms from exchanges and brokers
- Form 1099-DA from each custodial exchange or hosted wallet2025 sales: proceeds only. 2026 sales: basis too, for coins bought after 2025 at that exchange
- Form 1099-MISC for staking rewards or bonusesOnly if the exchange issued one
- Form 1099-B for crypto funds held at a stock brokerFunds and trusts that hold crypto, inside the consolidated form
- Year-end gain and loss report from each exchangeThe exchange’s own summary, to compare with the forms
Transaction histories
- Full transaction export (CSV) from every exchange usedAll of the year, including accounts you closed
- List of your own wallet addressesHardware, browser and mobile wallets you control
- On-chain history for each self-custody walletFrom the wallet app or a block explorer
- Transfers between your own wallets and exchangesDates, units, and any fee paid in crypto
- DeFi activity: swaps, lending, liquidity poolsDates, tokens in and out, dollar values
- NFT purchases and salesMarketplace history with prices in dollars
Income received in crypto
- Staking and mining rewardsDate and dollar value of each reward when received
- Airdrops and hard-fork coinsDate received and dollar value at that time
- Crypto received as pay for workInvoices and dollar value when paid
- Mining equipment, power bills and pool statementsOnly if you mine as a business
Basis, gifts and carryovers
- Purchase records for each lot soldDate, units, dollars paid and fees
- Method used to pick which coins were soldSpecific identification or first in, first out, applied wallet by wallet or account by account
- Basis allocation worksheet as of January 1, 2025Only if unused basis was assigned to each wallet or account under Rev. Proc. 2024-28
- Gifts given and receivedDate, units and value; the giver’s basis for gifts received
- Charity receipts for donated cryptoAcknowledgment letter, plus any appraisal
- Bank statements with deposits to and withdrawals from exchangesEvery month with crypto activity
- Last year’s return with Form 8949 and Schedule DCapital loss carryover and lots already reported
How crypto is taxed, in one paragraph
For US tax purposes, digital assets are property, not currency (IRS, Digital assets). A digital asset is any digital representation of value recorded on a cryptographically secured, distributed ledger, such as Bitcoin, a stablecoin or an NFT (IRS, Digital assets). Selling, trading or spending one is a disposal with a gain or loss. Receiving one as pay or as a reward is income at its dollar value.
You must report digital asset transactions whether or not they produce a gain or loss (IRS, Digital assets). The IRS also expects records of every purchase, receipt, sale and exchange, and of the dollar value of coins received as income (IRS, Digital assets). That record is what the forms below are checked against.
| What happened | Where it goes on the return | Record that backs it |
|---|---|---|
| Sold, traded or spent crypto held as an investment | Form 8949, then Schedule D (IRS, Digital assets) | Form 1099-DA and the exchange export |
| Staking, mining or forks | Schedule 1 as other income (IRS, Digital assets) | Date received and dollar value at that moment |
| Paid in crypto as an independent contractor | Schedule C (IRS, Digital assets) | Invoice and dollar value when received |
| Gave crypto as a gift | Form 709 when a gift tax return is due (IRS, Digital assets) | Date, units given and value |
| Moved coins between your own wallets | Not a transaction, unless a fee was paid in crypto (IRS, Digital assets) | Wallet addresses and transfer history |
Form 1099-DA: what it shows, and from which year
Form 1099-DA is the broker statement for sales and exchanges of digital assets. The rules reach brokers that take possession of the coins they sell for customers, such as custodial exchanges (IRS, Digital assets). What the form holds depends on the year of the sale, so read it with that year in mind.
For 2025 sales, the form you received in early 2026 has to show gross proceeds, because brokers report proceeds from January 1, 2025 (IRS, Digital assets). Basis reporting only starts with transactions on or after January 1, 2026 (IRS, Digital assets). On a 2026 sale, the broker must report basis only for covered digital assets (Form 1099-DA instructions). A covered digital asset is one acquired after 2025 in an account where the broker held it, and kept there until the sale (Form 1099-DA instructions). Coins bought earlier, or moved in from another wallet, are noncovered, and the broker does not have to report their basis (Form 1099-DA instructions).
So a Form 1099-DA with a blank basis column is normal, not an error: on every 2025 form, and on 2026 forms for coins bought before 2026 or moved in. The basis then comes from your own records. Without them, the preparer has no cost to set against the proceeds.
One more record dates from the switch. A Revenue Procedure let holders allocate unused basis to the units in each wallet or account as of January 1, 2025 (IRS, Digital assets). If you or your preparer made that allocation, keep the worksheet, since later sales lean on it.
Sales that may never appear on a form
Some sales can be left off Form 1099-DA under small-amount rules. A broker using the optional method for qualifying stablecoins need not report them when the customer’s total proceeds stay at or under $10,000 for the year (Form 1099-DA instructions). For specified NFTs under their optional method, the cutoff is $600 (Form 1099-DA instructions). A processor of digital asset payments need not report payment sales of $600 or less for the year (Form 1099-DA instructions).
Those limits only change what the broker files. You still report every disposal (IRS, Digital assets). Trades on a decentralized exchange, swaps in a self-custody wallet and sales on a foreign exchange may produce no US form at all. The full export from each service, and the on-chain history of each wallet, fill that gap.
The digital asset question on Form 1040
Every Form 1040 asks whether, at any time during the year, you received a digital asset as a reward, award or payment, or sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of one (IRS, Digital assets). You answer yes or no, and the preparer needs your facts to do it right.
You can answer no if you only held coins, only bought with dollars, or only moved coins between wallets you control (IRS, Digital assets). A transfer where you paid the network fee in crypto is a transaction, so it turns the answer to yes (IRS, Digital assets). Staking rewards, airdrops from a hard fork and payment for work also mean yes (IRS, Digital assets).
Wallet records and cost basis for each lot
Cost basis is generally what a digital asset cost you in US dollars (IRS, Digital assets). To figure it, the IRS lists the type of asset, the date and time acquired, the number of units and the dollar value when acquired (IRS, Digital assets). For each sale, add the date and time, the units and the dollar value at that time (IRS, Digital assets).
Exchanges keep that data only for activity inside their walls. For coins in a hardware or browser wallet, export the history from a block explorer or the wallet app, and list your own addresses so transfers between them are not read as sales. Write down which coins you treated as sold first, by specific identification or first in, first out, and apply it within each wallet or account (Rev. Proc. 2024-28, basis of digital assets by wallet or account).
Holding period sets the rate. A coin held more than one year before you dispose of it gives a long-term gain or loss; one year or less is short-term (IRS, Digital assets). The acquisition date on each lot settles which one applies. If you also hold stocks or funds, the investor checklist covers those accounts.
- Download each Form 1099-DA, plus any Form 1099-MISC for rewards, and check the sale year on each one.
- Export the full year of transactions from every exchange, including closed accounts.
- Export the on-chain history of each self-custody wallet, and list your addresses.
- Record staking, mining, airdrop and payment income with the dollar value on receipt.
- Match purchase records to each sale, and send last year’s Form 8949 with the rest.
Questions people ask
What is Form 1099-DA?
It is the form brokers use to report sales and exchanges of digital assets: gross proceeds from January 1, 2025, and basis on certain sales from January 1, 2026 (IRS, Digital assets). Basis is required only for covered digital assets, meaning coins bought after 2025 and kept at that broker (Form 1099-DA instructions).
Do I have to report crypto if I did not get a form?
Yes. You must report digital asset transactions whether or not they result in a gain or loss (IRS, Digital assets), and some small sales are not reported by brokers at all (Form 1099-DA instructions).
How do I answer the digital asset question if I only bought and held?
Answer no if you only bought with dollars, only held, or only moved coins between your own wallets without paying a fee in crypto (IRS, Digital assets).
Where do crypto gains go on the return?
Sales and exchanges of crypto held as a capital asset go on Form 8949, which carries to Schedule D (About Form 8949). Staking and mining income goes on Schedule 1 (IRS, Digital assets).
Sources
- IRS, Digital assets: Digital assets are property; the Form 1040 question; records to keep; basis and holding period; gross proceeds reported on Form 1099-DA from January 1, 2025 and basis on certain transactions from January 1, 2026; Rev. Proc. 2024-28 basis allocation as of January 1, 2025.
- Rev. Proc. 2024-28, basis of digital assets by wallet or account: From January 1, 2025, basis is tracked within each wallet or account; units sold are identified specifically, or else on a first in, first out basis.
- Form 1099-DA instructions: From 2026, gross proceeds are reported for all digital assets and basis for covered ones; covered means acquired after 2025 and held in the custodial account; de minimis rules of $10,000 for qualifying stablecoins and $600 for specified NFTs and payment sales.
- About Form 8949: Form 8949 reconciles amounts reported to you and the IRS with your return, and its subtotals carry to Schedule D.
About the author
Arthur Teboul (Founder, DokuTrak) is building DokuTrak after watching professionals lose hours chasing clients for documents over email. Arthur Teboul.
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How this page was made (methodology): it is built from the primary sources listed under Sources, and every rule and figure on it links to the source it comes from. Last updated October 25, 2026. Spotted an error or a rule that changed? Contact us.
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