If you sold, traded, or disposed of crypto in 2025, you might find a new tax form in your mailbox: Form 1099-DA. This is the IRS's new dedicated form for reporting digital asset transactions, and it represents a major shift in how crypto activity gets tracked and reported.

Let's break down what this form is, who gets one, what the boxes mean, and what you need to do with it.

What Is Form 1099-DA?

Form 1099-DA (Digital Assets) is the IRS's new standardized form for reporting sales, exchanges, and other dispositions of digital assets. It covers:

Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.)
Stablecoins (USDC, USDT, DAI)
NFTs (non-fungible tokens)
Other tokenized assets

Before 1099-DA, there was no dedicated form for crypto. Some exchanges used 1099-B (designed for stocks and securities), others used 1099-MISC, and many reported nothing at all. This created confusion and inconsistency.

The new form standardizes crypto reporting across the industry. If a broker facilitated your digital asset sale, they're now required to report it to the IRS using this form.

Who Receives a 1099-DA?

You'll get a 1099-DA if you:

Sold crypto or digital assets through a broker
Exchanged one digital asset for another
Redeemed digital assets for cash or other property
Paid for goods or services where a broker was involved

You won't get one if you only:

Bought crypto and held it
Transferred crypto between your own wallets
Received crypto as a gift
Used a decentralized exchange (DEX) with no custodial broker

There's no minimum dollar threshold. Even small transactions can trigger a 1099-DA if they went through a custodial broker.

New for 2025

Form 1099-DA Explained

Starting 2025, brokers must report your crypto sales on the new Form 1099-DA. Learn what this means for your tax filing.

Import & Reconcile Read the guide

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When Will You Receive It?

Brokers must send Form 1099-DA by:

January 31 if boxes 8 and 10 are empty
February 15 if boxes 8 or 10 contain information

If you're used to filing taxes in early February, you may want to wait for this form before submitting. Having accurate 1099-DA data prevents the need for amendments later.

What Do the Boxes Mean?

The form contains several boxes with important information:

Box	What It Contains
Gross Proceeds	Total amount you received from the sale/exchange
Net Proceeds	Amount after fees and commissions
Date Acquired	When you originally got the asset
Date Sold	When you disposed of it
Covered/Noncovered	Whether the broker is required to report cost basis

Covered vs. Noncovered Securities

This distinction matters:

Covered security: The broker provided custodial services (held your assets). Starting with 2026 transactions, brokers will be required to report cost basis for covered securities.
Noncovered security: The broker did not have custody of the asset. You're responsible for tracking your own cost basis.

For the 2025 tax year, cost basis reporting is not required on Form 1099-DA. That starts with 2026 transactions (forms issued in early 2027).

How 1099-DA Differs from Other 1099 Forms

Several tax forms share the "1099" prefix, and you might receive multiple types from the same or different brokers before tax day. While they look similar, each serves a distinct reporting purpose:

1099-DA vs. 1099-B

The key difference: 1099-B reports sales of stocks and traditional securities, while 1099-DA is specifically for digital assets. Before 1099-DA existed, some exchanges awkwardly shoehorned crypto into 1099-B forms. Now crypto has its own dedicated reporting form with fields designed for digital asset specifics.

1099-MISC

This form reports various types of miscellaneous income, including staking rewards, airdrops, and referral bonuses. Exchanges typically issue 1099-MISC when your rewards or misc income reaches $600 or more. You might receive both a 1099-DA (for sales) and a 1099-MISC (for rewards) from the same exchange.

1099-NEC

The "NEC" stands for nonemployee compensation - payments made to independent contractors or freelancers. If you're paid in crypto for freelance work, the payer should issue a 1099-NEC. This is ordinary income, not capital gains.

1099-INT

This form reports interest income from savings accounts, bonds, and lending activities. Some crypto lending platforms issue 1099-INT for interest earned on deposited assets.

1099-DIV

Used to report dividends and distributions. In crypto, this is less common but could apply to certain tokenized securities or investment products that distribute yields.

Quick Reference

Form	What It Reports	Crypto Example
1099-DA	Digital asset sales and dispositions	Selling ETH for USD on Coinbase
1099-B	Stock, bond, and securities sales	Selling AAPL shares (not crypto)
1099-MISC	Miscellaneous income ≥$600	Staking rewards, referral bonuses
1099-NEC	Nonemployee compensation	Getting paid in BTC for freelance work
1099-INT	Interest income	Interest from crypto lending
1099-DIV	Dividends and distributions	Tokenized securities with yield payouts

Important: You might receive multiple 1099 types from a single exchange. For example, Coinbase could send you a 1099-DA for your trades and a 1099-MISC for staking rewards - these aren't duplicates, they're reporting different types of taxable events.

What If Your 1099-DA Doesn't Include Cost Basis?

For the 2025 tax year, most 1099-DAs won't include cost basis. You'll need to calculate it yourself.

Your cost basis is what you paid for the asset, including any fees. This is crucial for calculating your actual taxable gain.

Example:

You bought 1 ETH for $2,000 (including fees)
You sold it for $3,000 (gross proceeds on 1099-DA)
Your gain is $3,000 - $2,000 = $1,000

If you don't know your cost basis and just report the full $3,000 as a gain, you'd overpay taxes. Keeping records of your original purchases is essential.

What If You Didn't Get a 1099-DA?

You still need to report your crypto transactions. The IRS expects you to report all taxable crypto activity, whether or not you received a form.

Reasons you might not receive one:

Your transactions were on a decentralized exchange (DEX)
Your broker has IRS permission to delay issuance
You only used non-custodial wallets
Your broker is based outside the U.S.

Check with your exchange to see if they're issuing forms, and use your transaction history to report accurately.

Which Exchanges Issue 1099-DA?

Starting January 1, 2025, custodial brokers are required to issue Form 1099-DA.

Centralized Brokers (Subject to 1099-DA)

Type	Examples
Centralized exchanges	Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Crypto.com
Custodial wallet providers	Exchange-hosted wallets
Digital asset kiosks	Bitcoin ATM operators
Stablecoin issuers	Circle/USDC redemptions
Payment processors	BitPay (if holding assets)

Decentralized/Non-Custodial (NOT Subject to 1099-DA for 2025)

Type	Examples
Decentralized exchanges	Uniswap, SushiSwap, Curve
Non-custodial wallets	MetaMask, Ledger, Trezor, Phantom
Validators/miners	Bitcoin/Ethereum miners

The IRS is still developing guidance for decentralized and non-custodial scenarios. Future rules may expand reporting requirements.

How to Report 1099-DA on Your Taxes

Here's the process:

1. Gather Your Documents

Collect all 1099-DA forms from every broker you used. Also gather your own transaction records for calculating cost basis.

2. Complete Form 8949

Use your 1099-DA data to fill out Form 8949, which reports each sale:

Column (a)-(b): Description of asset (e.g., "1.5 BTC")
Column (c): Date acquired
Column (d): Date sold (from 1099-DA)
Column (e): Proceeds (from 1099-DA)
Column (f): Cost basis (you may need to calculate this)
Column (g): Gain or loss

3. Transfer to Schedule D

The totals from Form 8949 flow to Schedule D (Form 1040), where you calculate your overall capital gains and losses.

4. File with Form 1040

Attach Form 8949 and Schedule D to your tax return.

Why This Matters: Crypto Gets Its Own Reporting Treatment

Here's something important that many people miss: digital assets are now the only type of capital asset with distinct reporting treatment on Form 8949.

When you fill out Form 8949 for crypto, there are six checkboxes you must complete. These indicate:

That the transaction involves digital assets
Whether it's short-term or long-term
Whether cost basis was reported to the IRS

This effectively creates a dedicated version of Form 8949 for digital asset transactions. All other capital assets (stocks, bonds, real estate) are reported together on the standard, shared Form 8949. Crypto is broken out separately and made highly visible to the IRS.

What this means for you:

Every 1099-DA your broker files is now visible to the IRS. If your tax return doesn't match what your broker reported, expect questions. It's critical to:

Account for all your 1099-DA forms
Ensure every transaction and all proceeds are properly reflected
Calculate accurate cost basis (since brokers don't report it yet)

This is a major shift from the days when crypto reporting was inconsistent and largely self-reported.

Do You Owe Taxes on the Full Proceeds?

Not necessarily. You're only taxed on the gain, not the total proceeds.

Gain = Proceeds - Cost Basis
If you have a loss, you can use it to offset other gains or up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year

The 1099-DA shows proceeds, but calculating your actual tax liability requires knowing your cost basis.

1099-DA Makes Tracking Easier - But It's Not the Whole Story

Form 1099-DA standardizes how brokers report your crypto sales, but it doesn't capture everything. DEX trades, cross-chain swaps, staking, yield farming, airdrops, and self-custody transactions aren't on these forms - yet you're still required to report them.

For complete crypto tax reporting, you need software that goes beyond what brokers report. Moonscape connects to exchange APIs and public wallet addresses to capture all your activity:

Import transactions from 100+ exchanges and blockchains automatically
Calculate cost basis using FIFO, LIFO, HIFO, or specific identification (brokers won't report this until 2026)
Catch the gaps - DEX trades, bridge transactions, and non-custodial activity that won't appear on any 1099
Reconcile against 1099-DAs to ensure your return matches what brokers reported
Generate Form 8949 with the correct digital asset checkboxes
Identify tax-loss harvesting opportunities to strategically lower your yearly tax bill

The IRS now sees exactly what your brokers reported. Moonscape makes sure you see everything else - and that your numbers line up.

What's Temporarily Exempt?

Some transactions are currently exempt from 1099-DA reporting until the IRS issues further guidance:

Staking rewards
Lending/borrowing
Wrapping/unwrapping tokens
Liquidity pool deposits/withdrawals

You're still responsible for reporting the tax implications of these activities - brokers just aren't required to issue 1099-DAs for them yet.

Key Takeaways

1099-DA is new for 2025 – the IRS's first dedicated form for digital asset sales
Crypto now has distinct Form 8949 treatment – separate checkboxes, highly visible to IRS
Custodial brokers must issue it – Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, etc.
No cost basis yet – brokers don't report basis until 2026 tax year
Each transaction = one 1099-DA – reconcile every form against your records
You still need to report even without a form – DEX trades, non-custodial wallets

Form 1099-DA: The New Crypto Tax Form Explained