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🇺🇸 Crypto tax in United States
Digital assets are property. Selling or exchanging them gives a capital gain or loss (short-term if held one year or less, long-term if more). Brokers report on Form 1099-DA from 2025 transactions.
| Tax treatment | Digital assets are property, not currency; personal/investment disposals give capital gains or losses.Source quote"For U.S. tax purposes, digital assets are considered property, not currency." |
|---|---|
| Short vs long term | Held one year or less: short-term; more than one year: long-term.Source quote"Short-term capital gain: If you held the digital asset as a capital asset for one year or less" |
| Rates (tax year 2025) | Net short-term gains taxed as ordinary income. Long-term net capital gain: 0% up to $48,350 taxable income (single) / $96,700 (married filing jointly); 15% above that up to $533,400 (single) / $600,050 (MFJ); 20% above. Net investment income tax may also apply.Source quote"A capital gains rate of 0% applies if your taxable income is less than or equal to: $48,350 for single …" / "Net short-term capital gains are subject to taxation as ordinary income" |
| Losses | Net capital loss deductible up to $3,000 ($1,500 married filing separately) per year; excess carried forward.Source quote"the lesser of $3,000 ($1,500 if married filing separately) or your total net loss" |
| Income events | Mining, staking, forks etc. are reported as ordinary income (Schedule 1).Source quote"To report income from forks, staking, mining, etc., use Form 1040 (Schedule 1)" |
| Tax return question | Form 1040 asks a Yes/No digital assets question every year.Source quote"you must answer "Yes" or "No" to a question about digital assets" |
| Where to report | Form 8949, summarised on Schedule D.Source quote"Use Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets" |
| Per-wallet basis | From 1 Jan 2025 basis is tracked per wallet or account. Rev. Proc. 2024-28 gives a safe harbor to allocate unused basis to each wallet/account as of 1 Jan 2025, subject to eligibility and timing requirements.Source quote"Rev. Proc. 2024-28 … to allocate unused basis of digital assets to digital assets held within each wallet or account of a taxpayer as of January 1, 2025, as required by the final regulations." |
| Deadline | April 15 for calendar-year filers (April 15, 2026 for tax year 2025); automatic 6-month extension to file with Form 4868 – not an extension to pay.Source quote"File on: April 15, 2026" … "An extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay." |
| Exchange reporting (1099-DA) | Brokers report gross proceeds for transactions on/after 1 Jan 2025 and basis for certain transactions on/after 1 Jan 2026.Source quote"Brokers must report gross proceeds for transactions effected on or after Jan. 1, 2025. Brokers must report basis on certain transactions effected on or after Jan. 1, 2026." |
Official sources
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Not tax advice. General information summarised from official sources; it may be incomplete or out of date. Always check the linked official source or a qualified tax adviser.