How To Do Your KuCoin Taxes with Koinly
What is KuCoin?
KuCoin is one of the largest crypto exchanges worldwide, with 1 out of every 4 crypto investors holding their investments on the exchange. KuCoin offers a huge host of crypto investment options from buying and trading to derivatives, NFTs, earn products, and even a non-custodial wallet.
How to get your KuCoin tax report with Koinly
Whatever your crypto investments, Koinly can help you do your KuCoin taxes safely, quickly, and accurately. All Koinly needs is your KuCoin transaction history, which you can upload automatically via API or upload by CSV file. Once Koinly has your transaction history, it'll calculate your KuCoin gains, losses, income, and more, and then generate your crypto tax report, ready to file.
Follow these steps to sync your KuCoin data automatically to Koinly:
- Sign in to your KuCoin account.
- Find the drop down tab under your account in the top right corner. Select API management.
- Select create API.
- Select Create API-based trading.
- In the API name box, enter a name, such as "Koinly".
- In the API passphrase box, create your passphrase.
- Under API restrictions, select general for read-only access.
- Leave Spot Trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading, and Transfer boxes unchecked. Koinly only needs APIs with read access.
- Under IP restriction, select no.
- For security verification, you'll need to enter your trading password that you created when you made your KuCoin account. You'll also need to enter a SMS or email verification code, and Google Authenticator code if it is set up.
- On the new API pop-up, copy the KuCoin Key and Secret.
- Paste the Key into the API key box field in Koinly.
- Paste the Secret into the API secret box field in Koinly.
- Enter your passphrase you created earlier.
KuCoin futures are now supported through the KuCoin API.
Subaccounts
If you use subaccounts with KuCoin, you will need to import this data as well.
If using API, create separate API keys for each subaccount. Add them to separate KuCoin wallets in Koinly.
Please check your Transfers between the main account and your subaccounts, as these may need to be added manually.
On Koinly:
- Create a free account on Koinly
- Complete onboarding until you get to the Wallets page and find KuCoin in the list
- Select API > Paste the API keys you copied above in the appropriate box
- Hit Import and wait for Koinly to sync your data. This can take a few minutes
- Review your transactions on the Transactions page to ensure everything is tagged correctly and no missing data
- Go to the Tax Reports page to view your tax liability!
- The Kucoin API limits the amount of data that can be fetched. Most transaction types can only be fetched for the last year. If your account is older than 1 year, then we recommend using CSV files to import your historical data before setting up the API
- Lending interest can only be fetched if Trade permission is given
- Bot transactions are not provided by the API
- The API does not report your staked balances. If you are currently staking then we recommend enabling the toggle 'Ignore reported balances'
- Head over to our help center
- Hit up our discussion boards - we might have already answered your question
- Ask us on social media - we're on Twitter and Reddit
- Contact us on email or live chat
- Got a feature request? Give us feedback on Canny
OMG I had signed up on the free version, synced my Binance and Kucoin, and had a few questions on the free report. I pinged my question in the chat, and what happened next was simply not expected! Carl, the superhero, answered all the questions and gave me the clarity I was looking for. P.S. This happened on a Saturday and on 26th Feb, just days before the tax filing due date. Outstanding service.
– Rashmi, GB ★★★★★ View on Trustpilot
Does KuCoin report to the IRS?
No. It's unlikely that KuCoin reports to the IRS as KuCoin isn't licensed in the US and previously collected minimal KYC data for basic verification, although the exchange has recently changed its KYC policy to collect more data. As such, there's very little information the exchange could hand over to the IRS the agency ever tried to compel the exchange to.
This doesn't mean you don't need to report your KuCoin gains, losses, and income to the IRS - as you'll face severe penalties if you fail to report your crypto profits accurately.
Does Kucoin report to the ATO (and other tax offices)?
It's unlikely that KuCoin reports to the ATO. KuCoin isn't regulated or licensed to operate in Australia and, unlike many Australian exchanges, isn't registered with AUSTRAC. KuCoin requires minimal KYC data for all transactions, so there's very little information the exchange could hand over to the ATO, or other tax offices.
How to get a KuCoin tax statement?
Generally, you need to report your crypto - including KuCoin - as part of your annual tax return. For example, in the US, investors would need to report any gains or losses on Form 8949 and Schedule D and any income on Schedule 1 or Schedule C.
To do this, you need to start by calculating your KuCoin taxes. You can do this yourself, by exporting your KuCoin transaction history and identifying your taxable transactions (and the kind of tax that applies), before calculating any gains or losses and identifying the fair market value of any income in your fiat currency on the day you received it.
Of course, for most investors, this is a lot of work - which is where Koinly comes in. With Koinly crypto tax calculator, all you need to do is connect your KuCoin account to Koinly either using API or by uploading a CSV file of your KuCoin transaction history. Once connected, Koinly will identify your taxable transactions, calculate your gains and losses, and identify the fair market value of any income for you. You can see all this in your tax summary for free. Once you're ready to file, you can download the KuCoin tax documents you need, when you need them. Koinly can generate a huge variety of KuCoin tax documents for users all around the world including the IRS Form 8949 & Schedule D for US investors, the ATO myTax report for Australian investors, the HMRC Capital Gains Summary for UK investors, and many more.
Is KuCoin safe?
Wondering if KuCoin is legit? KuCoin is generally regarded as a secure exchange that uses strong security practices including secure asset storage and multi-layer account security. KuCoin has also published proof of reserves via an independent third party and offers a bug bounty to encourage ethical hackers to find any security flaws on the platform. However, like all large crypto exchanges, KuCoin is an appealing target for hackers and was hacked in 2020 for more than $250 million, so you should always follow best security practices and keep any crypto you're not actively trading in an offline, secure wallet.
Where is Kucoin based?
Wondering where the KuCoin headquarters are? KuCoin is based in Victoria, in the Seychelles, although the company has employees working around the world.
What are KuCoin fees?
KuCoin has a tiered maker/taker fee model based on your trading volume over the last 30 days in a given market and the 'class' of crypto you're trading. The fees are relatively low compared to other exchanges, and KuCoin Token (KCS) holders receive exclusive discounts. Cryptocurrencies are split into classes based on their trading volume. You can see an example of KuCoin trading fees for Class A cryptocurrencies below. Please note, you don't need to meet the 30-day trading volume requirements for every market.
What is KuCoin staking?
KuCoin offers many staking and earn products for investors, including flexible staking products for those who want to stake as part of a consensus mechanism without the downside of having crypto locked up long-term.
As well as this, KuCoin offers many earn products that are similar to staking products but may offer higher returns (and higher risk!) including dual investments, savings, and boosted earning promotions. You should always DYOR before using any KuCoin staking or earn products to understand the risks involved. Learn more about KuCoin staking in our guide.
What's the Kucoin trading bot?
KuCoin Bot is an automated trading bot that can help you stay on top of market changes and execute your strategy faster by automating your transactions according to specific conditions. There are several KuCoin trading bots available including:
KuCoin Spot Grid Trading Bot: Sell high, buy low.
KuCoin Futures Grid Trading Bot: Go long or short to profit from market trends.
KuCoin Smart Rebalance Trading Bot: Spread the risk by diversifying your portfolio.
KuCoin DCA Trading Bot: Regularly invest a given amount using automated dollar cost averaging.
KuCoin Infinity Grid Trading Bot: Use a grid trading strategy to place buy and sell orders and take advantage of bullish volatility.
Want to learn more about trading bots? Learn about the best trading bots in 2023.
Which should I use KuCoin vs. Binance?
Looking for a Binance vs. Kucoin review? Both are leading crypto exchanges and widely used by investors around the world, so the reality is the right platform for you will come down to the products and cryptocurrencies offered, as well as where you live as you may be in a restricted country. Need help to choose? Check out our best crypto exchanges guide which compares safety, security, fees, and more.
Does KuCoin require KYC?
Wondering if there's mandatory KuCoin KYC? As of July 2023, KuCoin now has mandatory KYC for accounts. There are several tiers of KYC available with different withdrawal limits. Users who fail to complete KYC by August 31 will no longer be able to open new orders or make many transactions on KuCoin, although they will still be able to withdraw their funds.
What's the KuCoin wallet?
HaloWallet partnered up with KuCoin to become the recommended KuCoin non-custodial wallet, allowing investors to explore web3 and DeFi while remaining in control of their keys and their crypto.
What's the KuCoin token?
KuCoin Token (KCS) is the native token of the KuCoin exchange. The token launched in 2017 as a utility token, giving holders exclusive benefits, as well as allowing traders to share in the growth of the exchange. KCS holders get daily bonuses from KuCoin's daily trading fee revenue.
How to short on KuCoin?
There are a couple of options for shorting on KuCoin including KuCoin futures, and leveraged tokens so it depends on the product you're using.
For KuCoin futures, investors can hedge against downside risk in the spot market without holding the underlying asset. The easiest way to do this is by using limit, stop, or market orders and selecting sell/short. It's important to note that futures products come with high risk and your losses may be substantially more than trading in spot markets, so you should always DYOR to ensure you understand the risks involved and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
KuCoin also offers leveraged tokens for a huge number of cryptocurrencies. Short tokens are defined by the S symbol - for example, AVAX3S or AAVE3S are examples of tokens that effectively create a 3x short position on an underlying asset. Although leveraged tokens are slightly lower risk compared to other leveraged options thanks to collateral generally being managed by a rebalancing function, they are not without risk. You can learn more about the benefits and risks of leveraged tokens in our leveraged tokens guide.
Can I use KuCoin in the US?
No. KuCoin is not licensed to operate in the US and as the platform now requires mandatory KYC, US residents will no longer be able to access the exchange. Previously, despite not being licensed in the US, many US residents used KuCoin as there was no mandatory KYC verification. This is no longer the case and your account may be frozen if you fail to adhere to KuCoin's terms and conditions.
