Ledger rows paired by refid. XBT is bitcoin. A spend has no invented proceeds.
Not tax advice ยท last updated 25 October 2026
Kraken ledger cost basis
BasisFix reads a Kraken ledger CSV when the header contains txid, refid, asset, and amount. The time cell is the timestamp. The worksheet is a review with a tax pro. A sale of bitcoin can belong on Form 8949 because Notice 2014-21 treats it as property. This page does not decide that you owe tax.
Trades
Rows whose type is trade are grouped by refid. XXBT and XBT are read as BTC. ZUSD is read as USD.
- Buy. Bitcoin credited and USD debited, with no other leg. Quantity is the coins minus a fee charged in that coin. Cost is the absolute USD amount plus a USD fee.
- Sell. Bitcoin debited and USD credited. Quantity includes a fee charged in bitcoin. Proceeds are the USD credit minus a USD fee.
- No USD side. Two crypto legs are imported without a USD basis and flagged. BasisFix has no exchange rates, so it does not invent a dollar value.
- Anything else in the group. A trade that is not one asset against USD, and not those two crypto legs, is skipped.
Other ledger rows
- Deposit and receive are transfers in. Withdrawal is a transfer out. A transfer follows the sign of the amount. None of those is a sale by itself.
- Spend is stored as a sale with no proceeds filled in. The row stays incomplete. BasisFix does not look up a price.
- Staking, reward, and dividend are income. The amount is coins, not a USD fair market value, so the dollar value stays blank. The lot opens and is left out of the income total until a value is known. See mining and node income.
- A USD row is cash, not a lot, and is skipped. A fee charged in the coin is noted and is not converted to dollars.
Lots stay in the kraken account until a matching receive in another account carries them. See self-transfers are not sales.
How to import a Kraken ledger
- Export the Kraken ledger CSV whose header includes txid, refid, asset, and amount.
- Open the reconciler and drop the file in. Parsing stays in this browser.
- Pick the tax year and a method. A trade is paired by refid before a lot is chosen.
- Read the warnings. A trade with no USD side has no invented dollar basis.
- Review the worksheet. It is labeled review with a tax pro, and this page is not tax advice.
Questions
Does XXBT count as bitcoin?
Yes in BasisFix. XXBT and XBT are read as BTC. ZUSD is read as USD. A different ticker is left as its own asset.
Is a Kraken withdrawal a sale?
No. A withdrawal is a transfer out. A deposit or receive is a transfer in. A spend is different: it is stored as a sale with no proceeds, and the worksheet does not invent a price.
Where does Kraken staking get its dollar value?
Not from this ledger row. Staking, reward, and dividend are tagged as income, and the amount is coins. With no USD fair market value, the lot opens and stays out of the income total.