Does Coinbase Report to the IRS? (2026)

Coinbase reports taxable income to users and the IRS. 

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about Coinbase’s tax reporting policies.

What tax forms does Coinbase send to the IRS?

Form 1099-MISC: Currently, Coinbase issues Form 1099-MISC to customers who’ve earned $600 or more of income through staking, interest rewards, and Coinbase Learn and Earn rewards. 

Form 1099-DA: As of 2026, Coinbase and other exchanges are required to issue Form 1099-DA, detailing all gains and losses from digital assets. You’ll receive this form if you sold or traded away cryptocurrency.

Form 1099-B: Coinbase issues Form 1099-B to customers who’ve sold futures or securities.

It’s important to remember that the gain/loss calculations on your 1099 forms may be inaccurate in some cases (more on this later).

Does Coinbase hand over customer information to the IRS? 

In the past, Coinbase has shared customer information with the IRS due to court orders. In 2016, Coinbase was required to hand over data on over 8 million transactions after being served a John Doe Summons.

What transactions should I not report to the IRS? 

It’s important to note that 1099 forms provided by Coinbase and other platforms do not report the following transactions: 

Holding crypto: Holding cryptocurrency is not a taxable event, and will not be reported to the IRS. 

Moving crypto between wallets: If you only moved crypto between wallets you own, you won’t receive a 1099 form from Coinbase. 

Why are my 1099 forms inaccurate?

In some cases, your 1099 form from Coinbase may be inaccurate.

Because cryptocurrency is so easily transferable, investors often move their coins between different wallets and exchanges. As a result, it’s difficult for exchanges to provide their customers with accurate tax reporting information. 

Consider the following scenario. 

In this case, because David bought and sold at the same price, his capital gain should be $0.

However, Coinbase has no way of knowing David’s original cost basis. As a result, it’s likely that his cost basis will not be reported on Form 1099-DA. 

In this case, the burden of proof will be on David to prove that he bought his Bitcoin for $10,000. Otherwise, he may be on the hook for a capital gain of $10,000.

To avoid situations like this, you should use crypto tax software. Platforms like CoinLedger can reconcile your transactions against Form 1099-DA and help you prevent overpaying your taxes. 

What does the IRS do with the information Coinbase provides? 

The IRS has used the information from 1099 forms to send CP2000 warning letters to Coinbase users. It’s reasonable to assume that discrepancies between Form 1099 and your tax return can increase the risk of a cryptocurrency tax audit. 

Experts believe that mandatory 1099-DA reporting will lead to more warning letters sent to cryptocurrency investors.

How do I report my Coinbase taxes to the IRS? 

Crypto tax software like CoinLedger can automatically import your transactions from Coinbase and other platforms, helping you generate a complete tax report in minutes. 

Here’s how you can report your Coinbase taxes with CoinLedger. 

1. Log in to your CoinLedger account. 
2. Connect your Coinbase account in the ‘Import’ Step. 
3. Let the platform automatically calculate your gains, losses, and income.

And that’s it! Once you’ve completed these steps, you can connect your other exchanges and wallets in just a few clicks!

What is the Coinbase gain/loss form? 

Coinbase provides all customers with a gain/loss report, a summary that details every cryptocurrency disposal made on Coinbase that resulted in a capital gain or a loss. 

The gain/loss form is sent to Coinbase customers only. At this time, the gain/loss form is not issued to the IRS. 

What are 1099 forms? 

1099 forms are designed to provide information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about certain types of income from non-employment-related sources. In other words, 1099 forms are designed to report income that wasn’t from your job. 

As noted earlier, Coinbase sends Form 1099-MISC, Form 1099-B, and Form 1099-DA to customers and the IRS.

When will Coinbase send a 1099 form? 

If you’ve met the requirements for receiving Form 1099 from Coinbase, you’ll receive it by the end of February of the following year at the latest. 

Will Coinbase send me a 1099 in 2026?

If you earned more than $600 of ordinary income earned on Coinbase in the 2025 year, you should receive Form 1099-MISC in 2026.

If you disposed of cryptocurrency on Coinbase in 2025, you should receive Form 1099-DA in 2026.

Do I have to report my crypto taxes if I didn’t receive a 1099 form from Coinbase? 

Even if you didn’t receive a 1099 form from Coinbase, you are required to report all of your taxable income from cryptocurrency. Not reporting your income is considered tax evasion.

Does Coinbase report small-time crypto traders? 

Coinbase issues Form 1099-MISC only if you’ve met the minimum threshold of $600 of income during the year. 

If you disposed of cryptocurrency (even a small amount) in 2025, it will be reported on Form 1099-DA.

Does Coinbase report to the IRS if you didn’t sell? 

If you did not have taxable income during the year, it’s unlikely that Coinbase will report your cryptocurrency activity to the IRS. Simply holding cryptocurrency or transferring it between wallets you own is not considered a taxable event. 

Still, it’s important to note that there are some situations where you may incur a tax liability even if you don’t ‘cash out’ to fiat currency. Two examples are earning cryptocurrency interest and trading your crypto for another cryptocurrency. 

Does Coinbase send a 1099-B? 

Currently, Coinbase issues Form 1099-B to customers who have traded futures and securities on the platform. 

As noted earlier, most capital gains and losses on the platform are reported on Form 1099-DA.

Does Coinbase send a 1099-K? 

Coinbase stopped issuing Form 1099-K to customers after 2020. 

While Form 1099-K once was a popular form for reporting cryptocurrency transactions, most exchanges have stopped issuing the form. 

Because Form 1099-K was designed for payment processors and not cryptocurrency exchanges, the form shows gross transaction volume instead of gains. The tax forms seemed to show that investors who had accurately reported their taxes had severely underreported their tax liabilities. 

How to access my Coinbase tax forms 

If you’re looking for a copy of your Coinbase transactions for your own records, here’s how you can get started. 

1. Log in to Coinbase on desktop. 
2. Click ‘More’ on the left hand side.

3. In the dropdown, click ‘Taxes’. 

4. In the ‘Documents’ tab, select the type of form and the date range you would like to download. 

Alternatively, you can connect your Coinbase account to CoinLedger to automatically import your transactions and handle all of your tax reporting! 

How crypto tax software can help

Cryptocurrency tax software like CoinLedger can help take the stress out of your tax season. The platform automatically connects with exchanges like Coinbase and blockchains like Ethereum to help you report your taxes in minutes!

Sign up for an account for free, import all of your historical trades and transactions, and automatically generate tax forms like 8949 with the click of a button. The whole process takes around 15 minutes! 

Get started with a free preview report today.