Crypto 1099-DA Checklist: Reconcile the Form Before You File

A new tax form doesn't erase old recordkeeping gaps

Form 1099-DA is a new tax form that crypto brokers (like exchanges) send to the IRS and to you, reporting the sales you made through them. It can make your taxes easier to organize, but it doesn't know your whole history. If you moved an asset in from another platform or from a wallet you control yourself (sometimes called "self-custody," meaning no company is holding it for you), the broker often has no idea how or when you originally got it. It might report that you sold something without having the records needed to figure out your cost basis (what you originally paid for it, used to calculate your taxable gain or loss) or how long you'd owned it (your holding period, which affects your tax rate).

The IRS requires anyone with crypto or other digital-asset transactions to keep records of every purchase, sale, trade, and transfer, plus what each was worth in dollars at the time (its fair market value). That's the bar to aim for: your tax return should hold up even if one broker's paperwork is incomplete.

What records the IRS wants you to keep

For every sale or trade (what the IRS calls a "disposition"), the IRS wants the basic facts used to calculate your gain or loss: what the asset was, the date and time, how many units, what it was worth in U.S. dollars, and what you originally paid for it (your basis). Those records should also show how you originally got the asset and, if it matters, how it moved between platforms before you sold it.

Notice what's missing from this list on purpose: your private key (the secret code that lets you move or spend your crypto), your seed phrase (a list of words that can recreate that key), any password, or your device PIN. Your records should help a tax preparer understand what happened; they should never give someone the ability to actually take your crypto.

The step-by-step process for matching your records

Start this before you type anything into tax software. Download your documents while you still can, keep the original files exactly as exported, and make a separate copy that you won't accidentally edit.

1. List every place you used crypto. Write down each exchange, broker, wallet, or other service you used during the year. Give each one a consistent name in your records, and never write down actual passwords or login details.
2. Gather your statements and raw data. Save every 1099-DA form, yearly account statement, trade history, list of deposits and withdrawals, and record of fees paid.
3. Match each sale on the 1099-DA to your own records. For every sale the form lists, find the matching transaction in your records: same date, asset, quantity, and amount received.
4. Trace back to how you got the asset. Connect each sale to the purchase or other event that shows what you paid for it and how long you'd held it. If it arrived from another account, keep the transfer records rather than just assuming the gap is fine.
5. Double-check the dollar values and fees. The IRS wants you to be able to back up every dollar figure on your return. Keep a note of where each value came from and how you calculated it.
6. Write down anything that doesn't add up. List missing files, quantities that don't match, transfers that look duplicated, blank cost-basis fields, and any transaction you can't explain from what you have.
7. Fix it or ask for help before you file. A qualified tax professional can look at the facts and the rules that apply. Never make up a purchase date, cost basis, or transaction type just to make a problem go away.

Don't just copy the basis number without checking it

The IRS generally treats your cost basis (what you paid, in U.S. dollars) as the starting point, but the correct number depends on exactly how you got the asset. Brokers are only required to start reporting basis gradually for certain assets, and a broker can only report what it actually knows.

That's why a blank, zero, or unfamiliar basis number is worth digging into. It usually just means the broker's history is incomplete, not that you actually had no cost. On the flip side, your own spreadsheet isn't automatically good enough just because it has a number in the basis column. That number needs to be backed up by the actual transaction, the amount, the date and time, and any fees involved.

Build a simple list of questions for your tax preparer

When your records are messy, the most useful thing you can hand over isn't a tax form filled in with guesses. It's a short list of open questions that lets a tax preparer investigate quickly.

The goal is a tax return you can actually back up, not one that just looks neat. Keep your original files and your matching notes together with your tax records after you file.