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Level 5
May 7, 2025
Question

Reporting Cryptocurrency Gain/Loss with NO Cost Basis

  • May 7, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 13 views

I have a client with a 2024 Gain/Loss report from Coinbase showing a Bitcoin sale on 03/05/2024, with an acquisition date of 11/30/2022. However, Coinbase indicates that there's no cost basis on record for this transaction.

Do they need to go back to Coinbase to retrieve this, or is there another way to handle this?

Note: The client made multiple Bitcoin purchases in 2022 at different prices and believes they can download reports of those transactions. If so, can we use those records to calculate the cost basis? Since they didn’t sell all the Bitcoin they bought in 2022, how do we determine which purchase price to use?

 

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2 replies

sjrcpa
Level 15
May 7, 2025

"can we use those records to calculate the cost basis?" Yes

"how do we determine which purchase price to use?" FIFO

The more I know the more I don’t know.
BobKamman
Level 15
May 7, 2025

"with an acquisition date of 11/30/2022"

Is that when he opened the account?  Otherwise, why not use that date instead of FIFO or some other alternative? 

jeanmarcAuthor
Level 5
May 8, 2025

My mistake, that date is apparently when Coinbase transitioned the assets in the account from an older system over to a new one but not the actual date of purchase of those assets.

George4Tacks
Level 15
May 8, 2025

This is why I spent all the time "decorating" the ceiling over my head at the office. The client could look up for inspiration to select dates & amounts.

Of course you need the client to do the selections and write them down for you. 

 

Answers are easy. Questions are hard!