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New Member
posted Jun 3, 2019 12:41:43 PM

Adding my $30k cryptocurrency losses haven't given me any tax break, why?

I used a csv from cryptotrader.tax and turbotax recognized it correctly (-$30k). But it hasn't changed the federal or state tax I owe. Shouldn't it give me some tax break?

Note: it has some carry over from 2017

0 5 1078
5 Replies
Expert Alumni
Jun 3, 2019 12:41:44 PM

Because cryptocurrency losses are capital losses, there is a limit on how much loss may be claimed on the return.  You are allowed to claim up to $3000 of loss above and beyond any capital gains you may have.  The losses do not go away; rather they carry forward and can be used in future years against other capital gains, or, if none, an additional $3,000 loss may then be taken.  This will continue until the losses are used up under current tax law.  

You probably didn't see any change in your return because of the losses carrying forward from last year.  Since these amounts may have already been calculated in your return, calculating additional loss doesn't have a direct impact on your return this year, but will increase the losses you will carry forward to a future year.

This FAQ describes this subject in a little more detail:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/4789424

New Member
Jun 3, 2019 12:41:45 PM

@TurboTaxDanielV Thank you for the quick reply! I understand, but it didn't give me 'any' tax break, not even 3000. Also, most ($24k) of the losses were from 2018

New Member
Jun 3, 2019 12:41:46 PM

This is what I see in my "Income" page's summary on TurboTax:
Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other
Charles Schwab, Solium (Shareworks), CryptoTrader.Tax
2017 column: -$6,960
2018 column: -$29,857

Capital Loss Carryover
2017 column: -$3,960
2018 column: -$30,818

Cryptocurrency
2018 column: -$29,801

New Member
Jun 3, 2019 12:41:49 PM

This is what I see in my "Income" page's summary on TurboTax:
Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other
Charles Schwab, Solium (Shareworks), CryptoTrader.Tax
2017 column: -$6,960
2018 column: -$29,857

Capital Loss Carryover
2017 column: -$3,960
2018 column: -$30,818

Cryptocurrency
2018 column: -$29,801

Level 2
Jul 16, 2020 10:02:51 PM

Thanks!