Crypto Tax Calculator
Tax on crypto sales, trades and staking income for 2026 or 2025
Last updated: October 2026 · IRS digital asset guidance and 2025 / 2026 capital gains brackets
Your sales and trades
One row per disposal. A coin-to-coin trade counts as a sale: use the dollar value received as proceeds.
Your tax situation
Value in dollars when you received it. Taxed as ordinary income.
Tax from crypto
$1,190
federal, NIIT and state
Short-term net
$2,000
ordinary rates
Long-term net
$5,000
0%, 15% or 20%
Breakdown
- Short-term gain taxed as ordinary income
- $2,000
- Long-term gain at capital gains rates
- $5,000
- Staking and mining income
- $0
- Extra federal income tax
- $1,190
- Net investment income tax (3.8%)
- $0
- State tax
- $0
Tax is the difference between your return with and without crypto, using the standard deduction. Self-employment tax on mining as a business is not included.
How crypto tax is calculated
Each sale, trade or purchase made with crypto has a gain or loss: dollars received minus cost basis, minus transaction fees. Gains on coins held more than one year are long-term; a year or less is short-term. Short-term results and long-term results are netted separately, then against each other. Net short-term gain is added to your ordinary income. Net long-term gain is taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% depending on where it lands on top of your other taxable income. Rewards from staking or mining are ordinary income in the year received.
Worked example (2026, single)
You earn $80,000 in wages, so taxable income before crypto is $63,900. You sell bitcoin held for almost two years for $15,000 that cost $10,000 (a $5,000 long-term gain), and ether held five months for $6,000 that cost $4,000 (a $2,000 short-term gain). The short-term gain is taxed at your 22% rate: $440. The long-term gain sits above the $49,450 top of the 0% band, so it is taxed at 15%: $750. Total federal tax from crypto: $1,190.
If instead you had a $10,000 net loss, $3,000 would offset wages this year (saving $660 at 22%) and $7,000 would carry forward.
Key rules for 2025 and 2026
- Brokers report gross proceeds on Form 1099-DA for sales from January 1, 2025, and cost basis for certain sales from January 1, 2026 (IRS digital assets).
- Every Form 1040 asks whether you received, sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of a digital asset. Moving coins between your own wallets is not a disposal.
- Staking rewards are income when you gain control of them (Rev. Rul. 2023-14).
- Capital loss deduction against other income is capped at $3,000 a year ($1,500 married filing separately).
- High earners pay an extra 3.8% net investment income tax on gains once modified AGI passes $200,000 ($250,000 joint).
Related tools and reading
For stocks and funds use the capital gains tax calculator; for a house, the home sale capital gains calculator. If mining or trading is a business, check the self-employment tax calculator. See how gains change your refund with the tax refund calculator, add state tax with the US tax calculator, and read the 2026 tax brackets guide for where your gains will land.
Frequently asked questions
How is crypto taxed in the US?
The IRS treats crypto as property, not currency. Selling it, trading one coin for another, or spending it is a taxable disposal: you have a capital gain or loss equal to what you received minus your cost basis. Held more than a year, the gain is long-term and taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%. Held a year or less, it is short-term and taxed at your ordinary income rate. Buying crypto with dollars and holding it is not taxable.
Are staking and mining rewards taxable?
Yes. Staking rewards are ordinary income at their fair market value when you gain control of them (Rev. Rul. 2023-14), and mining rewards are ordinary income when received. That value becomes your cost basis, so when you later sell the rewards you have a separate capital gain or loss. Mining as a business is also subject to self-employment tax.
What is Form 1099-DA?
A new form crypto brokers must send. For sales on or after January 1, 2025, brokers report gross proceeds. For certain sales on or after January 1, 2026, they also report cost basis, generally for assets bought in the same account from 2025 on. Decentralized and self-custody activity may not be reported, but it is still taxable and you still have to report it.
Does the wash sale rule apply to crypto?
As of October 2026, the wash sale rule in section 1091 applies to stock and securities, and crypto held directly is treated as property, so selling at a loss and buying back right away does not disallow the loss. Congress has considered extending the rule to digital assets several times. Crypto ETFs and other securities are covered by the rule now. Check for changes before relying on this.
FIFO or specific identification: which cost basis method should I use?
From January 1, 2025, basis is tracked wallet by wallet and account by account, not across everything you own. Within each account the default is first in, first out (FIFO) unless you specifically identify which units you sold at or before the sale, for example with a standing order you record before selling (IRS Notice 2025-7). Specific identification lets you sell the highest-cost units first to lower a gain.
How much crypto loss can I deduct?
Capital losses first offset capital gains of any kind. If you still have a net loss, up to $3,000 a year ($1,500 married filing separately) offsets ordinary income, and the rest carries forward to future years with no time limit.