A 1099-DA is the broker’s statement. Your basis still has to come from somewhere.
Not tax advice · reviewed 25 October 2026
Form 1099-DA explained
Form 1099-DA is how a digital-asset broker reports a sale or other disposition to you and to the IRS. It does not replace Form 8949, and it does not compute your tax. The CSV worksheet in this project is a review with a tax pro. It never sees the 1099-DA.
Proceeds first, basis later
- Brokers that take possession report gross proceeds for sales on or after 1 January 2025.
- Basis for covered securities is reported for sales effected after 2025, which means on or after 1 January 2026. IRS reminders say 2025 forms generally will not include basis.
- For a noncovered security, basis is voluntary, and the instructions describe a checkbox (box 9) when the broker chooses to report it.
- Stablecoin and NFT transactions can fall under optional aggregate reporting above a de minimis amount set out in the instructions. This page does not restate the dollar threshold. Read the instructions for the form year you received.
A 2025 form with a proceeds number and an empty basis is behaving the way those rules describe. Your gain is proceeds minus the cost of the units, from your records. Empty basis is not zero. See missing basis.
Who is outside the final broker rules
The final regulations apply to brokers that take possession of the digital asset being sold. Decentralized and non-custodial brokers that do not take possession were not brought into those final rules. A wallet that never sends you a 1099-DA can still be where a taxable sale happened. You report from your records.
Cash App’s help is a concrete version of the same split: sales and certain Lightning merchant payments on a 1099-DA, person-to-person sends and external-wallet transfers off the form, basis for 2025 left to you. Details are on Cash App bitcoin taxes.
How the form meets Form 8949
You still list the disposition on Form 8949 unless an instruction for that year tells you a total can go straight to Schedule D. The 2025 Instructions for Form 8949 put digital-asset transactions in their own boxes:
| 1099-B or 1099-DA, basis reported to the IRS | 1099 issued, basis not reported to the IRS | No 1099-B and no 1099-DA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short-term | G | H | I |
| Long-term | J | K | L |
The instructions say not to use box C or box F for digital assets. Box H or K is the 2025 pattern when a 1099-DA shows the sale and does not report basis. Box I or L is the pattern when no broker form exists. This worksheet defaults to I or L, and you can mark a lot H, K, G, or J from the 1099-DA you actually received. The longer map, including the Schedule D lines, is on How to file Form 8949 for Bitcoin.
Wash-sale box 1i on the 2026 form is about tokenized securities, not a blanket rule for bitcoin. See wash sales and bitcoin in 2026.
A practical check
- Download the broker’s transaction CSV yourself. BasisFix never signs in.
- Build the year in the reconciler and read the proceeds on each included sale.
- Tie those proceeds to the 1099-DA. A difference is a row to find, not a number to average.
- Put basis on the 8949 line from the lots. BasisFix’s basis is only as good as the CSVs you imported.
Questions
What does a 1099-DA report for a 2025 sale?
Brokers that take possession generally report gross proceeds for sales on or after 1 January 2025. Basis reporting for covered securities applies to sales effected after 2025. A 2025 form often has proceeds and no basis. The IRS has said 2025 forms generally will not include basis.
Does every bitcoin app have to send a 1099-DA?
The final broker rules cover brokers that take possession. Decentralized and non-custodial brokers that do not take possession were not included in those final rules. A missing form does not erase a sale you made.
Does BasisFix import a 1099-DA?
No. It reads transaction CSVs and writes a worksheet. You compare the broker’s proceeds to the worksheet’s proceeds yourself. With no 1099-DA, the worksheet uses box I or L. Mark a lot H or K when a 1099-DA omitted basis, or G or J when it reported basis.