Accurate U.S. Tax Reporting for Cryptocurrency Activity
Crypto tax preparation that handles the real complexity of multi-exchange, multi-wallet activity – reconciling transactions, tracking cost basis, and producing compliant federal and state filings. Founder-led by an IRS Enrolled Agent.
Book a ConsultationThe IRS treats cryptocurrency as property under Notice 2014-21. That single classification creates a cascade of reporting obligations: every disposition produces a capital gain or loss, every reward or payment is ordinary income, and every transaction needs accurate cost basis tracking to be reported correctly.
For most crypto holders, the gap between "I have a Coinbase 1099" and "I have a compliant federal return" is wider than it looks. Exchange-issued forms don't capture transfers between wallets, on-chain swaps, DeFi activity, or income events recognized off-platform. The new Form 1099-DA, effective for the 2025 tax year, adds broker-reported gross proceeds – but cost basis on the 1099-DA isn't required to be reported until 2026, and even then it won't cover off-broker activity.
CryptoAxis builds your crypto tax return from a complete view of your activity – every wallet, every exchange, every chain – and prepares accurate, defensible filings that align with current IRS guidance.
Scope of a Crypto Tax Reporting Engagement
A typical engagement covers the full lifecycle from raw exchange and on-chain data through filed federal and state returns. Specific scope is confirmed in your initial consultation.
Wallet & exchange consolidation
Inventory of every centralized exchange account and self-custody wallet, including aggregation of CSV exports, API pulls where available, and block-explorer queries on supplied wallet addresses across all relevant chains.
Cost basis tracking & reconciliation
Per-lot cost basis tracking across all dispositions, with reconciliation of inter-account transfers so basis carries over correctly. Specific identification, FIFO, and HIFO method analysis where it materially affects the result.
Form 8949 & Schedule D preparation
Per-transaction reporting on Form 8949 (Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets) with proper short-term and long-term classification, totals flowing to Schedule D and into Form 1040.
Form 1099-DA reconciliation
For 2025 and later years, reconciliation of broker-issued 1099-DA gross proceeds against client records, identification of cost basis gaps, and preparation of any disclosure or adjustment necessary.
Income event identification
Identification and proper treatment of ordinary income from staking rewards, mining, airdrops, hard forks, and crypto received as payment, with fair market value at receipt established for each event.
Prior-year cleanup & amended returns
For taxpayers behind on prior-year crypto reporting, we prepare original or amended returns (Form 1040-X) for open tax years and document the position taken for each year.
Crypto Tax Reporting Engagements Typically Fit
Crypto tax reporting suits investors and businesses whose activity isn't cleanly captured by exchange-issued forms alone – which describes nearly every active crypto holder.
Active investors across multiple platforms
You hold crypto on two or more exchanges, with self-custody wallets, and you've swapped, staked, or earned crypto in the past year.
High-volume traders
You have hundreds or thousands of transactions in a year, and crypto tax software output alone isn't enough to file with confidence.
Recipients of a Form 1099-DA
You received a 1099-DA from a centralized exchange and need to reconcile the reported gross proceeds against your full activity record.
Taxpayers catching up on prior years
You're behind on one or more prior years of crypto reporting – original or amended returns, with documentation that supports the positions taken.
Clients whose CPA didn't handle crypto
Your prior CPA filed your traditional income correctly but didn't have the bandwidth or specialty to address your crypto activity properly.
Businesses with crypto on the books
Your business holds crypto as a treasury asset, accepts crypto payments, or compensates contributors in crypto, and needs aligned tax reporting.
Real-World Examples
These are paraphrased situations we see often. If any sound like your year, that's the right starting point for a conversation.
I have a Coinbase account, a Kraken account, and a MetaMask wallet, with around 800 transactions in 2025. Coinbase issued me a 1099-DA for $45,000 in proceeds, but I have no idea what the cost basis was and the 1099 doesn't include my Kraken or DeFi activity.
A typical engagement here pulls full transaction histories from Coinbase and Kraken, queries on-chain activity from the MetaMask wallet across Ethereum (and any L2s used), reconciles transfers between the three to preserve cost basis, identifies any staking or DeFi income, and produces Form 8949 entries that match the 1099-DA gross proceeds line-by-line while properly accounting for the basis the form doesn't include.
I'm three years behind on crypto reporting. I never answered the digital asset question correctly. I want to come into compliance before the IRS finds me.
For voluntary catch-up, we prepare original or amended returns (Form 1040-X) for each open year, document the methodology used, and discuss the trade-offs between domestic voluntary disclosure programs and quiet filings based on the facts. This is fact-specific work – penalty exposure, prior IRS contact, and the nature of the unreported activity all matter – and we'll outline options before starting the work.
My CPA prepared my W-2 income return last year but said crypto wasn't her area. She filed without including any of my crypto activity. Now I want to fix it.
Amending one or more prior years to add the missing crypto activity, with a clear methodology for the reconciliation. We can coordinate with your existing CPA for traditional income items, or fully take over your filings going forward so the entire return is handled in one place.
A Typical Crypto Tax Reporting Engagement
Predictable phases. Scoping happens first so you know what's involved before any return work begins.
Scoping consultation
A focused 30-minute call to understand your activity – which exchanges, how many wallets, what kinds of transactions, prior-year history. You leave knowing the engagement scope, methodology, and fee structure before any work starts.
Data gathering
You provide CSV exports from each exchange, wallet addresses for on-chain queries, prior-year returns, and any 1099-DA or 1099-MISC forms received. We supply a clear checklist.
Reconciliation & validation
Transfers between your accounts are matched and labeled so basis carries over. Income events (staking, airdrops, payments) are identified and valued. Unexplained gaps are flagged and resolved before any return entries are made.
Tax position determination
Cost basis methodology, NFT classification, treatment of ambiguous events (wrapped tokens, complex DeFi). Each position is documented so the return is defensible if examined.
Preparation, review & filing
Federal and state returns prepared, reviewed line-by-line with you, and e-filed. You receive a complete file: returns, supporting Form 8949 detail, reconciliation workpapers, and documentation of positions taken.
Relevant IRS Guidance
Crypto tax reporting is grounded in published IRS guidance and the Internal Revenue Code. These are the primary authorities a typical engagement relies on.
IRS Notice 2014-21
The foundational IRS guidance classifying cryptocurrency as property rather than currency, establishing the framework for capital-gain treatment of dispositions and ordinary income treatment of receipts.
Rev. Rul. 2019-24
Confirms that new tokens received in a hard fork are ordinary income at fair market value on the date the recipient gains dominion and control, with that value becoming the cost basis of the new tokens.
Rev. Rul. 2023-14
Staking rewards are ordinary income at fair market value on the date the taxpayer gains dominion and control. This ruling materially shaped how active stakers report rewards.
2024 Final Broker Reporting Regs
Final regulations establishing the Form 1099-DA framework for U.S. digital asset brokers. Gross proceeds reporting begins with the 2025 tax year; cost basis reporting expands in 2026 and later.
Form 8949 & Schedule D
The per-transaction capital-asset disposition report (Form 8949) and the summary totals form (Schedule D). Crypto dispositions are reported separately from securities and require detailed records.
Form 1040 digital asset question
The yes/no question at the top of Form 1040 covering digital asset receipts, sales, exchanges, and other dispositions. Signed under penalty of perjury and a focus of IRS enforcement attention.
FAQs About Crypto Tax Reporting
Specific questions clients ask about reporting their crypto activity. Each links to a fuller answer in our crypto tax FAQ.
Ready to Get Your Crypto Reporting Right?
Book a free 30-minute consultation to scope your situation and outline a clear path to compliant federal and state filings. You'll know what's involved – and the engagement fee – before any work begins.
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