Roadmap: 1099-DA generation is planned for the Novus Desktop app and isn’t available today. This page is a guide to the rules.
Guide · Digital assets
Form 1099-DA, the digital asset broker guide.
Form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions, is the IRS information return for sales and exchanges of digital assets. Here’s who files it, what goes on it, and when.
01Who must file
If you effect sales for others.
Form 1099-DA was mandated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and finalised through regulations under IRC § 6045.
A broker is any person who, in the ordinary course of a trade or business, stands ready to effect sales of digital assets for others. You’re a broker if you:
- regularly offer to redeem digital assets you created or issued, or
- effect dispositions of customers’ digital assets as an agent, a dealer or a digital asset middleman.
Generally only a US digital asset broker reports on Form 1099-DA: a US person (other than a foreign branch), or a US branch treated as a US person, that effects sales of digital assets on behalf of others.
02Timeline
Proceeds first, then cost basis.
For 2025 sales, transitional relief meant brokers didn’t have to report basis. For 2026 sales, basis is mandatory for covered assets, and brokers that don’t check Box 9 for noncovered sales risk penalties.
| Tax year | Gross proceeds | Cost basis | To recipients | To the IRS (e-file) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Required | Not required (transitional relief) | February 17, 2026 | March 31, 2026 |
| 2026 | Required | Mandatory for covered securities | February 16, 2027* | March 31, 2027 |
*The statutory date is February 15, a federal holiday (Presidents’ Day) in 2027, so it moves to the next business day. Always confirm against the IRS’s current instructions.
03Covered vs. noncovered
Whether you report basis depends on the asset.
-
Covered security
A digital asset acquired through your platform on or after 1 January 2026 and held in the same account.
Basis reportingMandatory: boxes 1d, 1g, 2 and 6 must be completed.
-
Noncovered security
A digital asset acquired before 1 January 2026, or transferred in from an external wallet or another broker.
Basis reportingVoluntary: check Box 9, and boxes 1d, 1g, 1h, 1i and 6 may be left blank without penalty.
Box 9
The checkbox that carries the penalty risk
If you check Box 9 for a noncovered security and choose to fill in basis anyway, you’re not subject to penalties under sections 6721 or 6722 for reporting it incorrectly. If you don’t check Box 9, you are, even when the security is noncovered.
Account by account
No more universal method
From 1 January 2025 the IRS disallowed aggregating cost basis across wallets: basis is tracked and reported account by account. Revenue Procedure 2024-28 gives a safe harbor for allocating existing basis to the wallets held on that date.
04De minimis rules
Below these lines, no 1099-DA needed.
The 2026 instructions introduce de minimis rules. Sales under these thresholds don’t need to be reported on Form 1099-DA.
E-filing: filers with 10 or more information returns in total must file electronically. With FIRE retiring, 1099-DA e-filing runs through IRIS from 1 January 2027.
-
$600
or less, during a year
Sales by a processor of digital asset payments (PDAP)
-
$10,000
or less
Qualifying stablecoin sales
-
$600
or less
Sales of specified NFTs
Novus and 1099-DA
1099-DA generation is planned for the Novus Desktop app. It isn’t available today. If digital asset reporting matters to you, tell us about your volumes and data, and join the Desktop waitlist to hear first.
Filing 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC now? Our team can help this season.
More on IRS 1099 filing
- IRS IRIS 1099 filing FIRE to IRIS, from 1 January 2027
- 1099-NEC & 1099-MISC Forms, deadlines and corrections
- IDES 1099 for foreign filers Foreign Filer TCC and TCC GIIN
- IRIS A2A filing System-to-system XML for high volumes
Preparing data? The free IRIS 1099 worksheet has separate 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC sheets.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Something else? Ask our team
Do I need to file Form 1099-DA?
If you’re a broker under IRC § 6045, including exchanges, custodians, payment processors and certain wallet providers, you likely have a filing obligation for US customers’ digital asset dispositions. Generally only a US digital asset broker reports on Form 1099-DA.
What’s the difference between gross proceeds and cost basis reporting?
Gross proceeds are reported for all digital asset sales from 2025. Cost basis becomes mandatory for covered securities (assets acquired through your platform on or after 1 January 2026) from the 2026 tax year.
What happens if I don’t check Box 9 for a noncovered security?
You’re subject to penalties under sections 6721 and 6722 for failing to report or furnish basis correctly, even though the security is noncovered. Checking Box 9 protects you from those penalties.
What are the de minimis exceptions?
Sales by a processor of digital asset payments of $600 or less in a year, qualifying stablecoin sales of $10,000 or less, and sales of specified NFTs of $600 or less don’t need to be reported on Form 1099-DA.
Can I still aggregate cost basis across wallets?
No. From 1 January 2025 the universal method isn’t allowed: basis is tracked account by account. Revenue Procedure 2024-28 gives a safe harbor for allocating existing basis to wallets as of that date.
Can Novus prepare my 1099-DA filing today?
Not yet. 1099-DA generation is on the roadmap for Novus Desktop. Talk to us about your requirements, or join the Desktop waitlist. For Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC, our team can help you this season.
Digital asset reporting on your roadmap? It’s on ours.
1099-DA generation is planned for Novus Desktop. Tell us what you need, or join the waitlist to hear first.