What Is Form 1099-DA?
Form 1099-DA is the IRS information return U.S. brokers use to report digital-asset sales and exchanges. If you sold or swapped on a centralized platform, expect a 1099-DA (phased in across 2025-2026 reporting years) instead of the old grab-bag of 1099-K and 1099-B improvisations. It is the tax system's way of saying: we already have a copy.
How It Actually Works
- The broker reports proceeds, and increasingly basis, for dispositions they can see. Wallet-by-wallet rules mean they cannot invent basis for coins you transferred in without a cost they know.
- Transfers between your own wallets are not sales. Brokers still see withdrawals. Your job is to keep lots straight so you do not get taxed as if a transfer were a sale, or as if basis were zero.
- DeFi, self-custody swaps, and some peer-to-peer activity may not generate a 1099-DA even when they are taxable. No form is not no tax. The tax guide is the map.
Risks and Common Mistakes
- Waiting for the form to start a spreadsheet. If the broker's basis is blank or wrong, you still file the truth with your own lots.
- Ignoring the form because "crypto is property." Property is exactly why they built a form.
- Double-counting a sale that also appears on another 1099. Reconcile, do not stack.
When It Matters
Every U.S. taxpayer who sold or swapped on an exchange, and every December when you still have time to harvest losses. Pair with tax-loss harvesting and the estimator.
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