For crypto you sell in 2026, US brokers must report not only what you received but also what you paid — your cost basis — to you and to the IRS. The forms arrive in early 2027. For many people the basis will be blank or wrong for coins bought before 2026 or moved between wallets. Here is what the form will show, why it can differ from your records, and how to reconcile it on Form 8949 before the IRS's matching does it for you.
Form 1099-DA is the crypto version of the 1099-B you get from a stock broker. The first ones arrived in early 2026 for 2025 sales — and they reported only gross proceeds: what you received, not what you paid. That left the IRS seeing large "proceeds" with no cost behind them, and taxpayers filling the gap themselves.
From 2026 that changes. The IRS's 2026 instructions for Form 1099-DA require brokers to report cost basis (box 1g) for sales of covered digital assets. A digital asset is covered only if it was acquired after 2025 in an account where the broker provided custodial services and stayed there until you sold it. Everything else is noncovered: the broker does not have to report basis and may check box 9.
| You sold in… | Form arrives | What the broker reports |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | early 2026 (some late, up to February 2027) | Gross proceeds only — no cost basis |
| 2026, coins bought after 2025 at the same broker | by mid-February 2027 | Proceeds and cost basis (box 1g) |
| 2026, coins bought before 2026 or transferred in | by mid-February 2027 | Proceeds; basis usually blank, box 9 may be checked |
Decentralized, non-custodial platforms are not covered by these broker rules; the IRS's final regulations left them out. Your gains there are just as taxable — they simply will not come with a 1099-DA.
You bought before 2026. The most common case. Coins bought in 2021–2025 are noncovered even if they never left the exchange. You moved coins in. Transfers from another exchange or your own hardware wallet usually arrive without basis, because the receiving broker cannot see what you paid. Fees. Your basis includes transaction fees and other acquisition costs; a broker's figure may not reflect fees paid elsewhere. Lot selection. Since January 1, 2025 basis is tracked wallet by wallet and account by account, not across everything you own (Rev. Proc. 2024-28 gave a one-time safe harbor to allocate old basis by that date). If you never gave your broker specific instructions about which units you are selling, its default method decides which purchase a sale is matched to — and that may not match your own spreadsheet.
None of this changes what you owe: tax is due on your actual gain. What changes is that the IRS now sees a number, and a blank or wrong number you do not explain looks like pure gain.
1. Collect every 1099-DA from every exchange you used in 2026, plus your own records: purchase confirmations, transfer histories between exchanges and wallets, and fee records. 2. Match each sale on the form to your records by date, asset, units and proceeds. 3. Sort each sale into the right Form 8949 box (table below) — note that crypto has its own boxes; the IRS instructions say not to use boxes C or F for digital assets. 4. Fix basis the IRS way: where the form shows no basis (box H or K), enter your correct basis in column (e); where it shows a wrong basis (box G or J), enter the reported figure in column (e) and the correction in column (g) with code B. Fees the form missed go in column (g) with code E. 5. Keep the paper trail for every number you supplied yourself — purchases, transfers and the method you used.
| Your 1099-DA says… | Held 1 year or less | Held more than 1 year | What you enter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basis reported to the IRS | Box G | Box J | Reported basis in (e); fix errors in (g), code B |
| No basis / basis not reported | Box H | Box K | Your correct basis in (e) |
| No 1099-DA at all | Box I | Box L | Proceeds and basis from your records |
One shortcut: if a 1099-DA reports basis to the IRS and needs no adjustment at all, the Form 8949 instructions let you report those totals directly on Schedule D (line 1a or 8a) instead of listing each sale. For most people with older or transferred coins, though, the line-by-line route on Form 8949 is where the work is.
Brokers do not have to report qualifying stablecoin sales if your total for the year stays at or below $10,000, specified NFT sales up to $600, and crypto payment processor sales up to $600. These are reporting thresholds, not tax exemptions — any gain is still taxable and belongs on your return. Staking rewards are ordinary income when you receive them, whether or not any form mentions them, and that income value becomes their basis when you later sell.
The IRS has relieved brokers from backup withholding on digital asset sales in 2026 (Notice 2025-33). For 2027 sales, that relief applies only when the broker has checked your name and taxpayer identification number against IRS records through the TIN Matching Program and they match. In practice: answer your exchange's W-9 or tax-information request, and make sure your name and SSN or ITIN are exactly as the IRS has them — a mismatch can mean part of your sale proceeds is withheld.
Two Republican bills would change crypto taxes: the House Ways and Means bill (a $10 de minimis for network and transaction fees, with effect from December 2027) and the Senate ADAPT Act (tax-free stablecoin payments and wash-sale rules for crypto from 2027). Neither is law. For your 2026 return, today's rules apply — see our US crypto tax guide for the full picture, and crypto for immigrants in the US if you also send money home.
The 2026 Form 1099-DA is good news if you bought and sold on one exchange after 2025: the basis will be there and filing gets easier. If your coins are older or have moved between exchanges and wallets, expect blanks — and expect the IRS to see them. Start collecting purchase and transfer records now, while your exchange histories are still downloadable, rather than in March.
Doing it with software (affiliate link):
Koinly — imports exchange history, creates Form 8949 · code CRYPTOTAX10 −10% →
A tax tool does the matching and the boxes for you, but only as well as the data you feed it: import every exchange and wallet, including ones you no longer use.
Not tax advice: we are not CPAs or enrolled agents, and this guide explains the federal rules in general terms. For your own return, check the official IRS instructions or a tax professional. Transparency note: Koinly is an affiliate partner; we earn a commission if you buy through our link. Sources: IRS Instructions for Form 1099-DA (2026); IRS Instructions for Form 8949 (2025); IRS final regulations on broker reporting and Notice 2024-56; Notice 2025-33; Rev. Proc. 2024-28; The Tax Adviser (March 2026).