Cryptocurrency and other digital assets: records to prepare
Updated: 2026
Transactions involving cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and other digital assets can create taxable income or capital gain or loss. Tax preparation often requires transaction history, not just year-end totals.
The digital asset question on the return
Federal income tax returns include a specific question about digital asset activity. The answer depends on whether you received, sold, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of digital assets during the year.
Simply holding an asset or buying it with regular currency is different from selling, exchanging, receiving a reward, or using a digital asset to pay for property or services.
Sales and exchanges
If a digital asset was held as a capital asset and sold, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of, you generally need to determine gain or loss. Acquisition date, sale date, units, proceeds, and cost basis are key records.
These transactions may be reported on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Transfers between your own wallets do not eliminate the need to preserve basis history for the units you own.
Staking, mining, and payment for work
Digital assets received as staking rewards, mining income, awards, or payment for services can create ordinary income. The reporting form depends on how and why the income was earned.
If assets were received in a trade or self-employed activity, Schedule C rules may apply. Keep the fair market value in U.S. dollars for the date the asset was received.
Form 1099-DA and your own records
Form 1099-DA is used for certain broker-reported digital asset transactions. Broker reporting is being phased in, so a statement may not contain every item needed to determine basis.
Keep purchase, sale, exchange, and transfer history, fees, wallet or platform reports, and basis records. Do not rely only on an exchange tax summary if it does not cover the complete history of the assets.
What to prepare
A list of documents and supporting records for credits, dependents, mileage, expenses, and foreign items.