Form 1099-DA explained.

What Form 1099-DA is

The IRS describes Form 1099-DA as the form brokers use to report digital asset proceeds from broker transactions. It exists because Internal Revenue Code section 6045 now treats certain digital asset platforms as brokers. Under the final regulations, brokers report gross proceeds for sales on or after January 1, 2025 and basis for certain sales on or after January 1, 2026. Your copy of the form arrives early in the year after the sale. The IRS digital assets page says the rules reach operators of custodial digital asset trading platforms, certain hosted wallet providers, digital asset kiosks and certain processors of digital asset payments.

A digital asset, for tax purposes, is property rather than currency. Selling, exchanging or paying for something with one is a disposition even if no dollars change hands. The form only covers sales a broker effected for you, so a trade on a decentralized exchange or a transfer between wallets you own will not appear on it, but still counts for your own records and your return.

The boxes that matter

Box 1f: proceeds

Box 1f is the gross proceeds from the sale, reduced by digital asset transaction costs such as transaction fees, commissions and transfer taxes. If you paid with another digital asset, the proceeds are the value of what you received. Put this figure in column (d) of Form 8949 unchanged.

Box 1g: cost or other basis, and box 2

Basis is generally what you paid in U.S. dollars, plus fees to acquire. Box 1g is filled in when the broker is required to report it. That is only for covered securities: digital assets acquired after 2025, for cash, stored-value cards, other digital assets or property or services, in a custodial account at that broker and held there until the sale. A coin bought in 2024, or moved in from another exchange or a private wallet, is a noncovered security. For those the broker checks box 9, may leave boxes 1d and 1g blank, and does not check box 2. Box 2 means “basis reported to the IRS”, and it drives which Form 8949 box you use.

Box 6, the Form 8949 code, and box 8

For covered sales the broker also reports gain or loss in box 6 and checks short-term or long-term. A one-letter code in the “applicable checkbox on Form 8949” field tells you which box to check: G for short-term with basis reported, H for short-term without, J for long-term with basis reported, K for long-term without, and Y if the holding period is unknown. Box 8 tells you the broker relied on acquisition information that you supplied, so mistakes in what you entered at the platform can flow into the form.

What the form leaves out

The instructions say rewards and staking payments are not reported on Form 1099-DA. They can still be income to you. The IRS digital assets page lists mining, staking and similar activities, and airdrops tied to a hard fork, among the receipts that make you answer “Yes” to the digital assets question on Form 1040, and says to report that kind of income on Schedule 1.

Which Form 8949 box to check

Form 8949 has dedicated boxes for digital assets and the instructions say not to use box C or F for them. Short-term sales go on Part I and long-term sales on Part II.

• Box G or J: a 1099-DA shows basis and says it was reported to the IRS (box 2 checked).
• Box H or K: a 1099-DA was issued but basis was not reported to the IRS.
• Box I or L: you did not receive a 1099-DA for the sale.

Worked example

Box 1f shows $12,400. Box 1g shows $9,000 with box 2 checked. You bought on March 2, 2025 and sold on May 9, 2026. That is more than one year, so it is long-term and belongs in Part II with box J. Gain is $12,400 minus $9,000, or $3,400. Now change the facts: you bought in 2024 and moved the coins to the broker. Box 9 is checked, box 1g is blank and box 2 is not checked. You supply a basis from your own records, say $7,500, and report the sale in box K because basis was not reported: gain is $4,900.

Dates, de minimis rules and deadlines

The broker must give you a statement by February 15 of the following year, or the next business day when that date is a weekend or holiday. February 15, 2027 is Presidents’ Day, so for 2026 sales the date moves to February 16, 2027. Filing with the IRS is due February 28, or March 31 if filed electronically (Pub. 1099 (2026)).

Three de minimis rules let a broker skip reporting small sales: sales through a processor of digital asset payments totaling $600 or less for the year (if they go over $600, all of that customer’s sales are reported); designated sales of qualifying stablecoins when aggregate proceeds do not exceed $10,000; and specified NFT sales when aggregate proceeds do not exceed $600. A missing 1099-DA does not make a sale tax free. Keep your own records of date, units, dollar value and basis.

Sources

• About Form 1099-DA (IRS) — form page, last reviewed June 2026
• Instructions for Form 1099-DA (2026) — boxes 1d to 9, covered and noncovered, de minimis rules
• Instructions for Form 8949 — boxes G through L for digital assets
• IRS: Digital assets — broker phase-in dates, digital asset question, holding periods
• Publication 1099 (2026) — February 15 and February 28 dates

Figures and rules above were retrieved November 2026 from the IRS pages listed. Agencies revise forms and instructions, so confirm anything that affects your return against the current IRS page.

Frequently asked questions

Why is box 1g blank on my Form 1099-DA?

Brokers must report basis only for covered securities, which are digital assets acquired after 2025 in a custodial account at that broker and held there until sold. Assets bought earlier or transferred in are noncovered, so the broker may check box 9 and leave box 1g blank. You then supply the basis from your own records.

Which Form 8949 box do I use for crypto?

Short-term digital asset sales use box G (basis reported), H (basis not reported) or I (no 1099-DA). Long-term sales use box J, K or L in the same order. The Form 8949 instructions say not to use box C or F for digital assets.

Are staking rewards on Form 1099-DA?

No. The 1099-DA instructions say not to report rewards and staking payments on the form. They can still be taxable income to you, which you report separately.

What if I did not get a 1099-DA?

You still report each sale. Use box I for short-term and box L for long-term sales with no 1099-DA, and use your own records for proceeds, dates and basis.

When is a digital asset sale long-term?

The IRS says a digital asset held as a capital asset for more than one year before sale is long-term, and one year or less is short-term.