Calculate Cryptocurrency Capital Gains Tax
Calculate crypto tax liability from your trades. Short-term vs long-term gains with cost basis methods.
How Crypto Is Taxed
The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property — every sale, trade, or exchange is a taxable event. Buying Bitcoin with dollars is not taxable. Selling Bitcoin for dollars IS taxable. Trading Bitcoin for Ethereum IS taxable (you "sold" Bitcoin). Short-term gains (held under 1 year): ordinary income rates (10-37%). Long-term gains (held over 1 year): 0%, 15%, or 20%. Mining and staking rewards are taxed as ordinary income when received.
Reducing Your Crypto Tax Bill
Hold over 1 year: Long-term rates save 10-22% vs short-term. Tax-loss harvesting: Crypto is NOT subject to the wash sale rule (as of 2025) — sell at a loss and immediately rebuy to lock in losses. Use specific identification: Sell your highest-cost-basis lots first (HIFO method) to minimize gains. Donate appreciated crypto: No capital gains tax and you get a fair-market-value deduction.
The crypto wash sale loophole (as of 2025) is one of the most powerful tax strategies available. You can sell crypto at a loss to offset gains, then immediately rebuy the same coin — locking in the tax loss without actually exiting your position. With stocks, you must wait 30 days to rebuy. Congress has proposed closing this loophole, so use it while it lasts.
