Crypto tax forms: Form 8949, Schedule D and the 1099-DA

Three forms do most of the work in reporting crypto to the US tax authority, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Form 1099-DA is a statement a broker sends to the customer and the IRS. Form 8949 is where the taxpayer lists each sale, and Schedule D adds up the results.

What is Form 1099-DA?

Form 1099-DA is an information return created for digital assets. Brokers, which in practice means custodial platforms such as a crypto exchange that holds customers' coins, use it to report each customer's sales and exchanges.

Reporting was phased in:

1. Sales in 2025. Brokers had to report gross proceeds, meaning the amount the sale brought in. The first forms reached customers in early 2026.
2. Sales from January 1, 2026. Brokers must also report cost basis, meaning what the customer paid, for assets acquired on or after that date and held in the broker's custody.

The gap matters. A form that shows proceeds without basis does not show the gain, so the taxpayer has to supply the purchase cost from their own records. Coins bought before 2026, or moved in from a personal wallet, may have no basis on the form at all.

The rules do not reach everywhere. Regulations that would have extended broker reporting to decentralized exchanges were repealed by Congress in a resolution signed on April 10, 2025.

What is Form 8949?

Form 8949 is the detailed list. Each sale, swap or other disposal of crypto held as an investment gets a line showing what was sold, the dates it was acquired and sold, the proceeds, the cost basis and the resulting gain or loss.

The form separates short-term transactions (held one year or less) from long-term ones. For the 2025 tax year it has dedicated boxes for digital assets: G, H and I for short-term, and J, K and L for long-term. The IRS uses the form to match what brokers reported against what the taxpayer claims.

What is Schedule D?

Schedule D is the summary. The totals from Form 8949 are carried to it, gains and losses are netted against each other, and the result flows to Form 1040, the main individual return.

Where does crypto income go?

Not everything is a capital gain. The IRS says income from mining, staking and hard forks is reported on Schedule 1, and people who sell crypto to customers as a business use Schedule C. Every Form 1040 also carries a yes-or-no question about digital assets.

Two points often cause confusion. A transfer between your own wallets is not taxable, even if a platform issues a form for it. And not receiving a 1099-DA does not remove the duty to report a taxable transaction.

Tax rules differ by country and state, and forms change from year to year. Check the IRS or a qualified tax professional for your own situation.