How to Keep Crypto Tax Records in the US

For every crypto sale, swap or purchase made with crypto, keep five things: the date, what you gave up, what you received, its value in dollars at the time, and what you originally paid for the coin you gave up (your cost basis). The IRS treats crypto as property, so these events are generally taxable, and you report gains and losses on your tax return. Crypto brokers such as exchanges now report sales on Form 1099-DA, but it doesn't cover swaps you make yourself in your own wallet. Those records are on you.

This is general information, not tax advice. For your own situation, talk to a tax professional.

Buying crypto with dollars and moving it between your own wallets generally aren't taxable on their own, but keep records of them too. You'll need them to prove your cost basis later.

What to record for each trade

Step-by-step: build your records

1. Download exchange historyMost exchanges let you download your transaction history. On the Coinbase website, statements are under your profile icon, then Settings, Accounts and Statements, and can be downloaded as a CSV; US customers can also find a gain/loss report in Coinbase's Tax Center. Download yours at least once a year.
2. Save your wallet historyYour wallet address on a block explorer (Solscan, Etherscan, Basescan) shows every on-chain transaction. Export it or note each swap as you make it.
3. Match transfersMark exchange withdrawals that went to your own wallet as transfers, not sales, so they aren't counted twice.
4. Use software if you trade a lotCrypto tax tools import exchange CSVs and wallet addresses and work out gains for you. Check their output; they can mislabel transfers.

What Form 1099-DA covers

Brokers such as exchanges must report gross proceeds on Form 1099-DA for sales made on or after January 1, 2025. For certain sales made on or after January 1, 2026, they must also report cost basis. That generally covers coins bought and kept in the same account on that platform. Coins you transferred in from somewhere else are usually treated as "noncovered," and the form may show no cost basis for them.

Decentralized or non-custodial services that never hold your coins, such as DEXs, aren't covered by these broker rules, so swaps you make yourself on a DEX or in a self-custody wallet generally won't appear on a 1099-DA. You still have to report them. The IRS says you must report digital asset transactions whether or not they result in a gain or loss.

The IRS gets a copy of each 1099-DA, so the sales on your return should line up with it. When the form shows no cost basis, your own records are what show what you originally paid.

Where it goes on your return

If you sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of crypto held as a capital asset, the IRS says to use Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, with totals carried to Schedule D. A gain or loss is short-term if you held the coin one year or less and long-term if you held it more than one year. Income such as staking rewards is reported differently. For current rules, see the IRS digital assets page, and ask a tax professional about your own return.

Tips that save time later

• Use one spreadsheet per year and add trades as you make them.
• The IRS generally says to keep tax records for at least 3 years after you file, and longer in some cases. Records for property, including crypto, should be kept until that period ends for the year you sell or dispose of it.
• Note airdrops and rewards you receive with their dollar value when you received them. The IRS generally treats these as income at their fair market value when you receive them.

Related guides

Swapping on a DEX creates the records 1099-DA misses. See how to swap on Jupiter and how to use Uniswap, or check which US exchanges list your coins.