Does Coinbase report to the IRS? What you need to know in 2026

Key takeaways

• Coinbase sends you and the IRS Form 1099-MISC when you earn $600 or more on staking rewards, interest, or bonuses.
• The new Form 1099-DA will be issued for the 2025 tax year. It will report gross proceeds from crypto sales and other taxable disposals.
• Coinbase Wallet and Base don’t issue tax forms, so Coinbase Wallet taxes must be tracked and reported independently. Activity from DeFi apps also needs to be manually included on your return.
• All taxable crypto events have to be reported, regardless of whether you received a tax form.

More than 50 million people in the United States now buy and trade crypto. Many crypto investors use centralized exchanges (CEXs) like Coinbase, and their professional oversight may leave users wondering what their tax requirements are. Does Coinbase report to the IRS, or are crypto taxes an individual’s responsibility every time?

As a centralized publicly exchanged organization, Coinbase is subject to significant U.S. tax and government oversight. They report proceeds and tax information to the IRS, and starting in the 2025 tax year, they will send new 1099-DA forms to both users and the IRS. These forms report sales, conversions, and other taxable disposals.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how Coinbase reports information, which forms might land in your inbox, and how the IRS uses that data. By the end, you’ll understand what Coinbase reports to the IRS and how to prepare your taxes with confidence.

How are Coinbase transactions taxed?

The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, so your Coinbase activity will be taxed in one of two ways:

• If you earned crypto, it’s treated as income.
• If you sold or traded crypto, it’s treated as a capital gain or loss (depending on how much you made from the sale).

Just purchasing crypto with fiat currency like USD has no tax implications.

Capital gains and losses come from selling and trading cryptocurrency. To calculate your gain or loss, you’ll need to compare what you originally paid for the asset (cost basis) with what you received when you disposed of it. If the value of your asset went up at the time of sale, the difference is a capital gain. If the value of the asset went down, you have a loss that can reduce up to $3,000 on your tax return (assuming you have no other capital gains).

Income on Coinbase usually comes from staking rewards, promotions, and referral bonuses. When your annual income from these sources is more than $600, Coinbase sends a Form 1099-MISC to you and the IRS. This tax form reports your income from Coinbase, but it doesn’t show any gains or losses from your trading activity. It’s your responsibility to report this information on your tax forms.

Coinbase provides users with their transaction history and some tools that estimate things like cost basis, but you’ll still need to report the final numbers on your own. To simplify this reporting, crypto tax software like CoinTracker integrates with Coinbase’s interface, helping investors organize and report transactions accurately.

Does Coinbase send tax forms to the IRS?

The forms you receive depend on what you did on the platform during the year

Here are the crypto tax forms you might receive:

• 1099-MISC: When you earn $600 or more in staking rewards, promotional bonuses, or similar income, Coinbase sends you and the IRS Form 1099-MISC.
• 1099-DA: This is a new form required by the IRS for digital asset brokers, including Coinbase, starting in 2025. The form reports the proceeds from sales, but it doesn’t include cost basis for most assets in 2025, so users have to calculate their own gains and losses. (Form 1099-DA will include cost basis for covered assets bought on or after January 1, 2026.)
• 1099-B: Most Coinbase users will never receive this form. However, some advanced products, such as regulated futures contracts on a CEX, may trigger a 1099-B. If it’s issued, it includes information about proceeds and may include cost basis for eligible transactions.
• 1099-K: Coinbase hasn't issued Form 1099-K for standard trading activity since the 2020 tax year and most users will never receive it. The form was used for reporting gross transaction volume, but it was replaced with Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-DA.

What’s the Coinbase gain/loss form?

Coinbase provides an estimated gain or loss summary inside the “Taxes” menu of your account. This report breaks your activity into categories like converted crypto, sold and spent crypto, and futures trades. However, this form isn’t sent to the IRS, and it’s not considered an official tax form: It’s a downloadable report that gives users a head start on calculating gains and losses on their tax returns.

The gain/loss form is a relatively accurate and helpful starting point for users who are only active on Coinbase. But if your activity spans multiple platforms and includes different wallets, then the Coinbase estimate won’t be enough. You can use a crypto tax tool like CoinTracker to pull data from all your wallets and exchanges, fill in the missing cost basis, and produce an accurate picture of your real figures.

What does the IRS do with information provided by Coinbase?

When Coinbase sends the IRS a 1099-MISC or 1099-DA, the IRS uses that information to verify that your tax return matches what Coinbase reported.

The IRS runs these forms through its automated system called the Information Return Master File (IRMF). If the system detects a mismatch – for example, you received a 1099-MISC but didn’t report any income from staking or rewards – it will flag your return. This usually means you’ll receive a notice or letter of voluntary compliance:

• CP2000: Proposes additional tax because reported income doesn’t match IRS records.
• Letter 6174 or 6174-A: Warns taxpayers that crypto activity may be missing.
• Letter 6173: Requires a direct response and supporting documentation if you didn’t correctly fulfill your tax obligation.

These notices are not accusations, but requests for more information to clarify why figures on your tax forms don’t line up with the information Coinbase provided.

The IRS also uses blockchain analytics tools from companies like Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and Elliptic to cross-check on-chain activity with Coinbase’s information. These tools help the IRS see whether crypto was moved to another wallet and later sold or exchanged elsewhere and not reported. This allows the agency to identify taxable events that Coinbase may not be able to see.

Does Coinbase report to the IRS if you didn’t sell?

If you didn’t sell your digital assets, Coinbase won’t send reports to the IRS. Simply holding your coins or transferring them to wallets you own isn’t considered a taxable event, so there’s no need for any official Coinbase 1099 forms.

However, if you trade one cryptocurrency for another, the IRS considers this transaction a disposal of one asset to buy a new one. This creates a taxable event, even if you never cashed out to USD. These crypto-to-crypto conversions will appear on Form 1099-DA starting in the 2025 tax year.

Also, if you earn staking or other rewards of $600 or more in a year, Coinbase will report that to the IRS (Via Form 1099-MISC) even before you sell those assets.

How do I report my Coinbase taxes to the IRS? 5 steps

You’re responsible for reporting all taxable transactions, whether they’re from CEXs like Coinbase or self-custodial wallets used with decentralized applications (dApps) like Uniswap. Even if you haven’t received any 1099 forms, it’s your responsibility to track and report everything to the IRS.

You need to report any taxable sales or exchanges on Form 8949. Taxable income should go on Schedule 1 or the appropriate business tax form (Form 1120, 1120-S, or 1065) if earned within a trade or business.

You can report your Coinbase activity manually, but the process becomes more complicated if you’re active on multiple exchanges, have self-custody wallets, or participate in high-volume trading. Tax software like CoinTracker makes these more complicated tax situations easier by automatically tracking every transaction, organizing taxable events, and filling in missing cost basis. CoinTracker can prepare reports with that information for a CPA or service like TurboTax or H&R Block.

If you want to complete the Coinbase tax report yourself, the five steps below explain what the IRS expects.

Download or import your transaction history

Your tax return must include every taxable transaction from the year, so to start preparing your crypto taxes, first gather a complete record of your Coinbase activity.

You can download your monthly or yearly Coinbase transactions history in CSV, HTML, or PDF formats through the “Taxes” menu. The downloaded files will include:

• Buys
• Sells
• Conversions
• Staking rewards
• Deposits
• Withdrawals
• Transfers

Add any new transactions that happen between your download date and tax reporting to ensure your transaction history is complete. If you use CoinTracker, you can connect your Coinbase account through an API to automatically update your records with any new trades.

Calculate your capital gains and losses

Selling or trading crypto for a different asset (digital or otherwise) at a profit creates capital gains. To calculate these gains, you’ll need to know your cost basis, which is usually the price you paid for the asset plus fees. You also need to know the value of what you received in return as of the disposal date.If you’re handling this calculation manually, you must also choose an accounting method such as FIFO, HIFO, or LIFO. The IRS requires that you select your method and put it in writing before you begin trading for the year if you want something other than FIFO.

Every calculation needs to be made in USD using the asset’s value when you performed the transaction. If you move any crypto between exchanges or wallets, make sure the cost basis follows the asset. Coinbase can’t always detect this if you move your assets off-platform, so the numbers in your Coinbase gain/loss summaries may not reflect your final cost basis.

Gather your 1099-MISC, 1099-B, and 1099-DA

Coinbase issues different tax forms depending on your activity. But even if the exchange doesn’t send you anything, you’re still responsible for gathering information about and reporting all taxable events.

Starting January 2026, most users will receive Form 1099-DA for taxable disposals such as selling crypto, or converting one asset for another. The 1099-DA reports the proceeds from each disposal, and a copy is sent to the IRS. The 1099-DA doesn’t usually calculate your gain or loss, so you should determine cost basis and report your results on Form 8949.

If you earned $600 or more in staking rewards or bonuses, you’ll receive a 1099-MISC from Coinbase. While earning less than $600 won’t trigger Form 1099-MISC, it’s still taxable income that you need to include in your taxes.

Some users may also receive a 1099-B if they traded regulated futures. This form reports proceeds and certain cost basis details, and it must be included with your tax return. However, it’s not common to trade regulated futures on Coinbase, so most traders won’t receive a 1099-B.

Fill out Form 8949 and Schedule D

Form 8949 is used to report every taxable disposal of cryptocurrency. You must list the dates you acquired and disposed of the asset, the proceeds, and your cost basis.

Each line produces a gain or loss. After you enter all transactions, the totals will flow into Schedule D, which summarizes your capital gains and losses for the year.

Form 8949 is also where you report information from a 1099-B (if it was issued). Beginning in tax year 2025, it will also include transactions reported on a 1099-DA.

If you use CoinTracker, you can create a sample Form 8949 and Schedule D with your crypto portfolio that matches IRS formatting. Use the generated samples as a reference to make the filing process easier.

Report any ordinary income

Report crypto rewards, staking income, and airdrops as ordinary income. Individuals should report this income on Schedule 1, Line 8v, and businesses should report it on the appropriate business tax return (such as Form 1120, 1120-S, or 1065).

If you receive a 1099-MISC from Coinbase, make sure the income you report matches the amount on the form. When using CoinTracker or another crypto portfolio tracker, check that the income isn’t counted twice – the platform may automatically import it from your Coinbase account.

Maximize crypto tax savings with CoinTracker

Tracking your Coinbase transactions accurately helps you avoid improper tax filing or potential IRS audits, but optimizing your tax outcome requires full visibility into your crypto portfolio. CoinTracker brings everything into one place so you can file confidently and keep more of your gains.

Want a clear view of your assets at all times? With CoinTracker, link your wallets and exchanges to monitor your portfolio’s performance in real time. Create a free account and see why crypto investors trust us.

Disclaimer: This post is informational only and is not intended as tax advice. For tax advice, please consult a tax professional.

FAQ

Can the IRS look at Coinbase?

The IRS can and does look at Coinbase data. This is done through reporting forms such as Form 1099-MISC and Form 1099-DA, as well as blockchain analytics tools to review on-chain transactions. The IRS has also previously issued a “John Doe summons” compelling Coinbase to hand over customer records for individuals suspected of tax evasion.

Do exchanges issue Form 1099-B for cryptocurrency?

Form 1099-B has been used for reporting cryptocurrency transactions, but it may be limited to certain regulated futures contracts in the future. For most sales and exchanges of digital assets starting with the 2025 tax year, exchanges will be reported on the new Form 1099-DA.

How do I avoid paying tax on Coinbase?

You can’t legally avoid paying taxes on Coinbase taxable events in the U.S. or other crypto-friendly countries, but there are ways to reduce your tax bill. Strategies you can use include harvesting losses to offset gains, holding assets for more than one year to qualify for long-term capital gains rates, and using detailed records (and software like CoinTracker) to ensure your gains and losses are calculated correctly.

Do I need to report crypto on taxes if it’s less than $600?

Yes, all taxable income must be reported – even if it’s below the $600 threshold. That figure only determines whether Coinbase issues a 1099-MISC, not your reporting obligations.

How do I get my 2025 tax statement from Coinbase?

You can download your Coinbase tax documents by opening the “Taxes” menu from your account homepage and selecting the “Documents” or “Statements” tab. Coinbase provides downloadable forms, gain or loss summaries, and CSV transaction history files. These documents are not official tax statements, but they contain the information you need to calculate your taxes. If you use CoinTracker, you can also import your Coinbase activity directly through an API connection.

Does Coinbase accept tax ID numbers?

Coinbase requires either a Social Security number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for know-your-customer (KYC) identity verification. This information is necessary for Coinbase to comply with IRS reporting rules and to issue tax forms such as the 1099-MISC and 1099-DA.