Unfortunately, you need to report the Bitcoin or Ethereum trade for Altcoin. You must report a gain or loss on the exchange from one type of cryptocurrency to another.
For some reason TurboTax has not yet updated their desktop Premier version for cryptocurrencies as they have with the online Premier version. The online version has a separate section for cryptocurrencies and walks you through the transaction.
If you did not keep records of your cryptocurrency transactions, you can try to find the information on the exchange's website. The most common way to do this is to go to your exchange's website and download your order or trading history. You may need to do this a few times throughout the year due to limits on how far back you can go (for example, an exchange may only provide 3 months of data due to storage limits on their servers).
Determining the cost basis for cryptocurrency is similar to figuring it out for stocks or property. Your cost basis is the fair market value of the cryptocurrency on the date of the transaction. This is true even for transactions where you received cryptocurrency as payment for goods and services.
We use the FIFO (first in, first out) method in our calculations, which complies with government regulations.
You can go to one of the following websites to help you calculate your cost basis:
- Bitcoin.tax
- CoinTracker.io
Additional Information;
Follow these steps in the Premier Edition: (for online version but it will assist you)
- Open (continue) your return in TurboTax.
- In the search box, search for investment sales and then select the "Jump to" link in the search results.
- Answer Yes to the question Did you sell any investments? (If you land on the Here's the investment sales we have so far screen, select Add More Sales.)
- Continue following the onscreen instructions and we'll calculate the gain or loss from the sale. Note: There isn't a specific section for digital currency, but if you answer the questions related to sales, we'll be able to do the proper calculation.
OR if the jump-to link is not working
- Select the Federal tab
- Select Wages and Income
- Select Investment Income
- You'll list each trade/sale in the Stocks, Mutual funds, Bonds, Other interview
- When asked Did you get a 1099-B or a brokerage statement for these sales? select No
- When asked to Choose the type of investment you sold select Everything else
- Translate proceeds of each transfer into US dollars at the time of the transfer
- Repeat for each
Please see this FAQ with more details:
Reporting cryptocurrency is similar to reporting a stock sale. You'll need to report your cryptocurrency if you sold, exchanged, spent or converted it.
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. 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:
- If you haven’t already done so, sign in to TurboTax and select Take me to my return.
- Select Federal from the left menu.
- If this is the first time you’ve accessed the Wages & Income section, you’ll answer some questions about your income.
- On the Let’s Check for Income screen, if you don’t see a list of types of income, select Jump to the full list.
- Select Show more next to Investment Income and select Start or Revisit next to Cryptocurrency.
- Follow the instructions and we'll calculate the gain or loss from the sale.
There's an upload limit of 250 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.
{Edited 03.04.19} / 11:52}
