How To Do Your FreeTaxUSA Crypto Taxes in 2026
If you have crypto, the IRS wants to know by the April 15 deadline. Follow our step-by-step guide on how to use FreeTaxUSA to report your crypto in 2026.
What is FreeTaxUSA?
FreeTaxUSA is an online tax filing service that offers free federal tax filing and low-cost state filing, typically around $14.99. It supports various tax situations, including W-2 income, self-employment, and investments, including crypto taxes.
Users can file directly with the IRS and upgrade to the Deluxe version for additional support. While it is a budget-friendly option, it lacks live tax expert assistance and has limited audit support. It is best suited for individuals comfortable with DIY tax preparation or on a budget, but it’s becoming increasingly popular as investors move away from lobbyist tax solutions such as Intuit.
Does FreeTaxUSA do crypto?
Yes and no. Investors can report gains and losses, as well as income, from crypto within FreeTaxUSA, but they’ll need to do the calculations either themselves or with crypto tax software (like Koinly!) to have the figures to report.
If you’ve used Koinly to calculate your crypto taxes and you’re wondering how to report crypto on FreeTax USA, we’ve got you covered with step-by-step instructions on how to file.
How to report crypto on FreeTaxUSA
Watch our video, or follow the step-by-step instructions below to find out how to file crypto taxes with FreeTaxUSA.
You’ve got two options for reporting your crypto with FreeTaxUSA - and it all depends on whether you have a 1099 form from your exchange or not, so let’s look at both.
If you have a 1099-DA form
If you have a 1099 form from your exchange, you may be able to use this to file, but a word of warning first. Your 1099 form isn't likely to be accurate.
This is because exchanges can’t track cost basis between different platforms, so your 1099 form (whether that's 1099-B or 1099-DA) may be incorrect, and you may end up over- or underpaying tax. For transactions in 2025 (reported in your 1099-DA you recieve in 2026), exchanges don't need to report your cost basis.
If you’re certain your form is correct (for example, if you’ve only bought and sold crypto on one platform exclusively), you can use your 1099-DA form to file your crypto on FreeTaxUSA by:
Go to the Income tab
Under common income, select investments and savings
Select continue
Select add investment
Select crypto, NFT sales
Enter the wallet or exchange you received your 1099-DA form from
You can then choose to enter your disposals (sales/trades) one by one or as a summary. If you only have a few sales, the former is more likely to be suitable. For investors with a lot of sales, the latter is the easier option.
Fill out your sales or summary as it pertains to you from the information in your 1099-DA form
Select save and continue
If you don’t have a 1099-DA form, if it’s inaccurate, or if you’ve used multiple exchanges and wallets, you’ll need to use a crypto tax calculator to generate your Form 8949 and file differently. Here’s how.
How to report crypto on FreeTaxUSA with Koinly
To start, make sure you've uploaded your 1099-DA forms to Koinly and that you've then downloaded your Form 8949 and Schedule D form from Koinly. You'll need all this info to file.
Go to the Income tab
Under common income, select investments and savings
Select continue
Select add investment
Select crypto, NFT sales (1099-DA)
Select save and continue
On the page, ‘What wallet or exchange do you want to enter sales for?’ name the exchange you're first reporting for.
Select save and continue
Select summary, then save and continue. Please note that you'll need to report short-term and long-term gains and losses separately.
You'll then need to hop over to your Koinly IRS Report 8949.
This year, your form is split up into short & long term transactions (as usual), as well as by each exchange you've used, and a separate 8949 for non-custodial transactions. This is due to the new 1099-DA reporting requirements.
To file on FreeTaxUSA, you'll need to report each 8949 separately, to reflect the relevant check boxes ticked in your 8949. For example, if you had:
Short-term transactions on Coinbase, reported on a 1099-DA without cost basis (box H)
Long-term transactions on Coinbase, reported on a 1099-DA without cost basis (box K)
Short-term transactions in your MetaMask wallet, not reported on a 1099-DA (box I)
Long-term transactions in your MetaMask wallet, not reported on a 1099-DA (box L)
Long-term transactions on Kraken, reported on a 1099-DA without cost basis (box K)
You'll need to repeat the steps below 5 times to accurately report your crypto this year.
Steps for each 8949:
Select G to L as it pertains to the gains you're reporting.
Enter your total short/long-term proceeds from column D of your 8949 from Koinly.
Enter your total short/long-term cost basis from column E of your 8949 from Koinly.
Fill out the other sections as they pertain to your circumstances.
Select save and continue
Answer the questions ‘do you have adjustments to make to this investment sale?’ and 'did this include a wash sale' as they pertain to your circumstances. You do not need to correct your cost basis for 8949 figures for Koinly and should only use this section if you're reporting your 1099-DA figures (that do not include cost basis).
Select save and continue. Repeat these steps as necessary, depending on your transactions.
You’re done reporting your crypto! Remember, you’ll need to attach your Form 8949 and Schedule to your FreeTaxUSA form before you submit your completed return
If you have income from crypto - for example, staking or mining rewards - you’ll need to report this too. Here’s how.
Go to the Income tab, then select other income under uncommon income
Answer yes to the question ‘Did you have any ordinary digital asset income?’
Enter a total figure for your digital asset income. If you used Koinly, you can find this in your tax summary or in the Complete Tax Report.
Answer any other questions as they pertain to your circumstances
Select save and continue
Please note that if you received a 1099-MISC in relation to crypto income from an exchange, you may need to report this differently to avoid reporting duplicate income.
