The Internal Revenue Service is rolling out a dedicated tax form for cryptocurrency transactions starting with the 2025 tax year. Known as Form 1099-DA, it aims to standardize reporting of digital asset proceeds from brokers. Taxpayers must still report all crypto income even without receiving the form.
The IRS has introduced Form 1099-DA to specifically handle proceeds from broker transactions involving digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs. This change applies to the 2025 tax year, with filings due in 2026, replacing the previous use of Form 1099-B, which was designed for securities like stocks and bonds.
The primary objective is to enhance compliance and oversight in the digital asset space. Transactions occurring on or after January 1, 2025, will require this new form. Brokers are expected to issue 1099-DA statements by February 17, 2026, and e-file them with the IRS by March 31, 2026. For the initial year, the IRS is granting brokers flexibility, avoiding penalties for good-faith efforts despite potential delays.
A key challenge is that the 2025 version of the form will report gross proceeds—amounts received from sales minus fees—but not necessarily the cost basis, which determines actual gains or losses. Assets from 2025 and earlier are classified as 'noncovered,' so brokers aren't required to track purchase prices. This shifts the burden to individuals to maintain records proving their cost basis to avoid overpaying taxes. For instance, without cost basis details, the IRS might treat the full proceeds as profit.
Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt, highlighted a common error: “One of the biggest misconceptions from taxpayers is that if they don’t receive a 1099-DA form that they don’t have to report their crypto earnings on their tax return.” Even decentralized finance activities, like staking rewards or airdrops, must be declared as ordinary income, regardless of broker reporting, which for noncustodial platforms may not start until 2027.
Brokers include centralized exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken, payment apps like PayPal and Venmo, and hosted wallets. The form uses a Digital Token Identifier instead of ticker symbols and includes fields for wallet transfers. Reporting follows a 'first in, first out' method by default for matching lots, though users can specify alternatives at sale time.
Experts advise verifying broker statements for accuracy. As Andy Phillips from H&R Block's Tax Institute noted, if discrepancies arise, taxpayers should correct them on their returns and keep documentation to support claims during IRS review. Tax software like TurboTax and H&R Block can assist with these complexities.
