Crypto Capital Gains Calculator
Calculate Your Crypto Capital Gains
Track your transactions to determine taxable gains/losses for Form 8949 and Schedule D
You need at least one buy and one sell transaction
Enter at least one buy and one sell transaction to calculate gains/losses
Calculation Results
Tax CompliantTotal Gains
$0.00
Total Losses
$0.00
Net Result
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Tax Impact Summary
Every time you buy, sell, trade, or even spend cryptocurrency, the IRS sees a taxable event. It doesn’t matter if you traded Bitcoin for Ethereum, used Dogecoin to pay for a coffee, or earned staking rewards - the IRS treats crypto as property, not currency. That means you owe taxes on gains, and you must report every transaction on your federal return. If you ignored crypto taxes in past years, 2025 is the year the IRS starts catching up - hard.
Why Crypto Taxes Are Different from Stocks
With stocks, your broker sends you a Form 1099-B every year showing what you sold and your cost basis. Easy. With crypto, that didn’t used to be true. Until January 1, 2025, most exchanges didn’t report anything to the IRS. Now, centralized exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance.US must issue a new form: Form 1099-DA. But here’s the catch - in 2025, they only report the gross proceeds, not your cost basis. That means if you sold Bitcoin for $1,200, they’ll report $1,200. But they won’t tell you what you paid for it. You still have to track that yourself.This creates a massive gap. You’re expected to calculate your profit or loss using your own records, even though the IRS is now watching. If you bought that Bitcoin for $800, you have a $400 gain. If you bought it for $1,400, you have a $200 loss. Without your own records, you can’t prove it. And the IRS doesn’t care if you forgot. They’ll assume the full $1,200 is profit.
What Counts as a Taxable Event?
Not every crypto action triggers taxes. But many do. Here’s what you must report:- Selling crypto for fiat (USD, NZD, EUR): Always taxable. You pay capital gains tax on the difference between what you paid and what you sold for.
- Trading one crypto for another (BTC for ETH): Also taxable. Even if you didn’t cash out, the IRS treats this as a sale of the first asset and a purchase of the second.
- Spending crypto on goods or services: Buying a laptop with Litecoin? That’s a taxable sale. You owe tax on the gain since you bought it.
- Earning crypto as income: If you got paid in crypto for work, mining, staking, or airdrops - that’s ordinary income. You pay income tax based on the USD value at the time you received it.
- Receiving a hard fork: If a blockchain splits and you get new coins (like Bitcoin Cash from Bitcoin), that’s taxable income on the day you receive it.
- Gifting crypto: If you give crypto to someone else, you don’t pay tax - but if the recipient sells it later, they owe tax on your original cost basis. That’s a hidden trap.
What’s NOT taxable? Buying crypto with USD. Transferring crypto between your own wallets. Holding crypto without selling. But if you move crypto from Coinbase to a non-custodial wallet like MetaMask - that’s fine. Just keep the records.
Where to Report Crypto on Your Tax Return
You’ll need two forms: Form 8949 and Form Schedule D.Form 8949 is where you list every single crypto transaction. For each one, you write:
- Date you acquired the asset
- Date you sold or traded it
- Cost basis (what you paid + fees)
- Proceeds (what you received)
- Gain or loss
- Type: short-term (held less than a year) or long-term (held over a year)
Then, the totals from Form 8949 flow into Form Schedule D, which calculates your total capital gains tax. If you earned crypto as income - from staking, mining, or payment - you report that on Form Schedule 1 (for individuals) or Form Schedule C (if you’re self-employed).
And don’t forget the checkbox on Form 1040. It asks: “At any time during 2025, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset?” You must answer “yes” or “no.” If you answered “no” but had any of the above events, you’re lying under penalty of perjury. The IRS now cross-checks 1099-DA data with your return. Mismatch? Audit incoming.
Cost Basis: The #1 Mistake People Make
The biggest reason people get audited isn’t forgetting to report - it’s getting the cost basis wrong. Cost basis is what you paid for the crypto, including fees. For example:- You bought 0.5 ETH for $1,500 + $10 fee = $1,510 cost basis
- You later sold 0.5 ETH for $2,100
- Your gain = $2,100 - $1,510 = $590 taxable gain
But here’s the new rule: wallet-by-wallet accounting started in 2025. That means you can’t average your cost basis across all your ETH. If you bought ETH on Coinbase in January for $1,500 and again on Kraken in June for $1,700, you must track which purchase each sale came from. The IRS no longer allows FIFO (first in, first out) by default unless you elect it. You must document each transaction’s source.
Transferring crypto between wallets? If you don’t record the cost basis when you send it, you lose it forever. That’s why people are spending 40+ hours reconstructing 2024 trades. Don’t be one of them.
What About DeFi, Airdrops, and NFTs?
DeFi platforms like Uniswap or Aave? They don’t report to the IRS. That doesn’t mean you don’t owe taxes. If you swapped tokens on Uniswap, you triggered a taxable event. If you earned rewards from liquidity pools, that’s income. You have to track it yourself.Airdrops are a common audit trigger. If you got free tokens because a project launched, you owe income tax on their value when you received them. The IRS says even if you didn’t ask for them - if you took control of them, they’re taxable.
NFTs? Same rules. Selling an NFT for ETH? Capital gain. Buying an NFT with ETH? You sold ETH - taxable. Trading NFTs for other NFTs? Taxable trade. The IRS released new instructions for Form 8949 in September 2025 specifically for NFTs. Don’t assume they’re exempt.
Tools to Make This Easier
You don’t have to do this manually. Crypto tax software like Koinly, CoinTracker, and TokenTax connect to your wallets and exchanges. They pull in your transaction history, calculate cost basis, classify events, and generate Form 8949 and Schedule D. Most support 300+ exchanges and wallets, including MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and DeFi protocols.Here’s what to look for:
- Automatic import from exchanges and wallets
- Support for wallet-to-wallet transfers
- Cost basis tracking (wallet-by-wallet, not averaged)
- Export to Form 8949 and Schedule D
- Support for staking, airdrops, and NFTs
Prices range from $50 to $200 per year. For most people with more than 10 transactions, it’s worth it. TurboTax’s 2025 survey showed 68% of crypto users hired a pro or used software - only 29% of stock investors did.
What If You Didn’t Report Crypto Before?
If you’ve been ignoring crypto taxes - you’re not alone. The IRS estimates 99% of crypto transactions went unreported before 2025. But now, they’re hunting. They’ve hired 2,500 staff just to chase crypto tax evaders. They use blockchain analysis tools to trace transactions across platforms.You have options:
- Amend past returns (Form 1040-X). File corrected returns for 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Pay what you owe. You’ll likely owe interest, but penalties can be reduced if you’re proactive.
- Voluntary disclosure. If you owe a lot, the IRS has a program to reduce penalties if you come forward before they contact you.
- Don’t wait. The IRS is already matching 1099-DA data with returns. If you file “no” on the digital asset question and they see a 1099-DA for you - you’re flagged.
Penalties for underreporting crypto can be steep: 20% accuracy-related penalty, plus interest. If the IRS thinks you’re lying, it’s 75% fraud penalty. Average penalty per error? $1,850 in 2024.
Pro Tips to Avoid Trouble
- Track everything. Date, amount, USD value, purpose, wallet addresses. Use a spreadsheet or software.
- Don’t ignore small transactions. Even $50 in staking rewards adds up.
- Keep wallet transfer records. If you move crypto from exchange to wallet, note the cost basis before you send.
- Label your transactions. Was it a sale? Airdrop? Payment? Staking? This saves hours later.
- Use software. Manual tracking for 50+ transactions? You’ll make mistakes.
- Don’t trust exchange summaries. They’re not complete. They don’t show DeFi or peer-to-peer trades.
The bottom line: Crypto taxes aren’t optional. They’re not complicated if you stay organized. But if you wait until April, you’ll be scrambling. Start now. Gather your records. Use software. File correctly. The IRS isn’t going away - and they’re watching.
Do I have to report crypto if I didn’t sell it?
No, you don’t owe tax if you only bought crypto and held it. But you still have to answer "yes" to the IRS question on Form 1040 if you bought, traded, received, or sent crypto at any point during the year. Holding alone doesn’t trigger a tax, but the IRS wants to know you had any activity.
What if I lost money on crypto? Do I still report it?
Yes. You report losses just like gains. Losses can offset your capital gains from stocks or other crypto. If your losses exceed your gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 against your ordinary income. Any extra loss carries forward to future years. Not reporting losses means you miss out on tax savings.
Do I pay tax on crypto I mined?
Yes. When you mine crypto and receive it, the IRS treats it as ordinary income. You pay income tax based on the USD value of the coin on the day you received it. Later, if you sell it, you pay capital gains tax on the difference between that value and your sale price. Keep a record of the date and market price when you received the mined coins.
Are crypto gifts taxable?
Giving crypto as a gift isn’t taxable for you. But if the recipient sells it later, they inherit your cost basis. For example, if you bought Bitcoin for $1,000 and gift it when it’s worth $5,000, the recipient’s cost basis is still $1,000. If they sell it for $6,000, they owe tax on $5,000 gain. If you gift more than $19,000 in value (2025 limit), you must file a gift tax return - but you won’t owe tax unless you exceed your lifetime exemption.
What happens if I don’t report crypto?
The IRS can audit you, assess back taxes, charge interest, and apply penalties. For underreporting, penalties start at 20%. For fraud - if they think you intentionally hid crypto income - penalties jump to 75%. They now cross-check Form 1099-DA data with your return. If you say "no" to crypto activity but they see a 1099-DA in your name, you’re flagged for review. Many people get hit with $1,000-$5,000 penalties for simple mistakes.
Do I report crypto on state taxes too?
Yes. Most states follow federal rules for crypto taxation. California, New York, Texas, and others all treat crypto as property. You’ll need to report gains and income on your state return too. Some states have their own forms or instructions. Check your state’s tax agency website - don’t assume it’s the same as federal.