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Crypto tax · Taxes

Form 1099-DA: What Crypto Traders Need to Know Before Tax Season 2026

A practical guide to Form 1099-DA for US crypto traders. Who issues it, what it reports for tax year 2025 vs 2026, how it compares to a 1099-B, and what to do…

Form 1099-DA: What Crypto Traders Need to Know Before Tax Season 2026
Eric Nkando
By Eric Nkando, senior writer · Reviewed by Sead Fadilpašić · 7 min read · Published
XLinkedIn

If you traded crypto on a US exchange in 2025, you can expect to receive a new tax form early in 2026: Form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions. It's the first year this form exists, and it is going to change how the IRS cross-checks your crypto return.

This guide covers what the form reports, who issues it, how 2025 reporting differs from what comes in 2026, and what to do if the numbers your broker sends don't line up with your own records.

What is Form 1099-DA

Form 1099-DA is a new IRS information return that US "digital asset brokers" are required to issue to customers and file with the IRS, starting with transactions that occurred in tax year 2025. It documents sales and exchanges of digital assets — Bitcoin, Ether, stablecoins, NFTs, and other on-chain assets your broker custodied for you — so the IRS can match what you report on Schedule D and Form 8949 against what your broker says you did.

If you've ever received a 1099-B for stock sales, 1099-DA is the crypto cousin. Same purpose, same cross-check mechanic, slightly different content.

The authority is a set of final regulations (TD 10000) and the form was finalized by the IRS in 2025. The reporting threshold is zero — if you had any reportable disposal with a covered broker, you get a form.

What 1099-DA reports in tax year 2025 vs 2026

This is the single most important thing to understand before tax season 2026.

Tax year 2025 (forms you receive in early 2026):

  • Gross proceeds from each digital asset sale or exchange are reported.
  • Cost basis is NOT reported. The broker does not have to tell the IRS what you paid for the crypto, only what you got for selling it.

Tax year 2026 (forms you receive in early 2027):

  • Gross proceeds, same as before.
  • Cost basis is reported for digital assets you acquired on or after January 1, 2026 on the same broker ("covered" digital assets).
  • Transactions involving assets acquired before January 1, 2026, or on a different broker, remain non-covered — the broker reports proceeds but not basis, and basis is your responsibility.

Translating that into what matters for your return: in filing season 2026 the 1099-DA tells the IRS what you sold for but not what you paid. If you don't attach your own basis records, the IRS can and will treat the whole proceed as gain. That's a very expensive assumption to let stand.

Who has to issue a 1099-DA

The regulations define a "digital asset broker" broadly, but the practical rollout for 2025 covers custodial exchanges that facilitate sales of digital assets on behalf of customers. The clearest-case issuers are the US-regulated centralized exchanges: Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Robinhood Crypto, Binance.US, and similar.

Some categories are explicitly not reporting for 2025:

  • Non-custodial wallets and decentralized exchanges are not required to issue 1099-DA for 2025 — the "DeFi broker" rules were rescinded in 2025 and remain in flux. If you only transact through self-custody wallets, you may receive no form at all.
  • Stablecoin-only activity and NFT activity below a dollar threshold have narrower reporting carve-outs. Check with your broker on the specifics.
  • Non-US brokers have no US filing obligation. If your activity is entirely on an overseas platform, you probably won't get a 1099-DA — but you still owe US tax if you're a US taxpayer.

1099-DA vs 1099-B vs 1099-K vs 1099-MISC

A quick decoder for which form shows up with what.

  • 1099-DA — new in 2025. Reports digital asset dispositions (sales, exchanges, some redemptions).
  • 1099-B — the stock and securities version. Some exchanges issued voluntary 1099-B for crypto before 2025; after 2025, crypto moves to 1099-DA.
  • 1099-K — reports gross payment volume above a threshold. It is not a disposal report. Several crypto platforms have historically sent 1099-K for high-volume accounts; that overlaps 1099-DA in some cases.
  • 1099-MISC — staking rewards, airdrops, referral bonuses — income events, not dispositions. These continue on 1099-MISC for 2025.

If you receive both a 1099-K and a 1099-DA from the same broker for the same tax year, they are describing different things. Don't double-count on your return; the gain or loss comes from the 1099-DA plus your basis, not from the 1099-K's gross payment volume.

What to do when the 1099-DA arrives

A short checklist for the week your form shows up.

  1. Read your name, SSN/ITIN, and the broker name at the top. If any of those are wrong, request a corrected form before you file.
  2. Reconcile each disposal against your own transaction log. Match by date and asset — the number of units sold is a good anchor since brokers and your software should agree there.
  3. Compare the proceeds on the 1099-DA to the proceeds in your tax software. Small differences from timing or fee treatment are normal; large or systematic gaps are not.
  4. Compute cost basis yourself for every covered transaction, since for 2025 the form won't tell you. Use the Cost Basis Calculator for FIFO / LIFO / HIFO, and if you have a crypto-tax provider like Koinly or CoinTracker, reconcile against their output.
  5. Note any transfers in and out. If you moved crypto onto the broker from a self-custody wallet in 2025, the broker only knows the receipt date and nothing about your original acquisition. You have to supply that basis.
  6. Report on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Each disposal goes on 8949 with proceeds, basis, and gain/loss, with Box A (basis reported, short-term), Box B (basis not reported, short-term), Box D, or Box E as applicable. The totals flow to Schedule D.

What to do if the 1099-DA is wrong

If the proceeds, dates, or unit counts don't match your records:

  • Request a corrected form from the broker. Don't argue with the IRS; argue with your broker, and get the correction in writing (an updated 1099-DA, not just a support email).
  • Document the discrepancy before you file. A dated screenshot of the broker's transaction history, your tax-software CSV, and the 1099-DA together is the evidence trail you want if the IRS asks later.
  • File by the deadline anyway. If the broker is slow with a corrected form, you can file an accurate return using your own records and attach Form 8949 adjustments (code "O" for other) with a short explanation. Don't delay filing while you wait — penalties for late filing are usually worse than the hassle of amending later.

For material disputes, especially around large or unusual disposals, speak to a CPA or Enrolled Agent before filing. CoinsCipher does not provide personal tax advice and this article is not a substitute for it — see our disclaimer.

What changes in tax year 2026

The 2026 return (filed in early 2027) is where 1099-DA gets its teeth. From January 1, 2026 the broker tracks basis on every digital asset you acquire with them and reports it on the following year's 1099-DA. That means:

  • The IRS gets your proceeds and your basis, both from the broker. Reporting the wrong gain becomes much harder to hide.
  • Per-wallet basis tracking becomes the standard. You can no longer "pool" basis across brokers the way the pre-2025 universal-basis method allowed — basis has to be tracked within each broker's custody.
  • You still owe basis records for crypto you held before January 1, 2026 and for crypto held on non-custodial wallets. Nothing about the 2026 rules relieves you of record-keeping for those.