Crypto holders: sales, trades, staking and pay on your return, prepared from your gain/loss report
Free tax review
Find out what we’d handle and what it costs
Thirty minutes by phone; you leave with one written price.
We check the gain/loss report your exchange or crypto tax software produces against each Form 1099-DA, then prepare your return and any earlier years that need amending from it. The first review is free, each return is one flat fee quoted in writing before work starts, and individual returns start at $350. Based in Santa Clarita, we work with people who sold, traded, staked or were paid in crypto in any state.
Typical situations
Do you work with people who sold, traded, staked or were paid in crypto?
Yes, we take on the tax side of crypto: a Form 1099-DA with no cost shown, staking rewards, being paid in crypto, earlier years left off a return, crypto lost to a scam, and a letter about crypto.
The gain/loss report is the report your exchange or crypto tax software produces listing each sale with what you got, what it cost and the dates. If you don’t have a finished report yet, get one from your exchange or crypto tax software first; we prepare from it once it’s done.
A Form 1099-DA with no cost shown
Someone whose Form 1099-DA — the form a U.S. crypto exchange or other broker sends reporting sales — shows what the coins sold for but not what they cost. We work from the form and the finished report. If the return copies the form and leaves the cost blank, all of the proceeds are taxed as if they were gain. We carry each sale onto Form 8949, where each sale and trade is listed, with the cost the report shows. Individual returns start at $350, with the year’s crypto priced into the quote.
Staking rewards alongside the year’s sales
Someone who staked coins through an exchange — committed them to help validate a blockchain’s transactions in return for reward coins — and also sold some during the year. We work from the exchange’s record of rewards received, or the income section of the report, and the Form 1099-DA for the sales. A return built from the Form 1099-DA alone leaves the rewards off, because the form doesn’t carry them. Staking rewards are income at their dollar value when they can be sold, traded or moved, and staking through an exchange counts the same way. We report the rewards as income on Schedule 1, the form for other income, apart from the sales, at the values the report or the exchange’s records show.
Paid in crypto for work
Someone paid in crypto for work, as an employee or as an independent contractor. We work from the employer’s W-2, or the invoices and payment records showing each payment’s date and dollar value, any Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC, and the finished report for coins later sold. If the report shows those coins with no cost, the same dollars are taxed once as pay and again when the coins are sold. Crypto paid for work is income at its dollar value on the day it arrives — wages on the W-2 for an employee, or self-employment income on Schedule C, the form for self-employment income, with self-employment tax, for an independent contractor. We report the pay where it belongs, at the values the records show, and check that the report uses that same value as those coins’ cost.
Earlier years that never went on a return
Someone with crypto sales or trades in earlier years that never went on a return, including coin-for-coin trades once thought not to count until cashing out. We need each year’s filed return and a finished report for each of those years. Tax paid late on those years can bring penalties and interest. Crypto left off an earlier return is fixed with an amended return — Form 1040-X, a separate one for each year. We prepare a Form 1040-X for each year from that year’s finished report, with the state amendment where one is needed, and file any year that never had a return, each priced into the quote. If a year has no finished report yet, the report comes first, from the exchange or crypto tax software, and we prepare that year once it’s done.
Crypto sent to an investment scam
Someone who sent crypto to an investment scheme that turned out to be a scam. We read the messages and account screens from the scheme and the finished gain/loss report showing what the coins sent cost and when they left. Crypto taken in an investment scam may be a deductible theft loss only if it was theft under state law, there’s no reasonable prospect of getting it back, and you sent it expecting to make money. We check the facts against those three conditions and the year the theft was discovered before any loss is claimed — and whether it was theft under state law can be a question for an attorney.
A letter about crypto, real or fake
Someone holding a letter about crypto — an IRS letter such as Letter 6173, 6174 or 6174-A, or one that only claims to be from the IRS. We work from the letter and the returns for the years it names. The first question is whether the letter really comes from the IRS. A letter with a QR code telling the recipient to register crypto on a “Digital Asset Compliance Portal” is a scam, because the IRS runs no such portal, and no one legitimate asks for a recovery phrase or private keys. We read the letter first; when it’s a real IRS letter, we check the years it names against the returns and prepare any Form 1040-X from the finished reports. More on help with an IRS letter.
What’s taxable
When is crypto taxed?
The IRS treats crypto — bitcoin and other coins, stablecoins, NFTs — as property, not money, so you have a tax event when you sell it, trade it for a different coin, spend it, or receive it as pay, a reward or new coins.
Buying crypto with dollars and holding it isn’t a sale, and moving coins between wallets or accounts you own isn’t taxable except for coins spent on the transfer fee. The gain or loss on each sale is what you got in dollars minus what the coins cost in dollars, fees included — long-term if you held them more than one year, short-term if one year or less. We carry each sale and trade from your finished report onto Form 8949 and Schedule D, where those totals go, and we report crypto pay and rewards as income apart from the sales.
Form 1099-DA
What does Form 1099-DA show, and what does it leave out?
Form 1099-DA, the form a U.S. crypto exchange or other broker sends reporting your sales, shows what your coins sold for; for 2025 sales it usually leaves out what they cost, and it never carries staking rewards.
It covers sales made on or after January 1, 2025. From 2026 a broker has to show the cost only for coins bought on or after January 1, 2026 in that same account and kept there, so coins bought earlier, or moved in from another wallet or exchange, can show none. DeFi platforms — decentralized platforms that never take possession of your coins — and some foreign exchanges don’t send the form at all. Every sale and trade goes on your return whether or not a Form 1099-DA shows it, even at a loss.
We match every Form 1099-DA you received to the sales on your finished report and list any sale that’s on one but not the other before anything is filed.
Where a form shows no cost, the cost on your return comes from your own records, through your finished report — never from us.
What you get
What do you get when we prepare your crypto taxes?
You get your finished report checked against every Form 1099-DA before anything is filed, the return prepared from it, a Form 1040-X for each earlier year that needs one, and an honest read on whether the work is worth paying for.
Before the return is prepared
Your finished report checked against every Form 1099-DA you received and against last year’s return, with anything that doesn’t line up listed for your exchange or software to explain or correct.
The return, built from your report
Each sale and trade on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Which sales are short-term and which long-term. Staking or mining rewards reported as income, crypto pay as W-2 wages or on Schedule C, each apart from the sales, and why. The digital asset question — the yes/no question on page 1 of Form 1040 — answered. Any capital loss carried in or forward. The actual numbers, in order, with the reasoning written next to them.
Earlier years, one at a time
Which years need a Form 1040-X, the amended return, and each one prepared from that year’s finished report, with the state amendment where one is needed.
An honest read
If the year is one Form 1099-DA and a short finished report with nothing to amend, and the work isn’t worth paying for, we tell you and you’re done.
What we check
What do you check before anything is filed?
We read the finished report for each exchange or wallet, every Form 1099-DA, 1099-B, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC and W-2 you received, your rewards records, and the return you filed last year — and, for an earlier year, that year’s filed return and that year’s report.
- Each Form 1099-DA’s proceeds against the report’s sales
- Any cost shown on a Form 1099-DA or 1099-B against the cost the report shows for those sales
- Staking, mining and other reward amounts, with their dollar value when received, where the report doesn’t carry them
- Crypto pay against the W-2, 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC
- The report’s short-term and long-term totals against where they go on Form 8949 and Schedule D
- Last year’s capital loss carryover onto this year’s Schedule D
- The year’s activity against the digital asset question
- For an earlier year, that year’s filed return against that year’s report
California
What’s different in California for crypto taxes?
California taxes all capital gains, crypto included, as regular income with no lower rate; a gain or loss that differs from the federal return goes on Schedule D (540), and the net capital loss limit is the same $3,000 a year ($1,500 for married people or registered domestic partners filing separately).
- We put the sales from the same report on the California return, e-filed with the federal one.
- We prepare the California return from the same report and note any difference.
- We apply the same loss limit on the California return.
Pricing
What does crypto tax preparation cost in 2026?
In 2026 the first review is free; individual returns start at $350, self-employed returns at $650 — a year that also has one business or one rental, such as freelance work paid in crypto — and business returns at $850 with the owner’s personal return included. Each return is a flat fee quoted in writing after the free review, before we start.
What moves a quote:
- The number of exchanges and wallets — each with its own gain/loss report or Form 1099-DA to carry onto the return
- How many sales and trades the reports carry onto Form 8949
- Staking, mining or DeFi rewards, or pay received in crypto — income reported apart from the sales
- Earlier years to fix — a separate Form 1040-X for each
Missing purchase history isn’t something we price: the report, cost included, has to be finished before we prepare anything. A return for a year never filed is priced into the same quote.
First review
$0 first review
Before you decide anything.
Individual return
from $350
- Federal and state returns e-filed together, one price
- Prepared from your finished report — crypto sales, trades and income priced into the quote, never a separate price
- How we prepare the return
Self-employed return
from $650
- One business or one rental on the same return — a contractor’s Schedule C or a single rental’s Schedule E
- Freelance work paid in crypto reported on Schedule C
- A business that files its own return starts at $850, with the owner’s personal return included
The quote is the price.
How it works
What happens after the free call?
During the free 30-minute call you get the engagement letter with the price in it; signing it sets up a short onboarding call, and the secure-portal invite and a short checklist come from that call.
The 30-minute call
Six to eight questions: which exchanges and wallets you used, how many years and roughly how many trades, which 1099s arrived, any staking, mining or pay in crypto, any years left off a return, and whether you already have a finished report. It ends with one flat price for the work we’d take on.
The engagement letter
It goes out during the call with the price in it; you sign when you’re ready. Signing books a short onboarding call, and the secure-portal invite comes from that call.
Your documents
Through the secure portal: the finished gain/loss report for each exchange or wallet, every Form 1099-DA and any other 1099 or W-2 you received, and last year’s return. We send a short checklist so nothing is missed.
The report review
We check your finished report against each Form 1099-DA and last year’s return, list anything that has to go back to your exchange or software before we file, and confirm which earlier years have a finished report to amend from.
The return
Half the return fee starts the work; the balance is due before e-file. You see the return before it’s filed — nothing goes out until you’ve signed off. If April gets tight, an extension is free either way.
Communication
You’ll know where the report review and the return stand.
The person who answers the phone is on the same team that checks your report and prepares your return.
The same-day rule
Call or email during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day — all twelve months.
New to this or years behind
A first Form 1099-DA or years of unreported trades, one exchange or several — the free call ends with a straight answer on whether we’re the right fit.
Admitted to practice before the IRS
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. If a letter about your crypto shows up, forward it and we read it before anything is answered.
The N&T Tax & Advisory Group team
For a person who sold, traded, staked or was paid in crypto, we prepare the year’s return and the amended years from the reports brought to us.
Tax planning · Tax preparation · IRS representation · Direct line: (661) 554-4495
Reviews
Rated 5.0 on Google
★★★★★ Twelve reviews, every one five stars, every one verifiable. Read all of them on Google →
"Alex helped me resolve a complicated tax situation that had been causing me a lot of stress. He was extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and efficient throughout the entire process."
Kevin B. — via Google
"Working with Alex was straightforward. I hadn't looked at my books all year, but he made my life easy and handled the whole profit and loss at the end of the year so I could get my taxes done."
Levon B. — via Google
"I came to this company with previous tax years and bookkeeping that were done incorrectly. They're very knowledgeable about what they do and help me get everything in order at a very reasonable price."
Sayra A. — via Google
Where we work
Do you work with people who have crypto to report outside California?
Yes — based in Santa Clarita, we work remotely with people in any state who have crypto to report. Documents come through the secure portal, and we walk through the numbers by phone and screen share. If you live in another state, we prepare that state’s return too and price it into your quote.
What we don’t do
We don’t build the gain/loss report itself, rebuild trades or missing purchase history, reconcile wallets or exchange accounts, import exchange or wallet files, value coins, or decide which coins were sold or what each one cost — and we never hold, move or trade anyone’s crypto, ask for keys or recovery phrases, or recommend an exchange, wallet or software. We figure the tax and prepare the returns; investment, financial and legal advice are outside our work, and when a question needs an attorney, we tell you.
Worth reading
What can you read before you call?
Two posts from our blog — neither is about crypto, but each is written for a situation some crypto readers are also in.
FAQ
Crypto tax questions
Do I owe tax on crypto if I never cashed out to dollars?
Yes, if you traded one coin for a different coin or paid for anything with crypto, because each of those is a sale with a gain or loss measured in dollars. Buying with dollars and holding, or moving coins between your own wallets, isn’t a sale, though coins spent on a transfer fee are. Crypto received as pay or as staking or mining rewards is also income when you get it, cashed out or not, and we put those sales and that income on your return from your finished report.
Do I check “Yes” on the digital asset question if I only bought and held crypto?
Generally no: holding crypto, buying it with dollars or moving it between your own wallets doesn’t call for “Yes” by itself, but paying a transfer fee in crypto does. “Yes” is for a year you received crypto as pay, a reward or new coins from mining or staking, or sold, traded or spent any. The question can’t be left blank, and not getting a Form 1099-DA doesn’t change the answer. We answer it from your report and records.
Can I deduct crypto losses?
Yes, as a capital loss: when your losses beat your gains for the year, up to $3,000 of the net loss ($1,500 married filing separately) comes off your other income, and the rest carries forward until it’s used up. A coin that has fallen in value but still trades isn’t a deductible loss just because it fell. We carry in any loss from the prior year’s return and figure the one carried forward.
Do I need a gain/loss report, or can you work from my exchange’s transaction history?
You need a finished gain/loss report. It comes from your exchange or your crypto tax software, which turns the exchange’s transaction exports into the finished list of proceeds, cost and dates we prepare from. The return is prepared from that report and your 1099s; we don’t import transaction files, rebuild trades or fill in a missing cost.
I left crypto off earlier returns. How far back does that matter?
The IRS generally has three years after a return is filed to assess more tax, six years when the income left off is more than a set share of the gross income shown on the return, and no limit for a year with no return or a fraudulent one. Each filed year is fixed on its own amended return, and a year with no return is filed as a late original return. Penalties and interest can apply to tax paid late; penalty relief can be available for reasonable cause. We amend each year your finished reports cover and file any year that never had a return.
Is staking or crypto pay taxed when I get it or when I sell it?
Both, as two separate events: it’s income at its dollar value when you receive it — for staking rewards, when you can sell, trade or move them — and that same value becomes its cost. A later sale then has its own gain or loss measured from that cost. We report the income at the values your records show and check that your report uses them as the cost.
Ready to find out what your crypto return would take?
One free 30-minute call. You’ll leave knowing what we’d handle and what it costs — whether or not you hire us.
Rather talk now? Call (661) 554-4495 — reach us during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day.
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. This page is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation.