Gemini 1099-DA: What It Means and What to Fix

You got a 1099-DA from Gemini. Maybe it showed up in your email, maybe you found it in your account settings. Either way, you're now staring at a tax form that reports a number, and you're not sure if that number is right.

The short version: the proceeds figure is probably accurate, the cost basis is probably wrong or missing entirely. If you hand this form to your accountant or plug it into TurboTax without fixing it, you could end up paying far more tax than you actually owe.

Below is what your Gemini 1099-DA actually contains, where the problems come from, and how to get it right before you file.

When You'll Get Your Gemini 1099-DA

Gemini is a regulated US exchange (run by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss) that has long worked within existing financial frameworks and was sending tax forms to users before most exchanges took reporting seriously.

For the 2025 tax year, expect your 1099-DA by January 31, 2026 for most users, with a possible extension to February 15 for broker accounts covering certain securities.

To find yours: log into Gemini, go to Account Settings, scroll to Tax Documents. It should be there as a downloadable PDF. Gemini also mails paper copies to users who haven't opted into electronic delivery.

If you traded on Gemini in 2025 and don't see a 1099-DA, check whether your activity crossed the reporting threshold, or whether you traded exclusively in assets Gemini isn't yet required to report.

What Your Gemini 1099-DA Shows

The 1099-DA is a new IRS form that standardizes how brokers report digital asset sales. It works similarly to the 1099-B you'd get from a stock brokerage.

Your Gemini 1099-DA will list:

• Gross proceeds: the total amount you received from each sale or trade
• Asset description: what you sold (BTC, ETH, SOL, etc.)
• Sale date: when the transaction occurred
• Acquisition date: when Gemini believes you acquired the asset, if known
• Cost basis: what you originally paid, likely $0 or blank

That last point is the critical one. For the 2025 tax year, the IRS does not require brokers to report cost basis on digital assets. Gemini knows what you sold and when. They don't necessarily know what you paid for it, especially if you acquired the asset somewhere else before sending it to Gemini.

The proceeds figure is real. The cost basis is a placeholder.

For a deeper look at how the form works across all brokers, see our complete 1099-DA guide.

The Cost Basis Problem

Cost basis is what you originally paid for an asset. Your taxable gain is proceeds minus cost basis. If the cost basis is wrong, your gain is wrong, and so is your tax bill.

Take a concrete example:

You bought 10 SOL for $800 on a DEX in 2023. In 2025, you transferred that SOL to Gemini and sold it for $1,200. Your actual gain is $400.

But Gemini only knows about the sale. They received the SOL from an external wallet, so from their records the cost basis is unknown, reported as $0.

What gets sent to the IRS: $1,200 proceeds, $0 basis, $1,200 taxable gain.

What it should be: $1,200 proceeds, $800 basis, $400 taxable gain.

That's an $800 phantom gain, money you'd be paying tax on that you never actually made. At a 20% capital gains rate, that's $160 in unnecessary taxes from a single trade. Multiply this across multiple assets, multiple transfers, and multiple years of activity, and the miscalculation compounds quickly.

This is why you can't accept the 1099-DA numbers at face value. For a full explanation of how cost basis methods work and which one to use, see our cost basis methods guide.

Common Issues with Gemini 1099-DAs

Beyond the general cost basis problem, Gemini has a few platform-specific wrinkles worth knowing about.

Gemini Earn (Discontinued)

Gemini Earn let users lend crypto and earn interest. In late 2022, following the broader market crisis, Gemini paused Earn withdrawals. Many users had assets frozen for an extended period before receiving distributions back in 2023 and 2024, and some situations continued into 2025.

If you received Earn-related distributions or had assets returned to you in 2025, the tax treatment is complex. Was it a return of principal? Income? A settlement? The answer affects whether it's taxable and whether it appears on a 1099-DA or a different form like a 1099-MISC. If you were a Gemini Earn participant, talk to a tax professional before assuming the 1099-DA captures the full picture.

Gemini ActiveTrader

Gemini's ActiveTrader interface is designed for higher-volume trading with more order types and tighter spreads. Trades executed there should consolidate into the same 1099-DA as your regular Gemini activity since they're under the same account, but it's worth verifying that all your trades appear and are correctly attributed. High-frequency traders in particular should cross-reference the transaction count against their own records.

Gemini Credit Card Crypto Rewards

The Gemini credit card lets users earn crypto rewards on purchases. The IRS generally treats credit card rewards as purchase rebates, not income, so you don't typically owe tax when you receive them. When you sell those rewards, though, you need a cost basis to calculate your gain.

The basis on rewards received as purchase rebates is typically $0 (since you paid nothing for them), though some tax professionals argue it should be the fair market value at the time of receipt. Either way, if you've sold crypto earned through the Gemini card and that crypto isn't tracked in your records, it will show up on your 1099-DA with a proceeds figure and no matching basis.

Gemini Dollar (GUSD)

GUSD is Gemini's stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar. In theory, buying and selling GUSD at $1.00 doesn't generate a taxable gain. In practice, rounding differences, tiny price deviations, or automated conversions can create small gain or loss entries that show up on a 1099-DA. These are usually negligible, but they add line items and can look alarming if you're not expecting them.

Interest Income Reported Separately

Any interest you earned on Gemini (through Earn distributions that qualified as interest, or other interest-bearing features) is taxable as ordinary income, not a capital gain. This won't appear on your 1099-DA. It shows up on a 1099-MISC or 1099-INT. Make sure you're accounting for both forms when you file.

What to Do Before Filing

Don't file using the 1099-DA numbers directly. Work through these steps first:

1. Download your complete transaction history from Gemini's account settings, not just the 1099-DA. You want every buy, sell, transfer, Earn distribution, and reward going back to when you first used the platform.

2. For each asset where Gemini shows $0 or blank cost basis, find the original acquisition records. That means going back to the exchange, wallet, or DEX where you first bought the asset.

3. If you participated in Earn, review the distribution history carefully. Understand what you received and when. This may require working with an accountant who knows the specific Earn settlement terms.

4. If you sold GUSD rewards earned through the Gemini card, make sure you have the receipt dates and amounts and are applying the right cost basis treatment.

5. Compare the gains implied by your 1099-DA against what you calculate when cost basis is correctly applied. The difference is what you'd overpay if you filed uncorrected.

6. Your corrected cost basis figures go on Form 8949, which feeds into Schedule D and ultimately your 1040. The 1099-DA is an input document, not something you file directly.

7. If you had Gemini Earn assets frozen and returned, traded frequently, or moved assets across many wallets and exchanges, the reconciliation work is substantial. A crypto-specialized accountant or good tax software can save you hours and reduce error risk.

How Moonscape Fixes This

Moonscape connects to Gemini via API or CSV import and pulls your full transaction history: not just the sales, but the transfers, deposits, rewards, and interest events that give context to each trade.

It also imports from 300+ other exchanges, wallets, DEXes, and blockchains. When you sent SOL from a Phantom wallet to Gemini, Moonscape can see both the outflow from Phantom and the inflow to Gemini, and match them as a transfer rather than a taxable event. That means the original cost basis travels with the asset.

The result is accurate cost basis across your entire portfolio, not just what Gemini can see. Moonscape applies your preferred cost basis accounting method (FIFO, HIFO, LIFO, or specific identification) and generates a reconciled Form 8949 you can hand directly to your accountant or upload to your tax software.

You can read more about the broader 1099-DA landscape in our full 1099-DA explainer before you start.

Ready to fix your Gemini tax data? Try Moonscape at moonscape.app. Import your Gemini history and get accurate gains in minutes.

Key Takeaways

• Your Gemini 1099-DA shows proceeds accurately but cost basis is likely $0 or blank. This is expected for the 2025 tax year, not a mistake by Gemini.
• Any crypto you bought elsewhere and moved to Gemini will have no cost basis on the 1099-DA. That's the main source of phantom gains.
• If you had assets in Earn that were distributed or returned in 2025, the tax treatment requires extra attention.
• Credit card rewards, GUSD trades, and ActiveTrader activity all have quirks that may affect your 1099-DA and your actual tax liability.
• Use the 1099-DA as a starting point, reconcile your cost basis, and report corrected figures on Form 8949. Don't file using the 1099-DA numbers alone.