Michelle Legge
By Michelle LeggeHead of Crypto Tax Education
Updated Jan 12, 2024
This article has been fact checked and reviewed as per our editorial policy.

Does Coinbase Report To The IRS?

Wondering whether Coinbase reports to the IRS in 2024? In short, yes, Coinbase reports to the IRS, but the information the exchange reports varies depending on your transactions. Learn about what Coinbase reports to the IRS, including what the latest impending regulatory changes for crypto exchanges to issue the new 1099-DA form mean for Coinbase IRS reporting.

Key points

  • Coinbase reports to the IRS using 1099 forms. Whenever Coinbase issues a 1099 form, both you and the IRS will receive it.

  • The IRS has previously issued a John Doe summons to Coinbase, compelling Coinbase to hand over customer transaction data. This information was used to send out warning letters to investors.

  • From 2025, Coinbase will likely be required to issue 1099-DA to users and the IRS to report all capital gains and losses.

Does Coinbase report to the IRS?

Yes. Coinbase reports to the IRS. Coinbase currently issues 1099-MISC forms to both users and the IRS, reporting taxable income over $600. In the near future, Coinbase is likely to issue 1099-DA forms reporting capital gains and losses.

What's a Coinbase 1099-MISC form?

1099 forms are tax forms that provide information about non-employment-related income to the IRS. The 1099-MISC form reports miscellaneous income to the IRS. 

When Coinbase issues a 1099-MISC form, it will include information about specific miscellaneous income a user has made on Coinbase exchange (including Coinbase Pro prior to the closure of the platform). This would include transactions classified as income by the IRS crypto tax guidance, like staking rewards, airdrops, and referral rewards. 

However, Coinbase will only issue a 1099-MISC if you have more than $600 in miscellaneous income in a single financial year (January - December).

Prior to issuing a 1099-MISC form, Coinbase issued a 1099-K form.

Why did Coinbase stop issuing 1099-K forms?

Coinbase began issuing 1099 forms to the IRS in 2017 and, up until 2021, Coinbase issued 1099-K forms before switching to 1099-MISC forms.

Coinbase stopped issuing 1099-K forms as it was creating confusion for users and IRS agents. 1099-K forms are most commonly used by payment settlement networks, and the form details the transaction volume of processed payments to the IRS.

So instead of reporting capital gains and losses, which are the calculations investors generally need for crypto tax reporting, 1099-K instead details your entire transaction volume and reports that figure to the IRS. As you can probably guess, this meant that Coinbase 1099-K forms often hugely inflated the supposed taxable income from crypto transactions. 

As a result of Coinbase 1099-K forms, a significant number of investors received CP2000 notices from the IRS incorrectly.

Will I get a Coinbase 1099 form?

You may receive a 1099-MISC from Coinbase if:

  • You are a Coinbase customer AND

  • You are a US person for tax purposes AND

  • You earned $600 or more in rewards through Coinbase Earn, USDC rewards, or staking rewards throughout the previous financial year.

What should I do if I receive a Coinbase tax form? 

If you receive a Coinbase 1099 Form, you must report it (and all other crypto income) on your tax return. For crypto income, how to report depends on your status as a taxpayer and whether you're employed or self-employed.

  • Employed: Report your Coinbase income as other income on Schedule 1.

  • Self-employed: Report your Coinbase income on Schedule C.

Please note your Coinbase 1099-MISC only includes miscellaneous income and you are still required to report any capital gains or losses from crypto, as well as any other income, from Coinbase and all other crypto exchanges and wallets you use.

When does Coinbase send 1099?

If you're going to receive a 1099-MISC form from Coinbase, you'll receive it by the end of February of the following financial year at the latest.

How do I get my 1099 from Coinbase?

You can download your 1099 by going to documents, in your Coinbase tax center.

Do all Coinbase customers receive IRS forms?

No. Only selected US customers may receive a 1099-MISC form from Coinbase if they meet certain criteria. International customers - as in - not US residents, will not receive a Form 1099.

Does Coinbase share other customer information with the IRS?

Even if you don’t receive a 1099 Form from Coinbase, you are still required to report all cryptocurrency transactions to the IRS every tax season - and they might know about your Coinbase investments anyway. Back in 2016, the IRS won a John Doe Summons case against Coinbase, forcing them to share customers' KYC data. In this instance, the IRS asked for records on individuals engaging in transactions of $20,000 or more in a financial year, and more than 10,000 Coinbase customers were contacted warning them they had failed to report additional income or gains.

When does Coinbase report to the IRS?

The US financial year runs from 1 January to 31 December, Coinbase tax reporting happens after the end of the financial year and before the filing deadline on April 15.

Does Coinbase provide 1099-Bs?

No. Coinbase does not issue Form 1099-Bs.

As part of the Infrastructure Bill, it was originally thought crypto brokers (including centralized exchanges like Coinbase) would have to start issuing 1099-B forms to the IRS in the future. However, the latest IRS crypto reporting requirements confirm both centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges - including Coinbase - will be required to issue the new 1099-DA form instead.

Find out which exchanges issue 1099-B Forms.

Can I use my Coinbase 1099 for tax reporting?

It depends on your investments. Coinbase 1099 forms only describe any income (rewards) an investor has made, and only those generated through the Coinbase platform, so it won't include any capital gains or losses you've made on Coinbase. For traders who use multiple exchanges, a 1099 from Coinbase is not enough to report crypto taxes accurately.

How do I get a complete tax report from Coinbase?

Coinbase will only issue 1099-MISC forms to select customers - and this will only detail miscellaneous income from Coinbase transactions.

For everyone else, traders with multiple exchange accounts, and international customers, you'll need to download your Coinbase transaction history to fulfill your tax filing obligations, or connect to crypto tax software via API and have your transaction history returned automatically.

You can download your Coinbase transaction history by going to reports (in the drop-down menu from your profile icon) and then selecting generate report.

Alternatively, you can use a Coinbase tax calculator to automatically fetch your transaction history in minutes using API.

A banner with the Koinly and Coinbase logos inviting crypto investors to connect their Coinbase account with Koinly, a crypto tax software

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