How Exchange Fees Can Reduce Your Tax Bill | CoinLedger (2024)

Did you pay exchange fees this tax year?

If the answer is yes, you may be able to use your fees to reduce your tax liability.

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about how exchange fees are taxed and show you an easy way to include fees on your tax return.

What are exchange fees?

Cryptocurrency exchanges often charge their users fees for buying, selling, and transferring their cryptocurrency. Major exchanges like Coinbase, Gemini, and Kraken use these exchange fees to support their business.

Are exchange fees tax deductible?

Businesses can write off exchange fees if they are a necessary expense. However, exchange fees cannot be treated as an itemized deduction for individuals.

However, exchange fees directly related to a trade can be added to your cost basis or subtracted from your gross proceeds, which can potentially reduce your capital gains tax.

How capital gains tax is calculated

To better understand the tax benefits of exchange fees, let’s review the basics of how capital gains tax is calculated.

Typically, crypto investors incur a capital gain or loss when they dispose of their cryptocurrency. To determine their capital gain on these transactions, investors can use the following formula:

Capital gain/loss = Gross Proceeds - Cost Basis

In this formula, gross proceeds is the amount you receive when you dispose of your cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, cost basis is the amount you originally paid for the cryptocurrency.

How Exchange Fees Can Reduce Your Tax Bill | CoinLedger (1)

For more information on how cryptocurrency taxes are calculated, check out our complete guide to cryptocurrency taxes.

How exchange fees can reduce your capital gains

Paying exchange fees for buying cryptocurrency

Any exchange fees that you pay when you buy cryptocurrency can be added to your cost basis. This can reduce your capital gain or increase your capital loss in the case of a future disposal.

How Exchange Fees Can Reduce Your Tax Bill | CoinLedger (2)

Paying exchange fees for selling cryptocurrency

Any exchange fees that you pay when you sell cryptocurrency can be subtracted from your gross proceeds. This can reduce your capital gain or increase your capital loss.

How Exchange Fees Can Reduce Your Tax Bill | CoinLedger (3)

Can transfer fees reduce capital gains?

In the past, the IRS has said that fees can only be added to cost basis or subtracted from gross proceeds in the following scenarios.

1. They are directly related to buying and selling.

2. They increase the underlying value of the asset.

Since transfer fees don’t fall into either category, it’s reasonable to assume that fees for transferring cryptocurrency from one wallet or another do not reduce an individual taxpayer’s liability.

However, businesses may be able to write off transfer fees as an expense if wallet-to-wallet transfers are a necessary part of their operations.

Do the same rules apply for network/gas fees?

Yes. If you paid network/gas fees to carry out a transaction on the blockchain, you may be able to add these fees to your cost basis or reduce them from your gross proceeds if they were directly related to buying or selling an asset.

For more information, check out our guide to network/gas fee taxes.

How do I report exchange fees on my tax return?

Typically, capital gains and losses are reported on Form 8949. Exchange fees can be included within your cost basis and gross proceeds in columns (d) and (e) respectively.

How Exchange Fees Can Reduce Your Tax Bill | CoinLedger (4)

For more information on how to fill out Form 8949, check out our guide to reporting cryptocurrency on your taxes.

How to report exchange fees on your tax return

If you have dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of trades, it can be difficult to keep track of the exchange fees that you’ve paid.

Luckily, there’s an easier way. With CoinLedger, you can automatically import trades from exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini. Once you’ve imported all of your transactions, you can generate a complete tax report which includes relevant exchange fees.

Simplify your crypto tax reporting

For many investors, it’s simply not viable to manually fill out your tax forms. You may have too many transactions or might not have the time to file your taxes by yourself.

Luckily, crypto tax software like CoinLedger can help. More than 300,000 crypto investors trust CoinLedger to help them file their tax returns in minutes.


Get started today and generate a free preview report.

Frequently asked questions

Let’s cap things off by answering a few frequently asked questions about crypto exchange fee taxes.

Should I report cryptocurrency on my taxes?

Yes. In the past, major exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken have been subject to John Doe Summons by the IRS.

Do I pay taxes on cryptocurrency fees?

Cryptocurrency fees will not increase your tax bill. In fact, they can reduce your taxes if they are directly related to buying and selling cryptocurrency.

Do crypto fees count as losses?

Crypto fees cannot be claimed as a capital loss. However, they can be used to reduce your gross proceeds and increase your cost basis, which can reduce your net capital gains.

Can transfer fees reduce my taxes?

It’s likely that fees for transferring cryptocurrency between wallets or exchanges cannot be used to reduce capital gains tax.

How Exchange Fees Can Reduce Your Tax Bill | CoinLedger (2024)

FAQs

Are crypto exchange fees tax-deductible? ›

However, fees incurred when conducting cryptocurrency trades still provide a tax benefit. A fee incurred in conjunction with the acquisition of cryptocurrency can be added into the cost basis of those units. Conversely, a fee paid upon the disposition of a cryptocurrency unit can be deducted from the proceeds received.

Which crypto exchange does not report to IRS? ›

Which crypto exchanges do not report to the IRS? Currently, centralized exchanges like KuCoin and decentralized exchanges like Uniswap do not collect KYC (Know Your Customer) information from users.

How do I report crypto transaction fees on my taxes? ›

According to IRS Notice 2014-21, the IRS considers cryptocurrency to be property, and capital gains and losses need to be reported on Schedule D and Form 8949 if necessary.

Are Coinbase transaction fees tax-deductible? ›

Yes. You can either increase your cost basis or reduce your proceeds to reflect these fees.

Are exchange fees taxable? ›

Are barters and exchanges taxable? Yes. The use of barter or exchanges is considered the same as making sales or purchases under the Sales and Use Tax Laws. The fair market value of the property or services received is normally the amount to which tax will apply.

How do I avoid capital gains tax on cryptocurrency? ›

How To Minimize Crypto Taxes
  1. Hold crypto long-term. If you hold a crypto investment for at least one year before selling, your gains qualify for the preferential long-term capital gains rate.
  2. Offset gains with losses. ...
  3. Time selling your crypto. ...
  4. Claim mining expenses. ...
  5. Consider retirement investments. ...
  6. Charitable giving.
Jan 3, 2023

How does IRS know if you own crypto? ›

Yes. A variety of large crypto exchanges have already confirmed they report to the IRS. Back in 2016, the IRS won a John Doe summons against Coinbase. A John Doe summons compels a given exchange to share user data with the IRS so it can be used to identify and audit taxpayers, as well as prosecute those evading taxes.

Will the IRS know if I don't report crypto? ›

After an initial failure to file, the IRS will notify any taxpayer who hasn't completed their annual return or reports. If, after 90 days, you still haven't included your crypto gains on Form 8938, you could face a fine of up to $50,000.

What happens if you don't tell the IRS about crypto? ›

If you don't report taxable crypto activity and face an IRS audit, you may incur interest, penalties, or even criminal charges. It may be considered tax evasion or fraud, said David Canedo, a Milwaukee-based CPA and tax specialist product manager at Accointing, a crypto tracking and tax reporting tool.

Are all crypto transactions reported to IRS? ›

You must report income, gain, or loss from all taxable transactions involving virtual currency on your Federal income tax return for the taxable year of the transaction, regardless of the amount or whether you receive a payee statement or information return.

Do I have to report crypto on taxes if I didn't sell? ›

Cryptocurrency is taxable if you sell it for a profit, or earn it as income. You report your transactions in U.S. dollars, which generally means converting the value of your cryptocurrency to dollars when you buy, sell, mine, earn or use it.

Do I have to report every crypto transaction? ›

In addition to your capital gains, you should report your short-term and long-term cryptocurrency losses on Form 8949. After all, every taxable event must be reported to the IRS. There's also a tax benefit to reporting capital losses. Capital losses can offset your capital gains and up to $3,000 of personal income.

How do I avoid paying tax on Coinbase? ›

As long as you are holding cryptocurrency as an investment and it isn't earning any income, you generally don't owe taxes on cryptocurrency until you sell. You can avoid taxes altogether by not selling any in a given tax year.

How do I reduce transaction fees on Coinbase? ›

Using Coinbase Pro, you can complete the same purchase and pay only $10 — about one-third of the fee charged on Coinbase. You can also use a debit card to make purchases on Coinbase. However, again, you'll pay handily for the convenience.

Does Coinbase affect your tax return? ›

Yes, Coinbase reports to the IRS. It sends Forms 1099-MISC to the IRS for U.S. traders who made more than $600 in crypto rewards or staking. $600 is the Coinbase IRS reporting threshold for tax year 2022.

How do exchange fees work? ›

What are Exchange Fees. Exchange fees are a type of investment fee that some mutual funds charge to shareholders if they transfer to another fund within the same group. Other fees shareholders may encounter include sales loads, redemption fees, purchase fees, account fees, 12b-1 fees, and management fees.

How do I avoid exchange fees? ›

These fees can be avoided by choosing a bank account that doesn't charge fees and reimburses out-of-network ATM fees and by always withdrawing local currency from ATMs. Account holders can also ask their home bank if there are partner branches or in-network ATMs in the destination country or countries.

What is an exchange for tax? ›

A 1031 exchange is a real estate investing tool that allows investors to swap out an investment property for another and defer capital gains or losses or capital gains tax that you otherwise would have to pay at the time of sale.

How do I avoid 30 tax on cryptocurrency? ›

How can you save on crypto tax?
  1. Hold onto your crypto for the long term. You should always plan for a long-term capital gain in crypto compared to a short-term. ...
  2. Get indirect exposure to crypto. ...
  3. Sell during a low-income year. ...
  4. Keep the gains in stablecoins.
Dec 29, 2022

Is moving crypto from exchange to wallet taxable? ›

Is transferring crypto from one exchange or wallet to another a taxable event? No, moving your crypto between wallets or exchanges that you own is not taxable. As long as the virtual currency remains in your possession, this is simply a transfer and not a transaction.

How do you answer IRS crypto question? ›

In other words, if you simply held your cryptocurrency and did not make any sales or earn any crypto income during the 2022 tax year, you do not need to answer 'Yes' to the Form 1040 question. However, you should check 'Yes' if you've gifted crypto to a friend or family member.

Can IRS see your crypto wallet? ›

Yes, the IRS can track crypto as the agency has ordered crypto exchanges and trading platforms to report tax forms such as 1099-B and 1099-K to them. Also, in recent years, several exchanges have received several subpoenas directing them to reveal some of the user accounts.

Why does the IRS ask if I bought cryptocurrency? ›

The IRS considers cryptocurrency holdings to be “property” for tax purposes, which means your virtual currency is taxed in the same way as any other assets you own, like stocks or gold.

What happens if I forgot to pay crypto taxes? ›

The best idea is to amend your tax return from whichever year(s) you didn't include your crypto trades. You have three years from the date that you filed your return to file an amended return, and the IRS is notoriously more lenient to those who make a good-faith effort to properly pay their taxes.

Do you have to report crypto under $600? ›

Do you have to report crypto interest under $600? Remember, you're required to report all of your cryptocurrency income, regardless of whether your exchange sends you a 1099 form.

What happens if I don't file crypto? ›

Investors must report crypto gains, losses and income in their annual tax return on Form 8940 & Schedule D. Evading crypto taxes is a federal offence. Penalties for tax evasion are up to 75% of the tax due (maximum $100,000) and 5 years in jail. The IRS knows about your crypto already.

Do I have to report crypto exchanges to IRS? ›

Transactions involving a digital asset are generally required to be reported on a tax return. Taxable gain or loss may result from transactions including, but not limited to: Sale of a digital asset for fiat. Exchange of a digital asset for property, goods, or services.

Do all crypto exchanges report to IRS? ›

TurboTax Tip: Cryptocurrency exchanges won't be required to send 1099-B forms until tax year 2023. If you don't receive a Form 1099-B from your crypto exchange, you must still report all crypto sales or exchanges on your taxes.

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