Coinbase Form 1099-DA, explained
General information, not tax advice. Not affiliated with Coinbase or the IRS. This page describes what IRS forms, instructions and notices and Coinbase's help pages say. It does not describe any individual's situation.
Form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions, is the IRS form Coinbase uses to report a US customer's crypto sales and exchanges to the customer and to the IRS. Coinbase's tax-year 2025 form, issued in early 2026, carries gross proceeds only: brokers did not have to report cost basis for 2025 sales (IRS 1099-DA instructions, 2025), and Coinbase said its 2025 form would "only include proceeds" (Coinbase Form 1099-DA page, archived 2026-10-25). Starting with tax year 2026, forms issued in early 2027, basis is required for covered assets: units acquired after 2025 for cash, stored-value cards or other digital assets (or other property or services whose disposition the broker is required to report) in a Coinbase custodial account and held there until the sale. Units acquired before 2026, or transferred in from another wallet or exchange, are noncovered, and their basis box may be blank (IRS 1099-DA instructions, 2026).
The 2025 form and the 2026 form
| Item | Tax year 2025 form | Tax year 2026 form |
|---|---|---|
| Issued | Early 2026 | Early 2027 |
| Gross proceeds (box 1f) | Reported | Reported |
| Cost basis (box 1g) | Not required; Coinbase said its 2025 form would include proceeds only | Required for covered assets. For noncovered assets basis is voluntary, and the broker may check box 9 and leave basis blank |
| Code in "Applicable checkbox on Form 8949" | Code Y when basis is not reported (2025 instructions) | G, H, J or K, by holding period and by whether basis was reported to the IRS; Y when the holding period is unknown (2026 instructions) |
| Date Coinbase gave | "no later than March 17, 2026" | None in the capture checked (2026-10-25); the IRS rule date is February 16, 2027 (see below) |
When it arrives and where to find it
Publication 1099 sets February 15 of the following year as the date for furnishing Form 1099-DA to recipients, moved to the next business day when it falls on a weekend or legal holiday (IRS Publication 1099, 2026). February 15, 2027 is Washington's Birthday, a federal holiday (OPM holiday schedule), so for tax-year 2026 forms that rule gives Tuesday, February 16, 2027. A broker can request more time on Form 15397; an approved request generally allows up to 30 extra days (Publication 1099).
For tax year 2025, Coinbase said it would provide the form no later than March 17, 2026 and send an email when it was ready for download. Coinbase also says it uses Eastern Time for tax reporting: a trade after midnight ET on January 1, 2026 appears on the tax-year 2026 form, not the 2025 form (Coinbase Form 1099-DA page, archived 2026-10-25). Coinbase's tax forms are downloaded from the Documents section of Coinbase Taxes (Coinbase tax information, archived 2026-10-13).
Box by box
Labels are from the 2026 Form 1099-DA. Descriptions follow the IRS instructions for brokers and the instructions for recipients printed on the form (IRS 1099-DA instructions, 2026; IRS Form 1099-DA).
| Box | Label | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Top | Applicable checkbox on Form 8949 | A one-letter code for the Form 8949 box: G = short-term, basis reported to the IRS; H = short-term, basis not reported; J = long-term, basis reported; K = long-term, basis not reported; Y = holding period unknown. |
| 1a | Code for digital asset | The nine-character Digital Token Identifier (DTIF) code, or 999999999 if the asset is not registered. |
| 1b | Name of digital asset | The asset's full name. |
| 1c | Number of units | Units disposed of, to up to 18 decimal places. |
| 1d | Date acquired | May be blank if box 9 is checked, if the units were acquired on various dates, or if the date was unknown to the broker. |
| 1e | Date sold or disposed | The date of the sale or disposal. |
| 1f | Proceeds | Total proceeds, which may include cash, the value of services, digital assets or other property received, reduced by transaction costs such as fees. |
| 1g | Cost or other basis | May be blank when box 9 is checked. Any entry, including zero, has been reported to the IRS as basis. |
| 1h | Accrued market discount | Only for digital assets that are also debt instruments. |
| 1i | Wash sale loss disallowed | Only for digital assets that are also stock or securities (tokenized securities). |
| 2 | Check if basis reported to IRS | When checked, the basis in box 1g was reported to the IRS. |
| 3a | Reported to IRS: gross proceeds or net proceeds | Whether box 1f was adjusted for an option premium. |
| 3b | Check if proceeds from: QOF | Proceeds from a Qualified Opportunity Fund transaction. |
| 4 | Federal income tax withheld | Backup withholding. |
| 5 | Check if loss is not allowed based on amount in 1f | Relates to a reportable change in control or capital structure of a corporation. |
| 6 | Gain or loss: short-term, long-term, ordinary | Holding period type; "Ordinary" means special rules may apply. May be blank if box 9 is checked. |
| 7 | Check if 1f is only cash | Only cash proceeds were received. |
| 8 | Check if broker relied on customer-provided acquisition information | The broker used acquisition information from the customer to identify which units were disposed of. |
| 9 | Check if digital asset is a noncovered security | Boxes 1d, 1g, 1h, 1i, 2 and 6 may be blank. |
| 11a to 11c | Aggregate reporting | For qualifying stablecoins and specified NFTs reported under an optional method: which type (11a), the number of transactions (11b), and proceeds from first sales of NFTs by their creator or minter (11c). |
| 12a, 12b | Units transferred in; transfer-in date | Units that came into the account by transfer, and the transfer date (blank if they came in on various dates). |
| 10, 13 | Reserved | Reserved for future use. |
| 14 to 16 | State information | State name, the filer's state number, and state tax withheld. |
When the basis box (1g) is blank
Coinbase said its tax-year 2025 forms would include proceeds only, so basis is not expected on them. From tax year 2026, box 1g may be blank when box 9 (noncovered security) is checked, for example for units acquired before 2026, units transferred in from another wallet or exchange, or units whose basis was unknown to the broker. It may also be blank when qualifying stablecoins or specified NFTs are reported under an optional method (IRS 1099-DA instructions, 2026; IRS Form 1099-DA). The IRS documents describe a blank basis this way:
- The recipient instructions printed on Form 1099-DA say that when box 1g is blank, basis is determined from the taxpayer's own books and records (IRS Form 1099-DA).
- The Form 8949 instructions place a transaction reported on Form 1099-DA without basis, or with basis not reported to the IRS, in Part I with box H (short-term) or Part II with box K (long-term). The proceeds shown on the form go in column (d). Where basis was not reported to the IRS, the instructions direct that the correct basis be entered in column (e) (IRS Form 8949 instructions, 2025).
- Those instructions define the basis of a digital asset as "the cost to acquire the digital asset, including transaction fees, commissions, transfer taxes, and other acquisition costs." Coinbase says US trading fees are included in cost basis and subtracted from proceeds (Coinbase tax information, archived 2026-10-13).
- The IRS digital assets page lists the information used to determine basis: the type of digital asset, the date and time it was acquired, the number of units, and its fair market value in US dollars when acquired (IRS digital assets page).
- Coinbase's 1099-DA page says cost basis details for transactions can be reviewed and edited in Coinbase Taxes, and mentions keeping records of cost basis from other accounts and wallets (Coinbase Form 1099-DA page, archived 2026-10-25).
- Purchase information that a customer, or a transferring broker, supplies for units transferred in does not fill box 1g. The IRS instructions state that "brokers may use customer-provided acquisition information solely for lot-selection purposes and not for reporting basis or acquisition dates" (IRS 1099-DA instructions, 2026; IRS broker reporting FAQ, questions 3 and 7).
Why a 2026 form can differ from a customer's own records
- Which units count as sold. If no identification is given at or before the time of a sale, the IRS instructions say brokers generally report the earliest units the customer acquired as sold first. A broker that does not use customer-provided acquisition information treats units transferred into the account as acquired on the date and time of the transfer (IRS 1099-DA instructions, 2026).
- Cost-basis method. Coinbase's help center describes a cost-basis method setting in Coinbase Taxes with three options: HIFO, LIFO and FIFO (Coinbase cost-basis method page, archived 2025-10-02).
- Notice 2026-20. For units held at a broker and disposed of from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026, a taxpayer may identify the units on the taxpayer's own books and records no later than the date and time of the sale, or record a standing order there. For 2026 disposals identified this way, the units identified in the taxpayer's records are treated as the units sold "regardless of whether the information reported by the broker to the taxpayer matches the taxpayer's books and records." The notice states that for 2026 transactions the acquisition date and basis reported by a broker "may not match" the taxpayer's records. The relief does not change the broker's reporting, does not apply to units outside a broker's custody, and ends on December 31, 2026 (IRS Notice 2026-20).
Corrections
Coinbase says that if the name, social security number or state on its Form 1099-DA is wrong, customers contact its support team to request a correction. It issues a corrected Form 1099-DA for an address change only when the state of residency changed (Coinbase Form 1099-DA page, archived 2026-10-25).
Related answers
- Does Coinbase report to the IRS? Forms by year, thresholds, and what is not on the 1099-DA.
- Coinbase and Form 8949: boxes G to L, columns, and the gain/loss report.
- Glossary and sources
Sources
- IRS, Instructions for Form 1099-DA (2026). Page last updated 30-Apr-2026.
- IRS, Instructions for Form 1099-DA (2025) (PDF, dated May 30, 2025).
- IRS, Form 1099-DA (2026), including the Instructions for Recipient (PDF).
- IRS, Instructions for Form 8949 (2025). Page last updated 30-Apr-2026.
- IRS, Digital assets. Page last updated 02-Sep-2026.
- IRS, Frequently asked questions about broker reporting. Page last updated 28-Jun-2026.
- IRS, Notice 2026-20, Extension of temporary relief under section 1.1012-1(j)(3)(ii) (PDF).
- IRS, Publication 1099 (2026), General Instructions for Certain Information Returns. Page last updated 30-Apr-2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Federal holidays (2027 schedule).
- Coinbase Help, "IRS Form 1099-DA": Internet Archive capture of 2026-10-25. Live page: help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/taxes/forms-reports/1099da.
- Coinbase Help, "Coinbase tax information": Internet Archive capture of 2026-10-13. Live page: help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/taxes/general-information/tax-info.
- Coinbase Help, "Select your cost-basis accounting method": Internet Archive capture of 2025-10-02. Live page: help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/taxes/tools/cost-basis-accounting.