FAQs for Kraken’s U.S. Tax Center

CoinTracker is a cryptocurrency tax and portfolio tracking platform designed to help users calculate their crypto taxes accurately. It supports tax calculations across multiple exchanges, wallets, and DeFi protocols.

CoinTracker aggregates transaction data, including: trades, transfers, staking rewards, and other crypto activity, and applies tax rules to help users determine income, gains, and losses. It is widely used by both individual investors and tax professionals and supports a broad range of crypto ecosystems.

Because it integrates activity across many platforms, CoinTracker is considered one of the more comprehensive crypto tax tools available.

Beyond the integration with Kraken’s Tax Center, CoinTracker supports hundreds of wallets, exchanges, and decentralized apps, which makes it easier to bring everything together in one consolidated portfolio and tax report.
 
CoinTracker’s features and capabilities include support, reporting and integrations with:

• 50k+ smart contracts and 600+ dapps
• NFTs
• DeFi
• Multichain cost basis
• Real-time portfolio monitoring
• Capital gain calculations, including adjustments for fees
• Income calculations
• Tax calculator
• 1099-DA reporting
• Integration with TurboTax and H&R Block

The challenge: Kraken serves a wide range of clients, from Crypto OG’s who code their own tax tools to crypto newcomers who prefer a suite of integrated tax tools. At the same time, we must meet our reporting obligations to you and the IRS while maintaining strong security and protecting your information.

Our solution: Kraken partnered with CoinTracker to power our U.S. Tax Center and support these diverse needs. This partnership allows us to provide optional, integrated tax tools for clients who want them, while still allowing clients to use their own records or preferred tax software, including any custom-built tools.
Our goal is to give clients flexibility while meeting our reporting obligations and maintaining the privacy and security of client information.

CoinTracker assists Kraken with calculating income, gains, and losses used for Forms in the 1099 series. To perform these calculations, Kraken shares your Kraken account identifier (IIBAN) and your transaction history (such as trades, deposits, withdrawals, and fees) with CoinTracker.

Kraken does not share personal information with CoinTracker. This includes your name, email address, physical address, tax identification number, or login credentials.

No. CoinTracker powers the calculations used in the Kraken Tax Center, but using the full CoinTracker product is optional.

You can still download your Kraken transaction history and tax forms and use any tax tools that you prefer.

Even if you choose not to utilize CoinTracker’s feature set, Kraken’s U.S. Tax Center will provide you with:

• Downloadable tax forms issued by Kraken (including your Forms in the 1099 series)
• Your Kraken transaction history
• Tax summaries and reports based on your Kraken activity

Behind the scenes, the Kraken Tax Center uses CoinTracker’s reconciliation tools to help match transfers, trace missing cost information, and guide you through what needs attention. This is especially useful if you’ve moved crypto between platforms, since missing cost basis can lead to incomplete or inaccurate tax reporting.
 
If you have been moving your crypto outside Kraken, such as in self-custody wallets or on other exchanges, you can connect those accounts through CoinTracker to get a more complete view of your transactions. We recognize that having your full activity in one place can help you avoid common mistakes, including reporting gains/losses incorrectly or potentially overpaying on your taxes.

Many crypto users move assets between exchanges and self-custody wallets. When assets are transferred onto Kraken from another platform, and because the asset was not purchased on Kraken, we will not have the original purchase price (cost basis) for those assets.

When cost basis information is missing, we will report the sale of the asset but will not report the cost basis or a gain or loss.  We understand that this can be confusing to our users who may incorrectly assume that this means a zero dollar ($0.00) cost basis and the entire sales proceeds are then reported as a gain when the asset is later sold, which is entirely incorrect and will mean you are paying far too much in taxes.  

Connecting your other wallets or exchanges through CoinTracker can help reconstruct your transaction history and identify the original acquisition price including any fees. This allows gains and losses to be calculated more comprehensively and addresses the gap between what we know as Kraken is happening in your account and the activity outside of your account.

Yes. When the missing cost basis is resolved through CoinTracker, either through the automated workflow or by manually updating transactions, the corrected information will be sent back to Kraken’s Tax Center.

This updated data helps resolve tax lots that previously had missing cost basis, allowing future trades involving those assets to reflect more accurate gain and loss calculations.
Please note that the initial synchronization of corrected data back to Kraken’s Tax Center may take a couple of weeks. In the meantime, CoinTracker will already use the updated information to generate your 2025 tax calculations and reports.

Once synchronization is complete, the corrected cost basis will also appear within the Kraken Tax Center, helping to ensure your tax lot information is accurate going forward.

1. Within the Tax Center, select Resolve Missing Cost Basis from the banner. (note: if you do not see it, you do not have any missing cost basis transactions.)
2. Allow CoinTracker access to your Kraken account.
3. You will be asked if you have used CoinTracker in the past. If you have not, continue with these steps. If you have, use the steps below in the Steps for existing CoinTracker users section.
4. Connect any other wallets or exchanges where you have crypto activity.
5. Select Connect for each service and connect them individually.
6. For each wallet or exchange, you’ll need an address, API key, or a CSV file downloaded from that service. Details for connecting non-Kraken services should be available from those services, or on the CoinTracker support site.
7. When you’re done, choose I’ve connected all wallets.
8. It may take some time for CoinTracker to sync all your transaction data.
9. Select a CoinTracker plan. CoinTracker will recommend a plan based on the number of transactions in your account.
10. Go to CoinTracker to download your complete crypto tax reports and continue on to a filing partner.
11. Your information will populate in the Tax Center once your details have synced and processed.

1. Within the Tax Center, select Resolve Missing Cost Basis from the banner. (note: if you do not see it, you do not have any missing cost basis transactions.)
2. Allow CoinTracker access to your Kraken account.
3. When asked if this is your first time using CoinTracker, select no.
4. Continue on to CoinTracker to login and complete your tax report generation.

CoinTracker supports Kraken Wallet as a configuration option during setup.

When setting up your CoinTracker account, you should see Kraken Wallet listed as one of the available wallet connections.

If you use Kraken’s DeFi Earn product, you may have embedded wallet addresses associated with your rewards activity. You can connect these wallets to CoinTracker to ensure your transaction history is included in your tax calculations.

Step 1: Locate your embedded wallet addresses
You can find your wallet addresses in your Earn Settings:

On Kraken.com

1. Select your profile icon in the upper right corner.
2. Click Earn Settings.

On Pro.Kraken.com

1. Select your profile icon in the upper right corner.
2. Click Settings.
3. Scroll down to Rewards to view your embedded wallet addresses.

Step 2: Connect the wallets to CoinTracker
Once you have located your wallet addresses, you can add them to your CoinTracker account as external wallets. This will allow CoinTracker to import the related transaction history and incorporate it into your tax calculations.

Sync error
If your details couldn’t sync, try to reauthenticate the connection and/or confirm your address or API key is accurate.

1. Select We couldn’t sync your details.
2. Select the wallet or exchange that failed to connect.
3. Choose Reconnect and follow the prompts to reauthenticate and check your address or keys.

 
The following CoinTracker support articles may help if issues persist:

• How wallet works with API keys
• Understand xPub/yPub/zPub keys

Manual transaction review
If asked, you’ll need to review your transactions on CoinTracker.

1. Select Continue on CoinTracker.
2. Choose your login method.
3. Update the details of each transaction in need of manual review and select Save.

You can locate transactions that require attention directly within the Transactions page.
To find them quickly:

1. Navigate to the Transactions page in the Tax Center.
2. Use the Status filter and select “Missing Cost Basis.”

The table will update to show only transactions that require additional information.

Transactions missing cost basis will display an Edit icon next to the entry.

1. Select the Edit icon for the transaction you want to update.
2. This will open the Edit Transaction interface, where you can provide the missing information.

Within this interface, you can:

• Enter the original purchase price (cost basis)
• Update the acquisition date if the asset was obtained earlier than Kraken’s records indicate
• Split the transaction lot if only part of the transaction relates to a specific acquisition

Providing this information helps ensure gains and losses are calculated more accurately.

After updating the transaction details:

1. Select Submit in the Edit Transaction interface.
2. Your updates will be sent to the system for processing.

Processing may take a few minutes to complete. Once processed, the updated cost basis information will be reflected in your tax summary calculations and reports.

The Summary tab provides a high-level overview of your crypto tax information for the selected tax year. It includes:

• Crypto Tax Summary – Your combined Form 1099-DA/MISC information, including realized gains and losses from crypto sales, as well as income from staking, airdrops, and other rewards.
• Crypto Capital Gains – A breakdown of taxable events by category, including crypto-to-fiat sales, crypto-to-crypto trades, and stablecoin transactions. For each category, you can view gross proceeds, short-term gain/loss, and long-term gain/loss.
• Crypto Tax Reports – Links to download additional informational reports related to your crypto activity for the selected tax year.
• Tax Forms – Links to download your official Form 1099 and other applicable IRS forms.

The Transactions tab allows you to review every crypto-related transaction associated with your Kraken account. You can filter transactions by category, currency, status, and date to locate specific activity.
Each transaction row displays:

• Date and time of the transaction
• Category (e.g., Sent, Received, Earn)
• Amount sent and received
• Fee (USD), value (USD), and gains (USD)

Missing Cost Basis:
If transactions are flagged for missing cost basis, a warning banner will appear at the top of the page showing the estimated impact on your taxable gains. You can address these transactions by using the automated CoinTracker workflow or by manually updating the transaction details. Resolving missing cost basis helps ensure your gains and losses are calculated more accurately for tax reporting.

The Settings tab allows you to configure how your tax calculations are performed.

Cost Basis Method
The cost basis method determines how Kraken calculates the gain or loss when you dispose of cryptocurrency. You can update this setting by selecting Edit in the Settings tab.
Common cost basis methods include:

• FIFO (First In, First Out) – The oldest coins you acquired are treated as sold first.
• LIFO (Last In, First Out) – The most recently acquired coins are treated as sold first.
• HIFO (Highest In, First Out) – The coins with the highest acquisition cost are treated as sold first, which may reduce taxable gains.

Before changing your cost basis method, you may want to consult a qualified tax professional, as different methods can significantly affect your reported gains and tax liability.

Tax Year
The Settings tab also displays the tax year range currently applied to your data (for example, Jan 1, 2026 00:00:00 EST – Dec 31, 2026 23:59:59 EST). This helps you clearly understand which reporting period the information in your Tax Center covers.

From the Summary tab, you can download three CSV reports. These reports are generated based on your account activity and are typically available for the most recent tax year.

Income Report
A record of all taxable income events, such as staking rewards, airdrops, referral bonuses, and other earnings received through your Kraken account. This information generally corresponds to the income portion of Form 1099-MISC. You can use this report when reporting ordinary income from crypto on your tax return.

Gain/Loss Report
A detailed breakdown of your realized capital gains and losses from disposing of cryptocurrency (for example, selling, trading, or converting crypto). The report separates short-term and long-term gains and losses and includes cost basis and proceeds for each disposal. This report may help when preparing Schedule D and Form 8949 for a U.S. tax return.

Transaction History Report
A complete record of all account activity for the selected tax year, including trades, deposits, withdrawals, and earnings. This is the most comprehensive report and is particularly useful for reconciling your records with a third-party tax software provider or accountant. It can also be imported into tools such as CoinTracker.