Form 1099-DA landed in mailboxes and inboxes across the country in early 2026. If you traded on Binance.US in 2025, you got one. And if you looked at that number — the gross proceeds figure — and felt your stomach drop, you’re not alone. That number is not your taxable gain. In most cases it’s not even close. This guide breaks down what the Binance.US 1099-DA actually contains, where it falls short, and how to fix the cost basis problem before the IRS fixes it for you.
This is general educational guidance, not tax advice. Your situation may differ. Consult a qualified tax professional — or reach out to us — before filing.
What Is Form 1099-DA?
Form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions, is the IRS information return that custodial digital asset brokers must use to report certain digital asset sales and exchanges to both taxpayers and the government, beginning with transactions on or after January 1, 2025.
The requirement for brokers to report digital asset transactions is a result of changes to Internal Revenue Code §6045 made by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed in late 2021. It took a few years to get here, but the IRS’s new broker-reporting regime is now live. The official form and instructions are available directly at irs.gov/form1099da.
Unlike Form 1099-B used for stocks, Form 1099-DA is specifically designed for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, NFTs, and other digital assets. Think of it as the stock-brokerage 1099-B, but for crypto — with a few critical structural differences that will cause problems if you’re not paying attention.
Like other forms in the 1099 series, Form 1099-DA provides the IRS with third-party reporting that can be matched against a taxpayer’s return. That last part matters. The IRS has your numbers. If your return doesn’t match, you’ll hear about it.
What Does Binance.US Report on the 1099-DA?
Binance.US issues both Form 1099-DA and Form 1099-MISC. These tax forms cover different types of taxable income. Form 1099-DA covers proceeds from cryptocurrency disposals — examples include selling your cryptocurrency or trading one cryptocurrency for another. Form 1099-MISC covers ordinary income, like staking rewards and referral bonuses.
You’ll receive a 1099-MISC from Binance.US if you earned $600 or more of income on the platform during the tax year. Below that threshold, Binance.US may not issue a 1099-MISC — but the income is still taxable regardless.
Any Binance.US user who sold, traded, or otherwise disposed of crypto during the 2025 tax year will receive a Form 1099-DA. Simply buying and holding crypto does not trigger the form. There is no minimum dollar threshold for receiving Form 1099-DA.
Here’s what the form actually includes:
- Gross proceeds from each disposal
- Asset identifier (token name/ticker)
- Transaction dates (acquisition date and sale date)
- Fees associated with the transaction
- Account and taxpayer information
Your Form 1099-DA from Binance.US will include the cryptocurrency sold, transaction dates, gross proceeds, fees, and your account and taxpayer information.
Here’s what it does not include:
- Your cost basis (what you originally paid)
- Your net gain or loss
- Any activity from other exchanges or wallets
- DeFi transactions outside the Binance.US custodial environment
The Big Problem: No Cost Basis for 2025
This is the one you need to understand before you do anything else.
Most 1099-DA statements will not provide the basis of the taxpayers’ digital asset transactions for the 2025 tax year. This isn’t a Binance.US bug. It’s by design.
The IRS regulations phase in reporting over time. Brokers must report gross proceeds for transactions effected on or after January 1, 2025. Brokers must report basis on certain transactions effected on or after January 1, 2026.
In plain English: for everything you sold on Binance.US in 2025, Binance.US was required to report only what you received — not what you paid. Basis must be calculated by taxpayers before their 2025 tax return can be filed. Detailed recordkeeping is critical for reporting the basis accurately.
This creates a predictable trap. Your Binance.US 1099-DA is likely reporting the gross proceeds of your sales, rather than your capital gains and losses, which inflates your earnings. If you hand that form to a preparer — or worse, import it directly into tax software and call it done — you may be filing a return that overstates your income by orders of magnitude.
Covered vs. Noncovered: Why It Matters for 2026 and Beyond
This distinction will matter more as the rules mature, but it’s worth understanding now.
Mandatory basis reporting will be phased in, applying only to “covered securities,” a term narrowly defined as digital assets acquired on or after January 1, 2026, and held continuously in a broker’s account. Any asset acquired before that date or transferred into a broker’s platform is considered a “noncovered security,” for which brokers are not required to report basis.
Covered assets are crypto acquired and held on Binance.US until sold. The moment that asset leaves the platform — to a hardware wallet, to another exchange, to a DeFi protocol — it loses covered status.
Any transfer out of a custodial account breaks covered status. Once transferred, the asset becomes a noncovered asset for reporting purposes.
For the 2025 tax year specifically, it’s simpler: for 2025 transactions, all digital asset dispositions are treated as noncovered. So the covered/noncovered distinction is primarily something to manage going into 2026 and beyond.
One important technical note: when a broker does not have acquisition information, cost basis is typically reported as unknown or left blank. A stated basis of $0.00 indicates that the broker is affirmatively reporting zero basis — not that basis information is missing. Those are two very different problems with two different fixes. A $0 basis is worse — it signals to the IRS that you had no acquisition cost, turning your entire proceeds into a taxable gain.
Binance.US-Specific Gotchas
The Global Binance vs. Binance.US Confusion
Binance.US is the US-regulated arm of the Binance brand, operating as a separate company from the global Binance.com platform that US residents cannot legally use. This matters for your taxes in a specific way: if you ever had an account on Binance.com before migrating to Binance.US, that transaction history is from a foreign exchange. Non-U.S. exchanges such as KuCoin, Binance.com, and Bybit do not issue U.S. information returns. So any assets you moved from Binance.com to Binance.US arrive as noncovered assets with no basis on file.
Transfers In From Other Wallets or Exchanges
This is where most Binance.US users run into trouble. Form 1099-DA will not include the cost basis for crypto you transferred in from another exchange or wallet. Cost basis information on Binance.US’s Form 1099-DA may be incorrect or missing, especially if you transferred crypto from another wallet or exchange.
The 1099-DA can overstate gains. Crypto transferred into Binance.US often lands with no cost basis, so the form can report your full sale price as gain unless you fix it.
To put numbers on this: say you bought 1 BTC for $40,000 elsewhere, moved it to Binance.US, and sold for $60,000. If the 1099-DA shows $60,000 proceeds and no basis, the IRS reads a $60,000 gain instead of $20,000. At a 24% rate, that’s roughly $4,800 in tax you do not actually owe — until you correct the basis.
Staking Rewards Sold on Platform
Earned crypto (staking and rewards) is taxed at ordinary rates regardless of holding period, and its value at receipt becomes the cost basis for a later sale. If you earned staking rewards on Binance.US and then sold them in 2025, the 1099-DA will show the sale proceeds. The cost basis for those rewards is the fair market value at the time you received them — which you need your own records to establish. The 1099-MISC covers the income event. The 1099-DA covers the disposal. Neither form automatically connects the dots.
Price Oracle Discrepancies
There may be minor differences between the proceeds on your Form 1099-DA and what your own records show. The most common reason for this problem is that Binance.US may have used a different cryptocurrency price oracle to value crypto transactions. Small discrepancies are common. Large ones are a red flag worth investigating. When there’s a discrepancy, always follow the proceeds figures on your Form 1099-DA, since these are the numbers the IRS has on file.
Mixed Account Activity
A single account can blend capital gains, ordinary income, and transferred-in assets with missing basis. If you traded, staked, and deposited from external wallets — all within the same Binance.US account — you have at least three separate categories of taxable events that need to be reconciled independently before you build your Form 8949.
How to Fix Missing or $0 Cost Basis
The form is wrong, or incomplete. Here’s the path forward.
Step 1: Pull Your Full Transaction History
You can download your tax forms directly from your Binance.US account. These are located in the ‘Tax Reports’ section on your profile, which you can access through ‘Export Reports’. Download everything — not just the 1099-DA PDF. You want the raw transaction CSV: buys, sells, deposits, withdrawals, and staking rewards. The CSV will show more detail than the 1099-DA.
Step 2: Reconstruct Basis for Transferred-In Assets
For every asset that arrived at Binance.US via transfer, trace it back to its origin. You need:
- The original purchase date and price from the originating exchange (Coinbase, Kraken, a hardware wallet, etc.)
- Any transaction fees paid at acquisition — these add to your basis
- Evidence that the asset is the same asset (matching amounts, timestamps, and on-chain transaction IDs where possible)
Cost basis = purchase price + transaction fees + any other acquisition costs. If you bought 1 ETH for $3,000 and paid a $50 transaction fee, your cost basis is $3,050. If you later sell for $3,500, your capital gain is $450 — not $3,500.
Step 3: Reconcile Against the 1099-DA Proceeds
Under current IRS guidelines, you are allowed to report your own cost basis on Form 8949, provided that you have supporting transaction records. This is your safety valve. The 1099-DA is an informational return — it doesn’t determine your tax liability. Your Form 8949 does. Report the proceeds from the 1099-DA, supply your own cost basis with documentation, and check the appropriate box indicating whether basis was or was not reported to the IRS.
Select the relevant checkbox on Form 8949 to notify the IRS whether your cost basis was or was not reported.
Step 4: Don’t File Before Your Final Form Arrives
Binance.US may need until the extended February 15, 2026 deadline to provide complete 1099-DA forms for the 2025 tax year. Filing before receiving your final form could lead to inaccurate reporting and IRS notices.
Step 5: If You’re Stuck, Get Help
If your transaction history spans multiple exchanges, external wallets, or DeFi protocols, reconciling manually isn’t realistic. Our 1099-DA missing cost basis service exists specifically for this scenario. We run your records through our multi-chain transaction processor, reconstruct basis from source, and produce a reconciled Form 8949 you can actually file with confidence.
For broader context on how the cost basis problem works across exchanges, see our pillar guide: 1099-DA Missing Cost Basis: The Full Breakdown.
Other Exchange 1099-DA Guides
Binance.US isn’t the only exchange with this problem. The same cost basis gaps appear across every major platform. If you traded on multiple exchanges, you’ll need to reconcile each one separately. Our Insights hub has exchange-specific guides covering:
- Coinbase — 1099-DA reporting, HIFO elections, and staking
- Kraken — staking income, futures, and Kraken’s form quirks
- Gemini — ActiveTrader vs. basic account reporting differences
- Robinhood — crypto + equities on one form, proceeds aggregation
- Crypto.com — Visa card rewards, Earn, and multi-product basis issues
- Binance.US — you’re reading it
If you transacted on more than one of these platforms, treat each 1099-DA as a separate reconciliation project. Your cost basis method election (FIFO, HIFO, Specific ID) is applied per account, not universally across all exchanges.
FAQ
Does Binance.US report to the IRS?
Yes, Binance.US reports to the IRS. Form 1099-MISC covers staking and other income of $600+, and as a US broker, Binance.US reports sales and exchanges on Form 1099-DA starting with the 2025 tax year.
What if I never got a 1099-DA from Binance.US?
Taxpayers should understand their tax obligations whether or not they received a statement showing all taxable digital asset activities. Not receiving the form doesn’t mean the activity isn’t taxable. It may mean it was lost, delayed, or your activity fell below a threshold Binance.US applied. Check your account’s Tax Reports section directly.
My 1099-DA shows a huge proceeds number. Do I owe tax on all of it?
Almost certainly not. Your Binance.US 1099-DA is likely reporting the gross proceeds of your sales, rather than your capital gains and losses, which inflates your earnings. If you’re trusting what your 1099-DA says, you’re going to end up under- or over-paying tax. You owe tax on your gain — proceeds minus your cost basis. The form doesn’t compute that for you.
What’s the difference between a blank cost basis and a $0 cost basis on my 1099-DA?
A meaningful one. When a broker does not have acquisition information, cost basis is typically reported as unknown or left blank. A stated basis of $0.00 indicates that the broker is affirmatively reporting zero basis, not that basis information is missing. A $0 basis means the IRS may expect you to report 100% of proceeds as gain. You can correct this on Form 8949 with proper documentation.
I moved crypto from Binance.com (global) to Binance.US. Will my basis transfer?
No. Non-U.S. exchanges such as KuCoin, Binance.com, and Bybit do not issue U.S. information returns. Binance.US has no visibility into what you paid on the global platform. The asset arrives as noncovered with no basis on record. You’ll need to pull your Binance.com transaction history separately and document the original acquisition.
When will Binance.US start reporting cost basis on the 1099-DA?
Starting with the 2026 tax year (forms sent in early 2027), 1099-DA is scheduled to include both cost basis and gross proceeds for covered transactions. But this only applies to assets acquired and held continuously on Binance.US from January 1, 2026 onward. Any asset acquired before that date or transferred into a broker’s platform is considered a “noncovered security,” for which brokers are not required to report basis. The basis problem doesn’t disappear in 2027 — it just shrinks.
Can I use my own records to override what the 1099-DA says?
Under current IRS guidelines, you are allowed to report your own cost basis on Form 8949, provided that you have supporting transaction records. The IRS’s own guidance confirms this. Although you cannot directly edit the 1099-DA form and changes to cost basis will not be reported on your form once it has been issued to the IRS, keeping track of your cost basis will still help when reporting your correct gains and losses on your tax return. Your Form 8949 is where your actual tax liability gets established.
The Bottom Line
Your Binance.US 1099-DA is a starting point, not a finish line. It tells the IRS what you sold and for how much. It doesn’t tell either of you what you paid — and for most 2025 transactions, it can’t. The work of building an accurate return falls to you (or whoever prepares your taxes).
If your Binance.US activity was straightforward — bought and sold entirely within the platform, no external transfers, no staking — your reconciliation is manageable. If you transferred assets from other platforms, used the global Binance.com before switching, or have staking rewards layered on top of trades, you have a multi-source basis reconstruction problem.
The IRS has your 1099-DA. Make sure your Form 8949 can defend every number on it.
This post is educational guidance only and does not constitute tax advice. Your specific facts and circumstances determine your actual tax obligations. Consult a qualified tax professional before filing. For help with missing cost basis on your Binance.US 1099-DA, see our 1099-DA solution page or browse the Insights hub for additional exchange guides.
By Mike Ring | Blockchain Crypto Tax Prep
Need help with your crypto taxes? Mike Ring and the BCTP team handle the messy stuff — multi-chain DeFi, 1099-DAs that don’t add up, prior-year amendments. Free consult at cryptotaxprep.io or call 410-216-4632.
This isn’t tax advice. Talk to a professional about your specific situation.
