What is the best crypto tax software?
This article reviews the top crypto tax software options, exploring their features, pricing, and pros and cons to help you choose the right tool for your needs. Whether you're a casual trader or a high-volume investor, find the best software to simplify your crypto taxes.
Summary
Leading crypto tax software includes CoinLedger, Koinly, CoinTracker, TokenTax, and ZenLedger, each offering unique features for different user needs.
These tools connect with wallets and exchanges, calculate cost basis automatically, and generate IRS-required forms like Schedule D and 8949.
Plans range from free for basic users to premium subscriptions costing hundreds or thousands per year for high-volume traders.
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What is the best crypto tax software?
Crypto tax software automatically calculates a user’s crypto taxes and inserts the information into the appropriate forms.
The software often achieves this miraculous feat by connecting to crypto exchange accounts and importing the associated data. Though none are perfect, good crypto tax software programs can be a tremendous help when filing crypto taxes.
Let’s look at some of the most popular crypto tax software options available.
Coinledger
Coinledger is straightforward to use, integrates with many crypto platforms and other tax software programs, and can even help with tax-loss harvesting.
Pros:
Broad integration: Integrates with TurboTax, TurboTax calculator, TaxDirect, 100 crypto exchanges, and many of the most popular wallets.
Low price: One of the most affordable options on the market
Supports many platforms: Integrates with a high number of wallets and exchanges
Cons:
Focus on US tax compliance: CoinLedger is primarily tailored for US taxpayers, meaning those paying tax elsewhere may have to use an additional platform.
Limited free features: Many advanced features, such as detailed tax reporting and integration with multiple exchanges, are only available in paid plans.
Limited DeFi/NFT integration: Full integration may not be available for complex DeFi or NFT transactions.
Price: Free option for basic users with subscriptions starting at $49 per year for up to 100 transactions and $199 per year for up to 3,000 trades.
Koinly
Koinly is one of the most user-friendly and versatile options available. In addition to integrating with the most popular wallets and exchanges, the software allows you to reconcile problematic transactions with just a few clicks.
Pros:
Error reconciliation: High-quality tools for reconciling errors.
Professional advice: Provides the option to connect you with tax professionals from five countries.
Simple imports: Easily automated data importing.
Cons:
Pricey for high-volume traders: Koinly's pricing increases significantly for users with many transactions.
DeFi and NFT tracking limitations: While Koinly supports some DeFi and NFT transactions, it doesn't always capture the complexity of these activities.
Occasional syncing issues: Users have reported occasional syncing errors with certain exchanges and wallets.
Price: $49 per year for up to 100 transactions, $199 per year for up to 3,000 transactions.
CoinTracker
Cointracker is one of the most well-known names in crypto tax software today. It supports over 10,000 cryptocurrencies, making it a good option for those who trade often in smaller coins.
Pros:
Multi-national support: Cointracker can generate reports for multiple countries, including the US, UK, and Canada.
Real-time portfolio tracking: Allows users to monitor their crypto portfolios in real time.
Automatic transaction syncing: Automatically syncs all transactions from a user’s wallets and exchanges.
Cons:
Higher costs for advanced plans: CoinTracker's pricing can become expensive for users with a high volume of transactions or those looking for more advanced features like detailed tax-loss harvesting.
Limited support for DeFi: While CoinTracker supports many exchanges and wallets, it may not fully handle intricate DeFi activities, requiring manual reconciliation.
Inconsistent syncing with smaller platforms: Some users report issues syncing data from less popular exchanges or wallets.
Price: Free version for basic users, premium plans starting at $49 per year for advanced features and scaling upwards for a higher volume of trades.
TokenTax
TokenTax can produce many of the most important IRS tax forms, like Schedule D and 8949. It can also help you file your crypto income taxes and generate a cryptocurrency audit trail.
Pros:
Customer support: TokenTax comes with a simple and effective customer support interface, allowing users to get crypto tax help by simply sending a message.
International trading support: The software can generate international gain/loss reports.
VIP plan for active traders: TokenTax has a VIP plan for users with up to 30,000 transactions, making it a good choice for those who conduct a high volume of trades.
Cons:
High price point: TokenTax’s plans are among the most expensive in the crypto tax software market.
No free tier: Unlike some competitors, TokenTax doesn’t offer a free plan.
Manual effort for niche platforms: While it supports a wide range of exchanges, users with transactions on smaller or niche platforms may still need to import or reconcile data manually.
Price: Basic plan starts at $65 per year, with higher tiers scaling up to $2,999 per year for the VIP plan (30,000 transactions).
ZenLedger
ZenLedger can help you generate all types of reports for your crypto taxes. The software even provides a feature called Grand Unified Accounting, which allows users to integrate their crypto taxes with non-crypto taxes.
Pros:
Non-crypto tax help: ZenLedger allows users to integrate their crypto taxes into the rest of their tax returns.
All forms available: All tax forms required by the IRS are available.
Discounts: Users receive a 10% discount if they purchase multiple years’ worth of tax software at once.
Cons:
Steeper learning curve: ZenLedger’s interface and features may overwhelm beginners or less tech-savvy users.
Expensive for complex features: While the basic plan covers essential needs, advanced features like support for DeFi and staking transactions are locked behind higher-tier (and pricier) plans.
Limited customer support availability: Some users report delays in getting responses to support inquiries.
Price: The starting “Silver” tier plan costs $49 per year for 100 transactions, with options to scale up to unlimited transactions for an additional $600 per tax year.
Other crypto tax software options exist, but these are five of the most popular and well-reviewed overall.
Do You Need Crypto Tax Software?
It’s possible to accurately report all crypto taxes manually. However, crypto tax software can make the process much easier, especially if you have many taxable events in a given year.
Anyone who buys and sells crypto often or participates in crypto staking (when users lock up or “stake” crypto for a time and receive regular rewards in return) will have great difficulty reporting their crypto taxes, for example. Calculating the cost basis for each transaction or keeping track of every staking reward is not easy.
With crypto tax software, you can link your exchange account using an API key and automatically import all transactions, including staking rewards. The software then uses that information to generate the appropriate forms like Form 8949 and Form Schedule D.
The alternative is to manually add the details of each transaction to these forms yourself, which could take a substantial amount of time. However, crypto tax software might not be worth the cost if you have just a few taxable transactions.
What to look for in a good crypto tax software
Here are some important things to look for when choosing crypto tax software:
Compatibility: Ensure the crypto tax software is compatible with your crypto platforms and wallets. If not, you won’t be able to import your transactions automatically.
User-friendliness: Is the software easy to use, with an intuitive user interface?
Features: Does the software do everything you want, such as generating reports in the desired file format?
Reputation: Read software reviews and compare different options before purchasing a subscription.
Accuracy: Look for software that calculates gains, losses, and income precisely, following current tax laws and accounting methods (e.g., FIFO).
Number of transactions: Take note of how many transactions the software can calculate according to its subscription rules. You’ll need software that can handle many transactions if you're an active trader.
Keeping these ideas in mind can help you find the crypto tax software that’s right for you.
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