Table of contents in this doc

What is a Form 1099-DA and a tax gain/loss statement?

Who receives a Form 1099-DA? 

How do I get a Form 1099-DA? 

Who receives a gain/loss Statement?

How do I get a gain/loss statement?

How do I read my gain/loss statement?

What are the cost-basis methods and which one should I use?

How does Gemini calculate my gains and losses?

If I move assets on a different platform into my Gemini account, how does that impact my gain/loss calculation?

How do I enter cost basis for a transfer (from a different account or wallet held by the user) vs gift vs. payment.

What is a Form 1099-DA and a tax gain/loss statement?

A Form 1099-DA is an information return that is issued to customers and the IRS that shows sales of digital assets made by a customer in a given year. 

2025 Form 1099-DA will only report proceeds of sales to the IRS. The report issued to the IRS will show no gain or loss for those sales. Subsequent years filings will show the basis for assets purchased on the exchange on or after 1/1/2026 and held on the exchange until sale. 

Customer Form 1099-DA recipient statements will include gain/loss information that is not reported to the IRS. The gains/losses will be determined using the basis of assets that were 1) purchased and held on the exchange, 2) acquired on the exchange but not purchased (for example, credit card rewards), or 3) transferred into the exchange with customer-provided basis information. If there are transferred assets in the account that the customer has not provided basis information (acquisition cost and date) for, Gemini will not be able to provide gain/loss information for the sale of those assets. 

A gain/loss statement is a factual statement based on customer input (accounting method, transfer cost basis and holding period information, if applicable) that will provide information regarding gains or losses from assets sold on the exchange during a calendar year. If assets purchased on another platform were transferred into the Gemini exchange account, and there were dispositions (sales) of that type of asset during the year, we will require the customer to provide cost basis information for the transferred assets in order to provide accurate gain/loss information for that asset type.

Who receives a Form 1099-DA? 

Form 1099-DA will be issued to U.S. non-exempt exchange account holders that have sold a digital asset during the year. This will include all individual and entity account holders that are not exempted from a Form 1099-DA reporting specifically (C corporations, retirement accounts, government entities or agencies, other crypto brokers, etc). There is a $10,000 annual de minimis threshold for reporting qualified stablecoin sales, but sales of all other assets are reported on a disposition by disposition basis, even if the asset was sold for less than $1.

How do I get a Form 1099-DA? 

Form 1099-DA will be available for eligible accounts on February 15 each year. Go to the Tax Center (Account > Statements and Taxes > Taxes) to download your Form.

Who receives a gain/loss statement? 

Customers who are taxable entities but are not eligible for Form 1099-DA (primarily C corporations) will be eligible to receive a gain/loss statement to assist with tax determinations for their assets sold in their Gemini account.

How do I get a gain/loss statement? 

Gain/loss statements will be available on February 15 each year for eligible accounts. Go to the Tax Center (Account > Statements and Taxes > Taxes) to download your statement.

How do I read my gain/loss statement?

Here's a simplified guide to understanding and using your gain/loss statement effectively:

1. Sections: The statement is divided into short-term and long-term gains/losses. If one section is missing, it means you had no transactions of that type. 

    

2. Asset type: Within the short-term and long-term sections, the report is organized by asset type. Asset types will be separated by headers listing the specific asset, and the section will end with a summary of Proceeds, Cost Basis and Gain(Loss) for that asset. 
   
    
3. Disposition details: Each row represents a sale or trade ("disposition") of a digital asset in 2025. 
   • Fees paid in crypto will appear as small disposals. 
   • Gains are positive numbers (e.g., "$100"), and losses are shown in parentheses (e.g., "($100)").
   • If you acquired the assets that were disposed of in multiple acquisitions, that single disposition may be represented by numerous lines in the report showing the separate tax lots that were disposed of. If you dispose of assets that were acquired via staking or Earn rewards, a single disposition may show up as a very long list of acquisitions. You can identify the disposition by the date shown on the report. 
   • You may also find a small disposition that shows proceeds of 0.00. This will happen when the asset disposed of is less than one cent in value. 
     
      

4. Cost basis marked with "*": A "*" indicates missing information for transferred assets. Complete this in the Tax Center (Account > Settings > Statements and taxes > Taxes) and regenerate your statement for accurate cost basis and gains/losses. 

    

5. Cost basis method: The statement uses your chosen method. If no method was selected, the default is FIFO (First-In, First-Out).
   
    
6. Input accuracy: The statement's accuracy depends on the inputs you provide, such as transferred asset data and cost basis selections. Incorrect inputs lead to inaccurate statements.
   
    
7. Form 8949: Use the statement to complete Form 8949 for your U.S. tax return. Gemini does not provide Form 8949 directly.
   
    
8. GUSD: Transactions involving Gemini Dollars (GUSD) show no gains/losses as they trade 1:1 with USD.
   
    
9. IRS reporting: Gain/loss statements are not reported to the IRS. Form 1099-DA are provided to the IRS but will only report proceeds for 2025, they will not reflect cost basis of any assets to show a gain or loss for sales. 

The above is provided for informational purposes only. Please consult a tax advisor for specific guidance.

What are the cost-basis methods and which one should I use?

Three cost basis methods of dispositions are available to select within Tax Center: 

Highest-In First-Out (HIFO)

• Sells the most expensive digital assets first, regardless of purchase date.
• Aims to maximize losses and minimize gains for tax purposes.

• May prioritize short-term gains over long-term gains, which can impact your tax liability due to different tax rates for short-term and long-term capital gains.

   

First-In First-Out (FIFO)

• Sells the oldest digital assets first, based on acquisition date.
• Doesn’t consider potential gains or losses.

• Can result in a mix of short-term and long-term capital gains or losses, depending on the holding period of the assets sold.

   

Last-In First-Out (LIFO)

• Sells the most recently acquired digital assets first.
• Likely to recognize short-term gains or losses over long-term, which may result in a higher tax liability due to the typically higher tax rates for short-term capital gains. 

Keep in mind that short-term capital gains (assets held for one year or less) are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate, while long-term capital gains (assets held for more than one year) are typically taxed at a lower rate. The choice of cost basis method can significantly impact your tax liability, so it’s essential to consider your investment strategy and consult a tax professional for personalized advice.

Gemini cannot advise which cost basis method should be used, or the consequences of changing a method once selected. Please consult your tax advisor to confirm which method has been used in the past and which should be used prospectively. 

Changes made to the cost basis method are consumed in real time and applied prospectively.

How does Gemini calculate my gains and losses? 

Gains or losses can only be calculated for accounts that have a recognition event–that is, an asset held in the account that was sold on the exchange. A number of different factors will be considered in the determination of gains or losses for a specific tax year, including: 

1. The cost basis method selected by the user 
   • The cost basis method set by the user will dictate which assets are disposed of during the year. 
2. Information input by the user providing the cost basis and holding period of assets transferred into the account
   • If a user has transferred assets into the account from another exchange or wallet, information will be requested to identify the cost basis and holding period of the transferred assets. Without that information, Gemini cannot determine the gain/loss or preferred disposition order of transferred assets. Gemini is not responsible for the validity or verification of the information provided by a user on the acquisition date or price of an asset or any other information provided by users.
   • Assets received in the account from activities on the exchange (Earn, Staking, credit card rewards)
   • Earn and Staking: Assets acquired via Staking or Earn programs are considered income. This calculation is made by identifying the daily asset allocation multiplied by the current USD price of the asset at the time of allocation. This is the cost basis of the asset and matches the amount issued on the Form 1099-MISC for income (if the user earned over $600 in a calendar year). Credit card rewards are not considered income, but rather a reduction in the purchase price of goods or services acquired in the process of earning the rewards. Additionally, credit card rewards will be reported on customer statements (but not to the IRS on Form 1099-DA since rewards are not covered assets) with a basis calculated as the value of the asset when it was acquired in the customer’s account.
   • Bonuses, referral rewards, and prizes: For assets acquired via contests or rewards on the exchange the cost basis is determined to be the value of the asset at the time it entered the user’s account. 
3.  In the absence of user-provided information for the cost basis and holding period of transferred assets, the user can produce a gain/loss statement with default assumptions. If the user chooses to generate a gain/loss statement without entering these required inputs, Gemini will use the price of the asset on the transfer date as the cost basis of the asset and the date of transfer as the acquisition date. The user will be able to identify transferred assets that were assigned this default information and adjust at a later time, within the Transferred assets section of the Tax Center. This may be useful for users who acquired assets close to the time they were transferred onto the exchange to estimate a general gain/loss position but should not be relied upon for purposes of determining an actual tax gain or loss. Gemini calculates gains or losses on sales occurring on the Gemini platform, only considering the assets held in a user’s Gemini account. Gemini does not apply the selected cost basis method to a customer’s total portfolio (assets held on other exchanges or wallets). If a user does not input the cost basis information for transferred assets and does not select the default assumptions then the gain/loss statement will only show proceeds for the sale of the transferred assets rather than the gain or loss.

If I move assets into my Gemini account, how does that impact my gain/loss calculation? 

If you transferred assets into your Gemini account and the same asset class has dispositions, these transferred assets will impact your gain/loss calculator and therefore, you will need to provide the cost basis and acquisition date for the transferred assets for Gemini to calculate the gain/loss. This is true whether you purchased those assets on the Gemini exchange, or another exchange. Gemini is not able to obtain this information otherwise at this time. 

The cost basis information provided by users will be captured/displayed for the benefit of users to determine their own tax obligations and/or to consult with a tax professional. This data is provided by users directly, and Gemini cannot guarantee the reliability of this information. The cost basis of assets not purchased on the Gemini exchange will not be reported to the IRS by Gemini until some later date when a reliable mechanism for determining the cost basis of transferred assets is determined and U.S. tax regulations have been updated to provide the appropriate guidance and process. 

Once the cost basis information is entered, you will see an average cost for your transferred assets. This number is the weighted average cost of the transferred assets. For example, if a transfer included 4 tokens, 3 of which cost $10,000, and one cost $2,000 the “Avg cost” shown would be $8,000. This average is for informational purposes and not used in our gain/loss calculations for sales. Sales will be ordered by the customer’s selected cost basis method of FIFO, HIFO, or LIFO.

How do I enter cost basis for a transfer (from a different account or wallet held by the user) vs gift vs. payment 

• The cost basis of assets transferred from the user’s account on a different platform or wallet is the purchase price of that asset. The user will also be able to enter the acquisition date so Gemini can identify whether gains or losses from the sale of that asset are short or long term and apply the correct cost basis method if the method is based on holding period (FIFO, HIFO, or LIFO). 
• The cost basis of a gift may be zero. Please consult your tax advisor to ensure that this applies to your gifted asset. If the gifted asset is an inheritance, specific rules will apply. The holding period will be identified as the date when the user first acquired the asset. 
• The cost basis of an asset that is received as a payment from a third party is the cash value of the asset when received or the fair market value of the good or service the payment was received in exchange for (if the value of the asset cannot otherwise be determined). The holding period will be identified as the date when the user first acquired the asset.