61% of US Crypto Investors Miss IRS Tax Rule Deadline
A Coinbase-CoinTracker survey found that 61% of American crypto investors are unaware of new IRS reporting rules for 2025 tax filings, even though 74% say they know crypto activity is taxable.
Key Takeaway
High tax compliance intent means nothing if investors can't calculate cost basis across platforms.
A Coinbase-CoinTracker survey of 3,000 American crypto investors found that 61% are unaware of new IRS reporting rules that took effect for 2025 tax filings.
The gap is striking because 74% of those same investors say they know crypto activity is taxable. Even more surprising: 56% rate their own understanding of crypto taxes as excellent. Coinbase Vice President of Tax Lawrence Zlatkin said the data tells a story of confusion, and that users are struggling to navigate the complexities of crypto taxation.
The new Form 1099-DA requires investors to report gross proceeds from digital asset transactions. But here's the catch: brokers aren't required to provide cost basis accounting to the IRS for 2025. That means individual investors must manually calculate and reconcile their adjusted cost basis across every platform they used.
CoinTracker Head of Tax Strategy Shehan Chandrasekera said the cost basis issue is uniquely hard to solve. He noted that investors with transactions across multiple wallets and exchanges—or anyone involved in decentralized finance—will find manual tax reconciliation almost impossible. The report described an environment of high compliance intent but low functional understanding.
Non-compliance carries serious consequences. Criminal tax fraud can trigger a maximum fine of ₱6,078,084 ($100,000) and up to five years in prison, according to Cornell Law School. The report also found that 76% of polled investors hold traditional stocks, while 83% own other assets like bonds, property, or commodities. The IRS federal income tax filing deadline is April 15.
This article was written based on reporting from Dlnews.
