Table of contents in this doc
What are the income activities included in the Forms 1099-MISC?
What is a Form 1099-MISC?
Gemini issues a Form 1099-MISC for any non-exempt U.S. exchange account holder who has earned more than $600 (USD equivalent) in income on the exchange during the calendar year. If applicable, income is reported in Box 3 (Other income) on the Form. Forms 1099-MISC are issued by January 31 each year unless an extension is requested.
Accounts that have been issued a Form 1099-MISC will receive a notification via email to retrieve the Form. You can download your Form 1099-MISC (or confirm you did not receive one) in the Tax Center.
Tax Forms can be viewed for each year. If you have not been issued a Form 1099-MISC in the year selected, you will see a message that notifies you that the account does not have a tax form. For tax forms issued in 2017 or 2018 please contact Customer Support. If Gemini has filed an extension request for issuing Forms 1099 for the prior year, a notification will be posted prior to January 31.
What are the income activities included in the Forms 1099-MISC?
Refer a Friend, Sign Up, or Trading Bonuses
Bonuses/promotions will count toward the $600 threshold of income earned on the Gemini platform that will require Gemini to issue the Form 1099-MISC.
To determine your bonus income for the year:
-
- Go to Account> Balances> press the Download button > select Transaction History> Exchange Transaction History> press the Download button> set the appropriate date range
- Filter the report to find your bonuses. Your bonuses will show up under Type: Credit, Symbol: either BTC or ETH (depending on the promotion you participated in), Specification: Administrative Credit or Referral Credit. Refer to the “BTC Amount BTC” or “ETH Amount ETH” columns for credits reportable as income.
Staking
Reportable earnings from Staking digital assets through the Gemini Staking program are calculated by identifying the daily asset allocation multiplied by the USD price of the asset at the time the asset becomes available for withdrawal to the staking participant. For MATIC, which has been accessible for unbonding/reclaim from the Staking program at any time (with a short unbonding period), Form 1099-MISC reporting for the year will match the daily accruals listed on the account statement.
Since ETH earned through Staking was not accessible by Staking participants until April 2023, and could not be unbonded until the Shanghai upgrade, 2022 Form 1099-MISC reporting did not include accrued ETH Staking rewards that appeared in account statements. Those assets are reported to the participant as income on 2023 Forms 1099-MISC if 2023 total income meets the $600 threshold.
ETH Staking redemptions began on April 12, 2023, by netting ETH staking inflows with ETH staking outflows on a daily basis. However, since ETH unstaking was not widely available (assets returned from the blockchain) until April 25, 2023, all accrued ETH staking income up to that date is valued as of the USD price of ETH that day ($1,835.77) and reported as such. If you were able to reclaim a portion of your ETH prior to April 25, the redeemed portion (up to the value of all accrued rewards to that date) was valued on the date it was redeemed. All subsequent daily accruals thru April 25 were valued as per the April 25, 2023 price of ETH. After April 25, 2023 all ETH staking income is valued as of the daily accrual times the daily price of ETH. Forms 1099-MISC will be issued according to this calculation (reflecting the USD equivalent, for accounts that meet the $600 threshold) in 2023 regardless of whether assets have been redeemed from Staking.
Tax Center will list your total income for the year, including the staking amount as per the calculation above. Please consult with a tax professional for any questions related to your individual tax situation.
Credit Card Rewards
In general, the IRS deems credit card rewards as “rebates” rather than “income”. Therefore, Gemini does not report assets that are acquired through the credit card rewards program as income on Forms 1099-MISC. Accordingly, the cost basis of those assets are considered zero. There are some scenarios (such as selling crypto assets acquired via the credit card rewards program for a profit) that may need to be considered for tax implications. Please consult with a tax professional for any questions related to your individual tax situation.