# Form 1099-DA: what crypto brokers report, when cost basis starts, and how to put it on your return

Source: https://taxbracketsdesk.com/capital-gains/form-1099-da
Publisher: Tax Brackets Desk (taxbracketsdesk.com), independent editorial site
Topic: Capital Gains and Investment Tax
Last updated: 2026-10-20

> Form 1099-DA is the information return crypto brokers send for sales and exchanges of digital assets. Forms for 2025 sales show gross proceeds only. For 2026 sales, on forms due in February 2027, brokers must also report cost basis, but only for covered assets: those acquired after 2025 in a custodial account and held there until sold. For everything else you still supply the basis yourself on Form 8949.

## Key facts

- Who sends it: Digital asset brokers, such as custodial crypto exchanges
- 2025 sales: Gross proceeds only
- 2026 sales: Proceeds, plus basis for covered assets
- Covered asset: Acquired after 2025 and kept in the same custodial account until sold
- Due to you: By February 15 of the following year, or the next business day
- Where it goes: Form 8949 boxes G to L, then Schedule D

## What is Form 1099-DA?

Form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions, is the crypto version of the Form 1099-B that stock brokers send. A broker that sells or exchanges digital assets for you, such as a custodial exchange, files it with the IRS and sends you a copy. According to the IRS [digital assets page](https://www.irs.gov/filing/digital-assets), brokers must report gross proceeds for transactions on or after January 1, 2025, and must report basis on certain transactions on or after January 1, 2026.

The form does not change how crypto is taxed. A sale or exchange is still a capital transaction: short-term if you held the asset one year or less, taxed at your ordinary [bracket rates](https://taxbracketsdesk.com/federal-tax-brackets/tax-brackets-2026-irs), and long-term if you held it more than one year, taxed at the 0%, 15% or 20% rates on our [capital gains tax rate 2026](https://taxbracketsdesk.com/capital-gains/capital-gains-tax-rates-2026) page. What changes is that the IRS now receives the sale amounts directly, and from 2026 often the basis as well.

The digital asset question at the top of Form 1040 asks whether, at any time during the year, you received digital assets as a reward, award or payment, or sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of them. If you received a Form 1099-DA, the answer for that year is almost always yes.

## What does Form 1099-DA show for 2025 and 2026 sales?

Reporting is being phased in over two years, so the forms you receive in 2026 and in 2027 look different:

| Item | 2025 sales (forms sent in 2026) | 2026 sales (forms sent in 2027) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gross proceeds, box 1f | Reported | Reported |
| Cost basis, box 1g, covered assets | Not required | Required |
| Cost basis, noncovered assets | Not required | Not required; box 9 may be checked |
| Basis sent to the IRS | No | Yes, for covered assets |

Form 1099-DA by year of sale

For 2025 the IRS also gave brokers relief: no penalties for failing to file or furnish Forms 1099-DA for 2025 transactions if they made a good-faith effort to comply. That is one reason some 2025 forms were late, incomplete or later corrected.

## Which crypto counts as a covered asset?

Only covered assets get basis reporting. The 2026 Form 1099-DA instructions define a covered security as a digital asset acquired after 2025 for cash, stored-value cards or different digital assets, and only if it was acquired in an account where the broker provided custodial services and held in that account until the broker sold or exchanged it.

In practice, these are usually **noncovered**, so the broker does not have to report basis for them:

- Crypto you bought before January 1, 2026, even if you sell it in 2026 or later.
- Crypto you bought on another platform or held in a self-custody wallet and then transferred in, because it was not acquired in the account that sold it.

For noncovered assets the instructions say the broker is not required to report basis but may do so voluntarily, and may check box 9 to flag the asset as noncovered. When one sale mixes covered and noncovered units, the broker may split it across two forms. A blank or flagged basis does not mean your basis is zero. It means the IRS is relying on you to report it.

## How do you report Form 1099-DA on your tax return?

Every sale goes on Form 8949, and the totals carry to Schedule D (Form 1040). The Form 8949 instructions give digital assets their own check boxes: G, H and I in Part I for short-term sales, and J, K and L in Part II for long-term sales. Boxes C and F are not used for digital assets.

| What your form shows | Held 1 year or less | Held more than 1 year |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Form 1099-DA with basis reported to the IRS | Box G | Box J |
| Form 1099-DA without basis, or basis not reported to the IRS | Box H | Box K |
| No Form 1099-DA received | Box I | Box L |

Form 8949 check box for each digital asset sale

Sales that never appear on a Form 1099-DA still have to be reported, which is what boxes I and L are for. The IRS notes that for 2025 the filing rules generally apply to US brokers, so a foreign exchange may send no form, but those taxable sales still go on your return. Gains also count toward the [net investment income tax](https://taxbracketsdesk.com/capital-gains/net-investment-income-tax) if your income is above its thresholds, and a large gain may call for an estimated tax payment. Our [capital gains tax guide](https://taxbracketsdesk.com/capital-gains) walks through Schedule D.

## What if the cost basis on Form 1099-DA is missing or wrong?

Use your own records. The Form 8949 instructions handle the two cases differently:

1. **Basis blank or not reported to the IRS (box H or K).** Enter the correct basis from your records in column (e).
2. **Basis reported to the IRS but wrong (box G or J).** Enter the basis exactly as shown on the form in column (e), then enter code B in column (f) and the correction in column (g), figured with the Worksheet for Basis Adjustments.
3. **Proceeds or dates wrong.** Ask the broker for a corrected Form 1099-DA. The IRS says it cannot correct the form for you, so the request has to go to the issuer.

Worked example: in 2026 you sell crypto for $30,000 that you bought in 2023 for $20,000 and moved to a new exchange. It is noncovered, so box 1g is blank. Your long-term gain is $10,000. At the 15% long-term rate that is $1,500 of tax. Leaving basis at zero would report a $30,000 gain and $4,500 of tax on a sale that made $10,000.

> **Keep basis records for each wallet and account:** Purchase confirmations, exchange transaction exports and wallet histories are your proof of basis. Rev. Proc. 2024-28 gave transitional relief for allocating unused basis to the units held in each wallet or account as of January 1, 2025, so records from that date matter for later sales.

## Are stablecoins, NFTs and staking reported on Form 1099-DA?

Partly. The 2026 instructions give brokers optional reporting methods for two kinds of assets:

- **Qualifying stablecoins.** A broker using the optional method does not have to report your sales if their total does not exceed $10,000 for the year, and can report larger totals in aggregate.
- **Specified NFTs.** The same approach applies with a $600 threshold for the year.

Notice 2024-57 also lets brokers skip Form 1099-DA, until further guidance, for some transaction types, including wrapping and unwrapping, liquidity provider transactions, staking, lending and short sales. Staking and mining rewards are ordinary income when you receive them, reported on Schedule 1, or on Schedule C if you stake or mine as a business; they are not a capital gain, and a later sale of those tokens is a separate capital transaction. Whether or not a form arrives, every taxable sale or income item still belongs on your return.

## Common questions

### When will I get Form 1099-DA for 2026?

Brokers must furnish it by February 15 of the year after the sales. February 15, 2027 is Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day), a federal holiday, so forms for 2026 sales are due by Tuesday, February 16, 2027. They are the first to carry basis for covered assets.

### Do I have to report crypto sales if I did not get a Form 1099-DA?

Yes. Report them on Form 8949 using box I for short-term sales or box L for long-term sales, with the proceeds and basis from your own records.

### Why is the cost basis blank on my Form 1099-DA?

Forms for 2025 sales were never required to show basis. On forms for 2026 sales, basis is required only for covered assets, so crypto bought before 2026 or transferred in from elsewhere usually shows no basis.

### Does Form 1099-DA change how crypto is taxed?

No. It changes what brokers report to the IRS. Gains and losses are still short-term or long-term capital gains depending on how long you held the asset.

### What should I do if my Form 1099-DA does not match my records?

Ask the broker for a corrected form if proceeds or dates are wrong. If the basis reported to the IRS is wrong, report it as shown and correct it on Form 8949 with code B and an adjustment in column (g).

## Sources

- [IRS: Digital assets](https://www.irs.gov/filing/digital-assets)
- [IRS: Understanding your Form 1099-DA](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-da)
- [Instructions for Form 1099-DA (2026)](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099da)
- [Instructions for Form 8949](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8949)
- [IRS: Final regulations and related guidance for reporting by brokers on digital assets](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/final-regulations-and-related-irs-guidance-for-reporting-by-brokers-on-sales-and-exchanges-of-digital-assets)
- [Publication 1099 (2026), General Instructions for Certain Information Returns](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p1099)
- [IRS: Frequently asked questions about broker reporting](https://www.irs.gov/filing/frequently-asked-questions-about-broker-reporting)