New resources for crypto taxes

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Disclaimer: Coinbase is not authorized to give tax advice and this blog should not be viewed as such. For questions relating to your specific situation we strongly recommend speaking with a tax professional.

If you’re a US taxpayer who sold, used, or converted crypto in 2018, you may owe taxes on those transactions. We’ve heard confusion from both our customers and the broader crypto community on taxes stemming from crypto transactions. Today, Coinbase is announcing a number of steps we’ve taken to streamline customers’ experience this tax season.

1. Better education and resources

We know that Coinbase customers (and the broader crypto community) have a lot questions about whether they qualify for a 1099-K, why they might not qualify, and generally whether or not they owe taxes. So, we’ve developed two important resources:

  • Crypto and Bitcoin Taxes in the US, 2018 Edition: This is a general education guide on crypto and taxes for the past year. Visit this page if you want to know more about your potential tax obligations.
  • Tax Resource Center: This is our new and improved Coinbase Support offering for tax season. Visit this page if you want to know more about what information Coinbase is providing you this tax season.

2. TurboTax discount for Coinbase customers

TurboTax has created a new crypto tax section in its TurboTax Premier product allowing you to upload your transactions and account for gains and losses. Coinbase customers can now upload up to 100 Coinbase transactions at once and get a discount to TurboTax products using this link.

First, download your Coinbase transaction history here. Next, you’ll be guided as part of the TurboTax Premier experience to upload this transaction history directly into TurboTax Premier. Please note that the TurboTax crypto import feature pulls in transactions from Coinbase (not Coinbase Pro) and the iOS and Android apps. If you also use Coinbase Pro and want help compiling a single transaction history across exchanges, see below for information about using our partner CoinTracker.

Coinbase customers get up to a $20 discount on TurboTax services through this link. Please note that you have to use this link to get the discount at checkout.

The new cryptocurrency experience is available in TurboTax Premier, TurboTax Live Premier, TurboTax Self-Employed, and TurboTax Self-Employed Live

3. We’ve integrated with CoinTracker

For our expert customers, Coinbase is partnering with CoinTracker to make it easy to summarize all of your transaction activity for 2018, no matter what exchanges or wallets you used (including Coinbase Pro).

CoinTracker also partners with TurboTax and can be used to upload a comprehensive view of your crypto activity. Visit this page to learn more about the integration and get a discount.

What to expect as a Coinbase customer

Only some segments of Coinbase users receive paperwork from Coinbase during tax season: Coinbase Pro, Prime, and Merchant customers who meet a threshold of more than $20,000 in gross proceeds and 200 transactions in 2018 will receive an IRS Form 1099-K; so will customers on those platforms who meet lower thresholds in AR, DC, MA, MS, MO, NJ, and VT (more information here). Earn.com customers above $600 in earnings will receive Form 1099-MISC. All recipients will receive emails with further details, and can learn more in our Tax Resource Center.

The law requires Coinbase to provide these forms, but we recognize that these recipients make up just a small fraction of the users who have questions about tax season. That’s why we’ve heavily invested in partnerships and other educational resources.

While we’re not a tax advisor and always recommend that customers speak with a tax professional regarding their specific situation, our goal is to be the easiest-to-use cryptocurrency exchange by providing the tools and resources that help customers approach tax season with confidence.

TurboTax and CoinTracker are not Coinbase services. If you use either, you’ll be subject to their applicable terms and conditions, including separate privacy policies, which may differ from Coinbase’s. Please read and understand all applicable terms for TurboTax or CoinTracker before using them.

New resources for crypto taxes was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.