The 2026 tax year is the first where crypto brokers must report cost basis on Form 1099-DA, not just sale proceeds. That sounds like it makes filing easier. For a lot of people it creates a new problem: a form from the exchange that shows what you sold, with the basis box blank, and an IRS copy that matches.
This guide covers what the form reports, why basis is often missing, and how to reconcile it. It uses the IRS’s own guidance as the source. It is not tax advice.
Want a quick number first? The free Kraken crypto tax estimator reads your Kraken trades.csv in your browser and lists every sell with no matching buy. Those are the lines to check.
On an extension? Your 2025 return is due October 15, 2026
If you filed for an extension on your 2025 return, the IRS can’t extend the due date “for more than 6 months (October 15, 2026, for most calendar year taxpayers)” (IRS Form 4868). The extension covers filing only: “Make sure you pay any tax you owe by the April filing date” (IRS, Get an extension), and interest runs on tax not paid by the original due date (Form 4868).
A 2025 Form 1099-DA shows gross proceeds, not what you paid: “Brokers are not required to report basis information with respect to sales effected in 2025” (IRS, 2025 Instructions for Form 1099-DA). Pull your full buy history before you file.
- Free first: the Kraken crypto tax estimator and the crypto cost basis calculator run in your browser.
- Many wallets and exchanges: Koinly lists a free “Capital gains preview” on its pricing page; you pay only to download reports. We earn a commission if you sign up through this link.
- Want a one-pass list instead? The 1099-DA reconciliation checklist (pay what you want, from $3).
Some IRS disaster-relief notices move deadlines for affected areas to November 2, 2026 or February 1, 2027. Check the IRS disaster relief page.
What Form 1099-DA reports, year by year
The IRS final broker regulations phase reporting in over two years (IRS):
| Sales made in | What the broker reports |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Gross proceeds only |
| 2026 onward | Gross proceeds, plus cost basis for assets acquired on or after January 1, 2026 in the same account |
So the form you receive in early 2027 (for 2026 sales) is the first one that can include basis, and only for coins bought at that exchange from 2026 on.
Why your basis may be blank
Basis will usually be missing when:
- You bought before 2026. Coins bought in 2024 or 2025 and sold in 2026 are outside the basis-reporting rule, even at the same exchange.
- You transferred the coins in. Kraken can’t know what you paid on another exchange or in a self-custody wallet.
- The coins came from staking, rewards or airdrops. Their basis is generally the value when you received them, which is income you report separately.
Blank basis does not mean zero basis. But if you file using only the proceeds, the IRS matching system sees the full proceeds as gain. That is the most common way people overpay, or get a notice.
How to reconcile before you file
- Export your full history from Kraken. In Kraken, open Documents and create a Trades export (and a Ledgers export if you staked or transferred). Start from your very first trade, not just this year, so older buys are included.
- Match every sale to a purchase. FIFO (oldest coins first) is the common default. Our estimator does this for USD spot trades and flags sells with no matching buy.
- Find the missing basis. For each flagged sale, trace where the coins came from: another exchange’s history, a wallet’s on-chain record, or the income value if they came from staking.
- Check the transition rule for older holdings. Revenue Procedure 2024-28 let taxpayers allocate unused basis to the coins held in each wallet or account as of January 1, 2025 (IRS). If you held coins across several places before 2025, that allocation affects which basis goes with which sale.
- Report on Form 8949. Sales go on Form 8949 and carry to Schedule D. Where the 1099-DA shows no basis, you enter the basis you can support, and keep your records.
Want it as a checklist? The Kraken 1099-DA reconciliation checklist is this whole process on two printable pages (pay what you want, from $3).
When to use tax software
The manual route is fine for a handful of trades on one exchange. It breaks down with multiple exchanges, wallet transfers, crypto-to-crypto trades, or staking income, because every transfer has to be matched on both ends. That is what crypto tax software does: import each exchange and wallet, match transfers, and produce Form 8949.
- CoinLedger imports Kraken and generates Form 8949. Code CRYPTOTAX10 takes 10% off. We earn a commission if you sign up through this link.
- Koinly has a free tier that shows your numbers before you pay for the report. We earn a commission if you sign up through this link.
Partner links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See the disclosure.
If you run a trading bot
Bots create hundreds of small trades, so the reconciliation above gets long fast. The same approach works: export Trades from Kraken for the account the bot uses, import it into tax software, and check the flagged sells. Our open-source Kraken trend bot trades spot USD pairs only, which keeps its records in the simplest case: every sell has a matching buy in the same account.
Key dates
- January 1, 2026: basis reporting starts for assets acquired from this date in the same account.
- Early 2027: brokers send 2026 Forms 1099-DA. Watch for yours before filing.
- April 2027: the usual federal filing deadline for 2026 returns.
This article explains public IRS guidance. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. For your own situation, talk to a tax professional.