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Home / Answers / What records do I need for crypto taxes?
Crypto Records Answer

What records do I need for crypto taxes?

A direct records checklist for digital asset investors, traders, miners, stakers, NFT creators, and Web3 operators.

Direct Answer

What should I send a crypto tax CPA?

Short answer: provide complete exchange exports, wallet addresses, transaction history, prior-year tax files, cost-basis support, and notes explaining DeFi, staking, mining, NFTs, transfers, and business activity. The goal is to reconcile the economic activity before relying on tax software output.

  • Missing basis is one of the most common crypto tax problems.
  • Wallet transfers should be identified so they are not treated as taxable disposals.
  • Rewards, mining, DeFi, NFTs, and business use require classification support.
When This Matters

Use this answer when the facts are starting to matter.

  • You used more than one exchange, wallet, chain, or DeFi protocol.
  • Tax software shows missing basis, duplicate proceeds, or unexplained transfers.
  • You received staking rewards, mining income, airdrops, token incentives, or NFT income.
  • You need prior-year cleanup before the current return can be prepared.

The clean answer

A strong crypto tax file is transaction-level, not just a single gain/loss PDF. A CPA needs enough records to determine what was bought, sold, exchanged, transferred, earned, spent, or held, and whether the tax software made reasonable assumptions.

When records are incomplete, the work usually becomes a reconstruction project: matching transfers, rebuilding cost basis, classifying rewards, and documenting unresolved assumptions.

Core records

Exchange CSV exports, annual tax reports, Form 1099s, and account statements.

Public wallet addresses, transaction exports, and chain history for self-custody wallets.

Prior-year Form 8949 support, tax software files, and carryforward basis reports.

Fiat deposits and withdrawals that help reconcile cash in and out.

Activity-specific records

Staking, mining, rewards, airdrops, and token incentive records.

DeFi swaps, liquidity pools, bridges, wrapping, lending, borrowing, and derivatives.

NFT minting, creator royalties, marketplace sales, and business expense records.

Entity, fund, or protocol accounting records if digital assets are held outside an individual account.

Source-Backed Notes

Crypto tax records should explain both activity and basis

A defensible digital asset tax file should reconcile exchange records, wallet history, transfers, proceeds, cost basis, rewards, fees, and unsupported software assumptions before filing.

IRS Digital Assets Digital asset income, gain, loss, and records must be reported under federal tax rules. IRS Digital Asset FAQs Digital asset reporting often requires transaction-level basis, proceeds, and gain or loss support.
Related pages Do I need a crypto tax CPA? What records do I need for crypto taxes?
Frequently Asked Questions

Related questions

Is a crypto tax software report enough for a CPA?

It can be a useful starting point, but the CPA still needs exports and support to review missing basis, transfers, rewards, and classification assumptions.

Do wallet-to-wallet transfers matter if they are not taxable?

Yes. Transfers between wallets you own should be documented so they are not misclassified as sales, exchanges, income, or missing basis events.

What if I cannot get old exchange records?

A CPA can help identify reconstruction options, but missing records should be disclosed and documented because unsupported basis can create tax risk.

Next Step

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