Crypto 1099 Form: 1099-K vs. 1099-B vs. 1099-MISC
Crypto 1099 forms help taxpayers and the IRS keep a record of income from crypto investments, but they've often created confusion instead of simplifying tax filing. Our guide covers everything you need to know about crypto 1099 forms, including 1099-B, 1099-MISC, 1099-K, and the new 1099-DA.
What is an IRS 1099 form?
An IRS 1099 form is a record of income for an individual taxpayer. You can receive an IRS 1099 form for many reasons. For example, freelancers and contractors may receive one from a client.
There are 20 different types of 1099 forms available for businesses to report types of income. Only a few of them are issued by crypto exchanges to users.
Crypto 1099 reporting
Crypto exchanges began sending out IRS 1099 forms a few years ago due to increasing pressure from the IRS to share customer data. Whenever you receive a crypto 1099 form, the IRS receives an identical copy.
Do you get a 1099 form for cryptocurrency?
Yes. Most exchanges issue 1099-MISC, and many have previously issued 1099-B and 1099-K forms. From January 2026, every single US exchange operating in the US must issue 1099-DA.
What does the IRS say about crypto 1099 forms?
In updated guidance, the IRS has made it clear that all crypto exchanges must issue 1099-DAs from 2026. Prior to this, the IRS had advised exchanges to issue 1099-K forms for users trading over a certain limit, as well as 1099-MISC for any income over $600.
The issue with both 1099-K forms is that they reported gross proceeds, not gains and losses. This resulted in confusion for investors and the IRS alike. 1099-DA forms are not expected to resolve this issue initially, as they are not required to report cost basis in 2026, so your gains and losses will likely be inflated.
To help you navigate the complexities, let's look at an example of each 1099 form, which exchanges are issuing each form, and what you need to do about it.
Crypto 1099-B Form Example
Form 1099-B is used by brokers (and barter exchanges) to report capital gains made from the disposal of a capital asset on behalf of their clients. Here’s what a 1099-B looks like:
The 1099-B form is much better for reporting capital asset transactions as it includes sections to report your proceeds, cost basis, realized gain or loss, and even whether that was a short or long-term capital gain or loss.
1099-DA is similar to 1099-B in this aspect, but doesn't resolve the reporting challenges that many exchanges faced when issuing 1099-B forms. The key challenge is that, because crypto is highly portable, keeping track of cost basis is almost impossible.
Which exchanges issue 1099-B for cryptocurrency?
No exchanges will issue 1099-B for cryptocurrency under the updated guidance from the IRS. Previously, Uphold and Bittrex had issued 1099-B.
Platforms that deal with other assets as well as crypto, such as Robinhood or Cash App, will continue to issue 1099-B for these assets.
Will I get a crypto 1099B?
No. Under the updated guidance, exchanges must now issue 1099-DA, not 1099-B.
What do I need to do if I get a crypto 1099 B?
Individuals (or their accountants) use a 1099-B to fill out Form 8949 and Form 1040 Schedule 1 to be included in their annual tax return.
Crypto 1099-K Form Example
Form 1099-K was the most common form issued by crypto exchanges until the new guidance came into force. Here’s an example of what a 1099-K form looks like:
A 1099-K form states the total amount traded by an individual in a single financial year. The 1099-K form is most commonly used by financial services like PayPal and credit card companies to report payments processed for third parties.
In most instances, you would only receive a 1099-K form if you’d made 200 or more transactions on a platform, valued over $20,000.
The key issue with crypto 1099-K forms is that the form doesn’t represent your net capital gain or loss. Instead, it looks at your net proceeds from that exchange for the financial year, so the figures you see reported may be much higher than expected.
Which crypto exchanges issue 1099-K?
No crypto exchanges will continue to issue the 1099-K now that the 1099-DA is in effect. Exchanges that have previously issued 1099-K include:
Coinbase
Binance
Kraken
Gemini
Bitstamp
eToro
Crypto.com
Will I get a crypto 1099K form?
No. Under the updated guidance, exchanges must now issue 1099-DA, not 1099-K.
What do I need to do if I get a crypto 1099 K?
The 1099-K doesn’t report individual transactions. Instead, it informs them that you own and traded digital assets in the financial year.
You need to include the amounts reported on your 1099-K in your annual Individual Tax Return. You’ll report your crypto investments on Form 8949 and Schedule D for capital gains and losses and Schedule 1 for ordinary income.
1099-MISC Form Example
Form 1099-MISC is the 1099 form designed to report miscellaneous income to the IRS. Here’s a form example:
Who gets one?
Anyone earning more than $600 in income (for example, staking or mining rewards) via a given exchange will receive a 1099-MISC form. This is unrelated to the 1099-DA, and you may receive both forms depending on your transactions.
Which crypto exchanges issue 1099-MISC?
Many crypto exchanges have confirmed they’re now issuing 1099-MISC forms to users, including:
Kraken
Coinbase
Coinbase Pro
Coinbase Prime
Binance US
Celsius
eToro
Crypto.com
Will I get a crypto 1099-MISC form?
You may receive a 1099-MISC form if you’re a US resident who has $600 or more income through crypto activities like reward programs or staking.
What do I need to do if I get a 1099-MISC form?
When the IRS receives a 1099-MISC form about a taxpayer, they expect that taxpayer to itemize and report that income in their annual tax return. This could be on the Schedule 1 or the Schedule C for self-employed individuals.
Failure to include these transactions and report your crypto income will increase the likelihood of you facing a crypto IRS audit.
Use Koinly to calculate and report your crypto taxes
Koinly crypto tax software demystifies crypto tax. All you need to do is sync the wallets and exchanges you use with Koinly via API or by uploading a CSV file. Once you’ve synced all the wallets and exchanges you use, Koinly can calculate your crypto taxes for you, including your capital gains and losses, income, expenses, and more.
All this information is available for free in your tax summary. You can also download US-specific tax reports, including a pre-filled Form 8949 and Schedule D, directly from Koinly, ready to file in your annual tax return.
