What the 1099-DA Means for Crypto Investors Who've Never Filed a Schedule D
Sam's List Editorial | 2026-06-06
What the 1099-DA Means for Crypto Investors Who've Never Filed a Schedule D If you bought crypto on Coinbase, Kraken, or Gemini in 2025 and didn't file taxes on it, the IRS already knows you had transactions. They know because your exchange sent them the same form they sent you. That form is the 1099-DA. It's new. It's real. And it changes the stakes for anyone who has been treating crypto gains as something that falls through the cracks at tax time. This is a plain-language explanation of what Form 1099-DA is, what it means for your return, and what to do if your tax history doesn't match what the IRS is looking at. What Form 1099-DA Is Form 1099-DA is the IRS's new reporting form for digital asset transactions. Starting in 2026, centralized exchanges are required to issue a 1099-DA to every customer who had reportable transactions during the prior year — and to send a copy of that form to the IRS. This is not new in concept. Brokerages have been doing the same thing for stock trades via Form 1099-B for decades. What's new is that crypto now falls under the same reporting framework. The final digital asset broker regulations, published by the Treasury under the authority established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, define "digital asset brokers" to include centralized exchanges — Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, and others. The regulations took effect for transactions beginning January 1, 2025, meaning the first 1099-DA forms were issued in early 2026 for 2025 transactions. Each 1099-DA shows: the proceeds from sales and exchanges of digital assets, the cost basis the exchange has on file for those assets, and the gain or loss as calculated by the exchange. The IRS receives the same information. When you file your tax return, they already have a number to compare it against. Who Gets a 1099-DA and What It Requires You to Do If you made any of the following moves on a centralized exchange during 2025, you received a 1099-DA: Sold crypto for U.S. dollars Traded one cryptocurrency for another Used crypto to purchase goods or services on a platform that reports as a broker Simply holding crypto — buying and not selling — doesn't trigger a 1099-DA. But it does require you to answer "yes" to the digital asset checkbox on page 1 of Form 1040. That checkbox has been on the form since 2019 and the IRS takes it seriously. Once you have a 1099-DA, the obligation is clear: every transaction reported on that form needs to appear on your tax return. Specifically on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Form 8949 is where you report individual capital asset transactions —...
