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New Member
posted Feb 25, 2020 2:11:05 PM

Entering Cryptocurrency into TurboTax

I have TurboTax Premier 2019.  How do I enter the cryptocurrency.  It asks the question at the end of wages and income.  I answer yes, but nothing happens.  How do you enter it?

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24 Replies
Expert Alumni
Feb 25, 2020 2:30:22 PM

If you sold cryptocurrency follow these steps:

 

 

Reporting cryptocurrency is similar to reporting a stock sale. You'll need to report your cryptocurrency if you sold, exchanged, spent or converted it. When it comes to hard forks and airdrops, you only have taxable income if it results new cryptocurrency.

 

You have to do this for every trade you made. If you bought coins at different prices or sold partial amounts, then you have to keep track and record the difference of what you sold. Cryptocurrency exchanges are not required to provide a 1099-B or summary tax statement for cryptocurrency transactions.

 

You'll receive a 1099-K if you made over 200 cryptocurrency transactions or your proceeds exceeded $20,000. You don't need to enter all the details from this 1099-K in TurboTax. Enter all your sales and trade info to accurately capture all your cryptocurrency transactions and keep the 1099-K for your records.

 

It’s your responsibility to keep records of your transactions. The most common way to do this is to download your order or trading history from your exchange’s website. You may need to do this a few times throughout the year due to limits on how far back you can get information.

 

Once you have your figures:

  1. Open or continue your return.
  2. Select Federal from the left menu, and Wages & Income from the menu near the top.
  3. Scroll down and select Show more next to Investment Income.
  4. Select Start or Revisit next to Cryptocurrency.
  5. Follow the instructions and we'll calculate the gain or loss from the sale.

There's an upload limit of 2,000 cryptocurrency transactions in TurboTax. If you have more than that, you’ll need a transaction aggregator. We’ll walk you through that in the cryptocurrency section.

Level 2
Feb 28, 2020 1:29:37 PM

I am in TurboTax Premier and do not see the "show more" button in Investment Income.  I see "Get extra help", but the drop down says nothing about cryptocurrency.

Level 15
Feb 28, 2020 1:37:33 PM

Only TurboTax Online supports import with a few brokers.

To see if your broker is one of those, go to their website, it should give you instructions on how to do it.

 

Otherwise you'll need a transaction detail list using or similar to Form 8949 that you can mail in.

Level 2
Feb 28, 2020 1:43:17 PM

If I get crypto tokens for free (airdrop, staking) or as payment such that it is "income", I think is is like miscellaneous income, but I don't get a 1099-misc.  I can't find a way to enter this "income" if I don't have a 1099.  Where, or how, do I enter this type of crypto income?

Level 2
Mar 12, 2020 4:04:46 PM

@ColeenD3 Responding to this as this is not a solution in TurboTax Deluxe or Premier. There is NO "Show More" Button.

 

In 2018, I was able to import my list of cryptocurrency transactions directly into TT; where is that functionality in 2019?

Expert Alumni
Mar 12, 2020 4:48:08 PM

Like stocks or bonds, any gain or loss from the sale or exchange of the asset is taxed as a capital gain or loss.

To enter an investment sale other than from a brokerage account (1099-B), follow the steps below.

  • Federal Taxes
  • Wages and Income
  • Click on I'll choose what I work on
  • Under Investment Income
  • On Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other, click the start or update button
  • Continue through the questions

Level 1
May 11, 2020 1:25:52 PM

Once you go through the process and answer the question about Cryptocurrency it seems that you have to enter the data right then. If you skip an go on to enter other non-Crypto data you can't get back. I have spent hours trying to find a solution. There just doesn't seem to be a link back to the cryptocurrency page.

Not applicable
Jul 2, 2020 11:38:39 PM
Level 2
Jan 18, 2021 1:49:11 PM

I have Turbotax Premier 2020, How do I enter the cryptocurrency. It asks the question at the end of wages and income. I answer yes, but nothing happens. How do you enter it?

Expert Alumni
Jan 18, 2021 2:31:26 PM

Please see the following TurboTax articles for information on entering cryptocurrency:

Level 2
Jan 25, 2021 3:51:07 AM

At this point, I don't need to know how to enter my data.  In the Turbo Tax program, your instructions tell me how to get to INVESTMENT INCOME.  When I get to that level, your directions say to SELECT SEEMORE.  Your program does not have that selection and I can NOT proceed to the CRYPTO......... selection.  My copy on TURBOTAX Premier does NOT have the option to select CRYPTO...............    Is there a fix for this or do I need a different program?  Your directions do NOT work because there is no "SEE MORE" selection.

Expert Alumni
Jan 25, 2021 2:08:52 PM

If you are using TurboTax Online, go to the section marked Investment Income.

  • Click on Investment Income
  • Click on Cryptocurrency button to enter information.

If you are in TurboTax Desk Top, open Forms.

  • Type in cryptocurrency
  • Click button for Cryptocurrency Worksheet
  • Open form
  • Enter details

Level 2
Jun 6, 2021 3:27:42 PM

Hi, where exactly can I find out how to use a "transaction aggregator"? Step by step instructions? I have over 2500 transactions. 

I tried already to figure it out but it didn't work properly. Please link to step by step instructions, or please inform if there are none. 

 

Thanks.

Level 1
Feb 16, 2022 6:11:04 PM

need to enter cryptocurrency

Expert Alumni
Feb 16, 2022 6:42:11 PM

It depends on whether your cryptocurrency was considered earned income or treated as a property sale.

 

To help you determine which of these two possibilities applies to your situation, click on this link.

 

Click this link for details on How is Crypto Taxed?

New Member
Feb 22, 2022 7:50:05 AM

I have turbo tax Deluxe, it ask me if I traded crypto in 2021 and I did, but no where can I find where to import my Coinbase file into turbo tax.  I have looked under wage/income - investment income, no where does it say Crypto?

Expert Alumni
Feb 22, 2022 8:05:49 AM

@kcrocks74

Only the TurboTax Online Premier and Self-employed versions allow you to import cryptocurrency. If you are using the CD/Download version, you have two options:

 

One option is to start a free tax return in TurboTax Premier Online. You don't pay for the return until you file it, so you won't have to pay the Online fee.  Enter (import) your cryptocurrency information in the Crypto section, and then save the .tax file (not PDF).  You can then open the tax file in TurboTax desktop, add the rest of your tax data and file. 

The other option would be to file using the Online software and get a refund for the desktop program using this link: How do I request a refund for my TurboTax product?

 

Related information: 

New Member
Feb 22, 2022 8:12:51 AM

This makes no sense of why TT would do this, but yet on the desktop version it ask if you bought/sold crypto.  Now I have to do my taxes all over again online and now try to request a refund from TT for my deluxe edition.  What could go wrong with this scenio?  

 

 

Level 1
Feb 25, 2022 9:48:44 AM

where do I enter crypto trades on turbotax premier 2021

Expert Alumni
Feb 27, 2022 7:21:50 AM

To enter cryptocurrency into TurboTax Premier 2021 @tlclark46:

  1. Type 1099-b in Search in the upper right
  2. Select Jump to 1099-b
  3. Say Okay! on Time to kick off your investments!
  4. Tap Continue on Relax. We got it.
  5. Find your crypto exchange from the list on Let's import your tax info or type it in Search by name or Sigh-in URL.

For more help see How do I import my cryptocurrency transactions into TurboTax?

New Member
Mar 4, 2022 6:55:03 AM

I have TurboTax Home and Business 2021 and I followed these instructions but I cannot find the "Cryptocurrency Worksheet" in the list of forms. As others have said, I got a question asking if I sold cryptocurrency, but it didn't ask me about it again. Do I have to enter each sale manually like a stock sale?

Expert Alumni
Mar 4, 2022 7:27:10 AM

For TurboTax Desktop you have a couple options. 

 

Enter the sales in the Investment Income section "Stock, Mutual Funds, Bonds"

You have the option of entering each sale or as a summary. (Answer "Yes" you have a 1099-B, Select "I'll enter a summary for each sales category"

Be sure to separate Short (ONE YEAR OR LESS) and Long Term (MORE THAN ONE YEAR) gains. 

 

If you are e-filing, paper-mail Form 8453 with the statement or 1099-B  you have showing the transactions, within 3 days of an acknowledgement of the acceptance of your e-filed Federal Return. Check the box on Form 8453 for Form 8949 (the last option)

 

Mail Form 8453 to:

 

Internal Revenue Service

Attn: Shipping and Receiving, 0254

Receipt and Control Branch

Austin, TX 73344-0254 

 

(If you are mailing in a paper 1040, include the statement only with the paper return)

Be sure to separate any earned income (Mining, Air Drops) from trades. Enter any "Earned Income" on your Schedule C. 

TurboTax (Online) does have a separate section for reporting Virtual Currency trades, but that is just a convenience for the customer. It all goes to Capital Gains/Loss. 

 

DESKTOP:

Personal 

Personal Income 

I'll choose what I work on

Scroll down to "Investment Income"

"Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other" START

Did you get 1099-B?"   NO   

Select "I'll enter a summary for each sales category" 

If you have both Short Term and Long Term, you will need to enter each on a separate screen. 

 

 

Form 8453

 

I also found this suggestion which might work for you:

 

"If all you have is .CSV you can try this:
Start a TurboTax online account, import your cryptocurrency data and then save the .tax file to import into your desktop version. To do this, while you are in your tax return, click Tax Tools on the left menu. Click on Tools. In the pop-up menu, click on Save your 2021 return to your computer. Then import into your desktop version.
If have a .TXF file do this:
Import it into TT via the File/Import\Accounting File. Most coin tracking apps like CoinTracker will generate this file using your exchanges .CSV file like Coinbase Pro. I use Coinbase pro and Cointracker supports reporting up to 3000 Coinbase transactions for free to a .txf file. This is what I used for filing on the desktop version. You can adjust any of the transactions once there imported if some of the fees are not computed correctly. I also noticed you have to go through manually and add whether your short/long transaction was reported or not."
 

"You actually do not have to mark each transaction as not reported to the IRS. To avoid this, open form 8949 and in part 1, check box C. That will take care of all the transactions."

Level 1
Mar 5, 2022 3:42:55 PM

The directions given for entering cryptocurrency into Turbo Tax do not seem to match the Turbo Tax Home and Business for 2021.  Could you provide those steps?

Thank you

Expert Alumni
Mar 6, 2022 5:36:44 AM

To import a .txt file into TurboTax Desktop, follow these steps:

  • Import .txf file into Turbotax Desktop:  File --> Import --> From Accounting Software --> Select Other Financial Software (TXF) file --> Browse .txf file and Import now.
  • A 1099-B with all Crypto transactions is now created.

This entry can now be edited to include the account details.  Each transaction can be edited as well.