Form 1099-DA Is Coming in 2026: What to Track Before Filing
The IRS advises tax professionals that brokers will furnish new 1099-DA statements to taxpayers by February, most without cost basis for 2025 transactions. Basis must be reconstructed before filing.
The Internal Revenue Service reminds tax professionals that the new broker form for reporting proceeds from certain digital asset transactions, Form 1099-DA, will reach taxpayers in early 2026, and that preparers can take steps now to help clients get ready. This guidance is aimed at tax professionals, but the practical burden lands on households: most of these statements will not show the cost basis of 2025 digital asset transactions, so that figure has to be rebuilt from records before a 2025 return can be filed.
What the new form actually reports
Form 1099-DA is the form brokers use to report certain digital asset transactions that took place beginning in calendar year 2025. Brokers must also provide taxpayers a statement reflecting the information reported to the IRS on that form, by February (the source does not specify a day).
The key limitation is what these statements leave out. According to the IRS, these statements differ from some other statements taxpayers receive showing information reported on other IRS forms because most of them will not provide the basis of the taxpayer's digital asset transactions for the 2025 tax year. Basis must be calculated by taxpayers before their 2025 tax return can be filed. That single sentence is the reason recordkeeping matters so much this cycle: the incoming form documents proceeds, but not what was paid to acquire the asset.
Why basis is the household problem, not just the preparer's
The IRS frames detailed recordkeeping as critical for reporting basis accurately on behalf of taxpayers. It also states that all data used to calculate basis must be complete and accurate. For a family reviewing last year's activity, that means assembling the original acquisition records, not just the year-end statement that arrives in early 2026.
As an illustration, a household that bought and sold the same asset across several accounts over the year holds one proceeds figure from the broker but still needs its own acquisition records to complete the return. That is why the IRS points preparers toward reviewing and reconciling all transactions, which may be spread over multiple exchanges, wallets, and accounts, and applying appropriate cost basis methods while documenting findings. The source does not supply a specific method, so the choice belongs with the taxpayer and preparer, not with this overview.
Coverage gaps households should not overlook
The statement in the mailbox is not a full picture of taxable activity. Decentralized finance (DeFi) brokers and some foreign brokers are not required to file a Form 1099-DA with the IRS or furnish a statement to taxpayers showing their digital asset transactions.
The IRS adds that taxpayers should understand their tax obligations whether or not they received a statement showing all taxable digital asset activities. In practice, a quiet tax season with no 1099-DA is not evidence of no reportable activity. Activity on platforms outside the reporting requirement still has to be examined, and the household records are the only source for those entries.
Where preparers can act now
Because the statements arrive in early 2026 and most omit basis, the preparation work is front-loaded. The IRS guidance supports a few concrete steps that can start before filing season:
- Gather transaction histories from every exchange, wallet, and account the household used during 2025, not only those issuing statements.
- Reconcile those records against what will be reported, so proceeds and acquisitions line up.
- Document the basis figures and the reasoning behind them for each position.
- For preparers using software to assist clients, confirm the software is trusted and check taxpayer information closely, since faulty input undermines the basis calculation.
Note the division of labor implied here. The IRS reminded tax professionals, and the recordkeeping steps are directed at the preparation process, but a household still has to supply the underlying records for that process to work.
What the source does not say
Several details matter for planning but are not established by the guidance:
- No specific February due date is given; the source states only 'by Feb.'
- No tax-rate, threshold, or dollar amounts are provided for any transaction type.
- The guidance does not name which specific DeFi or foreign brokers are excluded, nor does it describe any penalty for missing or inaccurate basis reporting.
- No rule is given for choosing among cost basis methods, and no worked calculation appears.
- Nothing indicates whether an updated form or instruction set will change before 2026; the guidance points readers to the Digital assets page and the Instructions for Form 1099-DA for current details.
How to read the timing
Two dates drive the practical calendar. Statements arrive in early 2026, and they cover transactions that took place beginning in calendar year 2025. Anyone who traded on a reporting broker in 2025 should expect a form covering proceeds but not basis, which means the household must locate its own acquisition data for every position the form touches.
The cleanest way to read the reminder is as a records problem rather than a filing-date problem. The form tells you what was sold and for how much; it usually does not tell you what it cost. Until that gap is filled from the household's own records, the 2025 return cannot be completed, and the missing pieces are far easier to find now than during filing season.
Sources
Informational only. Not financial, legal or investment advice. Check the primary sources listed above before you act on anything here.