In this guide, we’ll walk through a step-by-step process to report your bitcoin and cryptocurrency on TurboTax—both online and desktop versions.
Can I file cryptocurrency taxes on TurboTax?
Yes, TurboTax allows users to report cryptocurrency taxes.
While TurboTax is one of the best tax platforms on the market, it’s important to remember that it wasn’t built with cryptocurrency in mind. As a result, it doesn’t always have the integrations and functionality needed to make reporting your crypto taxes stress-free.
This is why TurboTax has partnered with CoinLedger to help users aggregate crypto transactions across all of their wallets and exchanges and then import relevant tax forms directly into their TurboTax account.
How to enter crypto gains and losses into TurboTax Online
Here’s how you can report your cryptocurrency within the online version of TurboTax.
1. Navigate to TurboTax Online and select the Premier or Self-Employment package
Head to TurboTax Online and select your package. Both Premier and Self-Employment support cryptocurrency tax reporting.Remember, there’s no need to pay until you file your tax report!
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2. Answer initial prompts and questions
Upon first sign-in, TurboTax Online will ask you to complete some initial prompts and fill out your basic information. You are not able to move forward within the app until this step is completed.
3. Navigate to ‘Wages and Income’.
4. Add your cryptocurrency data
Within Wages and Income, click to Start/Edit the Investments and Savings section (this is where the cryptocurrency module is).
5. Select 'Yes' to having investment income in 2023
Investment income includes income from crypto activity. Even if you had net losses in crypto, you should select ‘Yes’ — this is where you can report your losses.
6. Select "Enter a different way" on tax import screen
When reporting your crypto gains and losses, it's important to aggregate your data from all of your wallets and exchanges—otherwise, you may have missing cost basis data that largely over-inflates your capital gains for the year.
Because of this, you should NOT select any of the exchanges listed in this section. Remember, your CoinLedger tax report is an aggregated report of all of your gains and losses. Selecting an exchange may lead you to report the same transactions twice. You should select the option ‘Enter a different way’.
7. Select cryptocurrency for the investment type
Select the card labeled ‘Cryptocurrency’ and hit continue.
8. Select "Upload it from my computer"
Select the option to upload from your computer.
9. Select "Other" as your platform
From the dropdown, select 'Other'. Enter the 'Name' as CoinLedger and select the option labeled 'Gain/Loss or 1099-B'.
10. Import the 'TurboTax Online' CSVfile you received from CoinLedger
From your tax report dashboard in CoinLedger, download your “TurboTax Online” file, and then import it here into TurboTax. This file consists of your aggregated cryptocurrency gains and losses from your trading activity across all wallets and exchanges.
If you haven’t already built out your tax reports within CoinLedger, now is the time to do so. Simply create an account, connect your exchanges and wallets, and generate your necessary crypto tax reports with the click of a button.
11. Review your sales and hit 'Continue'
After importing, TurboTax will ask you to review the sales you imported from CoinLedger and select which transactions are taxable. CoinLedger only includes taxable transactions in your report, so you can simply scroll down and hit 'Continue'.
Congrats! You have finished.
That’s the end of the process! If you’ve completed all of the steps above, you’ll be able to see a complete record of your crypto gains and losses.
How do I report ordinary crypto income on TurboTax Online (not capital gains/losses)?
Remember, the process above is designed to help you report your capital gains and losses. If you’ve earned cryptocurrency income — such as mining and staking rewards — you will have to report this separately.
At this time, TurboTax does not support the ability to directly report staking and mining income. You can report this type of income through the following process.
- Go to the Federal Tab, then click Wages & Income.
- Find the row labeled ‘Less Common Income’, then click ‘Show More’.
- Navigate to the section labeled ‘Miscellaneous Income’ and click the ‘Start’ button.
- Navigate to the last section labeled ‘Other reportable income’ and click the ‘Start’ button.
- Here you can enter the details for your cryptocurrency income from staking, interest, etc. during the tax year. You can easily find all of your ‘crypto income’ within your CoinLedger income report.
How do I report my taxes on TurboTax Desktop?
The Desktop version of TurboTax allows you to report your crypto gains, losses, and income. If you’re using the Desktop version of TurboTax, you’ll need to download a txf file of your cryptocurrency transactions instead of a csv.
To learn more, check out our Help Center article that outlines the complete step-by-step process on how to report your taxes on TurboTax Desktop.
Does TurboTax import from Coinbase?
At this time, TurboTax allows users to import transactions from Coinbase and other exchanges.
However, it’s important to remember that your reported capital gains from Coinbase may be largely overstated if you’ve ever transferred your cryptocurrency between different wallets and exchanges.
Consider the example below.
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In this case, TurboTax will have trouble calculating your capital gains and losses as it lacks the ability to track transfers between wallets and exchanges.
Luckily, CoinLedger can help. Just connect your wallets and exchanges and CoinLedger can generate a comprehensive crypto tax report that includes transactions from all of your exchanges and wallets!
What’s the best crypto tax software to use with TurboTax?
Looking for the best crypto tax software to use with TurboTax? Here’s why you should choose CoinLedger.
Highly capable: CoinLedger integrates with hundreds of exchanges and wallets such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini and blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana.
Get the support you need: We know that trying to report your taxes on your own can be difficult. If you need assistance at any point while using CoinLedger, our support team is ready and available for all of our customers via email and live chat.
Import your gains and losses with a click: Once you’ve imported your crypto transaction history and generated your crypto tax reports within CoinLedger, you’ll be able to import them directly into TurboTax and other tax platforms with the click of a button!
Learn more about how CoinLedger works.
What if I have more than 4,000 transactions?
Currently, TurboTax Online can import up to 4,000 crypto transactions.
If you have more than 4,000 transactions, CoinLedger will automatically consolidate your TurboTax Online file by asset type so that you can still import your transactions and still file your taxes with TurboTax.
When e-filing a consolidated Form 8949, you need to take one additional step and mail in your complete 8949 to the IRS. For more detailed instructions, check out our guide to mailing your IRS 8949.
Get started today!
Want to file your cryptocurrency taxes before the deadline? Try CoinLedger, the crypto tax software trusted by more than 400,000 investors across the globe.
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