What this calculator does
For federal tax, the IRS treats crypto as property, not as money. Every time you sell it, swap it for another coin or spend it, you have a taxable event. This calculator takes up to ten of those events for 2026 and shows what happens next: which gains are short-term and which are long-term, how your gains and losses cancel out, how much of a loss you can use this year, and a rough estimate of the federal tax. It does not look up coin prices and it does not connect to any exchange or wallet. You type in your own numbers, and nothing leaves your browser.
How a crypto gain or loss is figured
For each sale, the gain or loss is the proceeds minus your cost basis. Your cost basis is what you paid for the coins in US dollars, plus fees and commissions. Proceeds are the US dollar value of what you received, after the fees on the sale. If you swapped one coin for another, the proceeds are the dollar value of the coin you received at that moment. If you spent crypto, they are the dollar value of what you bought.
The holding period decides the tax rate. If you held the coins one year or less, the result is short-term. If you held them more than one year, it is long-term. The count starts the day after you got the coins and ends on the day you sold them, so selling exactly one year later is still short-term.
How gains and losses net out
- Short-term with short-term, long-term with long-term. Short-term gains and losses are added together, and so are long-term ones. Any loss carried over from earlier years joins the matching group.
- Then the two results meet. A loss in one group cancels gains in the other. For example, a short-term loss reduces a long-term gain.
- A net short-term gain is taxed like ordinary income, at your regular bracket rate.
- A net long-term gain is taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on your total taxable income. For 2026 the 0% rate covers taxable income up to $49,450 for a single filer and $98,900 for a married couple filing jointly.
- A net loss can reduce your other income by up to $3,000 a year ($1,500 if you are married filing separately). Anything above that carries forward to the next year and keeps its short-term or long-term label.
On top of income tax, a 3.8% net investment income tax can apply when your income is above $200,000 (single or head of household) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). The calculator shows an estimate and uses your other taxable income as a stand-in for the exact figure.
What reaches the IRS: Form 1099-DA
Crypto brokers now send tax forms much like stock brokers do. The form is Form 1099-DA. According to the IRS, brokers must report gross proceeds for sales on or after January 1, 2025, and must report cost basis for certain sales on or after January 1, 2026. Coins you bought before 2026 are generally treated as noncovered, so the form may show proceeds with no basis. The 1099-DA also has gaps: it only shows what that one broker saw, so sales on other platforms, in self-held wallets or between wallets may be missing.
The form does not replace your own records. You report each sale on Form 8949 and total them on Schedule D, whether or not you got a 1099-DA. On the first page of Form 1040 you must also answer the digital asset question: check Yes if, during the year, you sold, exchanged, were paid in or otherwise disposed of a digital asset. Simply holding crypto, moving it between your own wallets or buying it with dollars does not make the answer Yes.
What about wash sales?
With stock, if you sell at a loss and buy the same stock again within 30 days, the loss is disallowed. That is the wash sale rule, in section 1091 of the tax code. As of October 14, 2026, section 1091 refers to stock or securities, and we found no law that extends it to digital assets, so this calculator does not apply it. Lawmakers have proposed bills to change that, so the rule could change. Check the current law, or ask a tax professional, before you rely on selling at a loss and buying back right away.
What the estimate leaves out
- State income tax. Most states tax crypto gains, and some do not.
- Crypto you earned. Mining, staking rewards, airdrops, and crypto paid as wages or for freelance work are income when you receive them, and they are not entered here.
- Gifts, donations, lost or stolen coins, and choosing which coins you sold. By default, the IRS treats the earliest coins you bought as the ones you sold first, unless you can identify specific units.
- Married filing separately, the alternative minimum tax and any tax credits.
This page is general information, not tax advice. Rates and thresholds are from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and the IRS pages listed in the sources below, checked on October 14, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Do I owe tax if I only bought crypto and held it?
No. Buying crypto with dollars and holding it is not a taxable event, and neither is moving it between wallets you own. Tax is due when you sell, swap or spend it, and when you receive crypto as income.
Is swapping one coin for another taxable?
Yes. For federal tax a swap is a sale of the first coin and a purchase of the second. The gain or loss on the first coin is figured from its dollar value at the time of the swap. Enter each swap as a separate sale in this calculator.
What if I have no Form 1099-DA, or it looks wrong?
You still have to report your sales. Use your own records of what you paid, when you bought and what you received. If the form shows a different basis than your records, you can report your basis on Form 8949 with the correct adjustment code, and keeping the records that support it is wise.