What records do I need to keep and report for crypto taxes?

The full answer

What records does the CRA list for crypto?

The Canada Revenue Agency gives the most detailed public list. Its page, updated November 10, 2025, asks holders to keep, for each transaction, the number of units and type of crypto-asset, the date and time, the value in Canadian dollars at the time, a description of the transaction and the other party (even if that is only a crypto address), the addresses of each wallet used, and each year’s beginning and ending wallet balance with its cost [1].

The same page sets the period. Records must be kept for at least six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to [1]. The CRA also recommends exporting your activity history from exchanges and custodial platforms on a regular schedule, in case the exchange stops operating, stops serving Canada, or you lose access to your account [1].

Which transactions need a record?

In Canada, a disposition may happen when you trade crypto for government currency or for another crypto-asset, use it to buy goods or services, or give or donate it. The CRA says that list is not complete [2]. A transfer between wallets you own is not a taxable disposition [2]. The CRA’s request for yearly wallet balances still means those transfers belong in the log.

In the US, the IRS says digital assets are property, not currency [3]. Form 1040 asks every filer whether, during the year, they received a digital asset as a reward, award or payment, or sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of one [3]. The IRS lists buying with US or other real currency without selling, and moving assets between wallets or accounts you own or control, among the cases where the answer can be No [3].

Why do fees and values in your own currency matter?

The CRA measures a capital gain as the amount by which proceeds exceed the adjusted cost base (usually the cost plus expenses to acquire) and the expenses of selling [2]. Fees on both ends therefore change the gain. Half of a capital gain is included in income [2]. If your activity looks like a business, the full profit is reported instead, and the CRA weighs factors such as how often you trade, how long you hold, and the time you spend [2]. Working these numbers out across many purchases is covered on the page about how to calculate cost basis on XRP bought at different times.

What does Form 1099-DA show, and what if it disagrees with my records?

The IRS says brokers report on Form 1099-DA beginning with transactions on or after January 1, 2025. Gross proceeds are reported from that date. Basis is reported only on certain transactions on or after January 1, 2026 [3]. A 2025 form can therefore show what you sold for without showing what you paid.

The IRS says its older virtual currency FAQs generally apply to transactions completed before January 1, 2025 [4].

In the US, brokers must report gross proceeds on Form 1099-DA for transactions on or after January 1, 2025.[3] They must report basis on certain transactions on or after January 1, 2026.[3] The IRS describes the form as reporting proceeds “(and in some cases, basis for)” digital asset dispositions and tells taxpayers: “You must calculate basis before you file your tax return.”[12]

Taxpayers using foreign brokers, such as exchanges based outside the United States, may therefore not receive a Form 1099-DA from them in 2025.[12] How Canada’s and the US’s rules differ is set out on do I pay tax on XRP in Canada or the US.

How do I rebuild records for past years?

Exchange exports are the first source while the account still exists. The FTC warns that if an exchange goes out of business, you are likely to find that no one can step in to help you recover funds [5]. Old account data can disappear the same way.

The ledger is the second source. XRPL.org notes that all XRP Ledger transactions are public [6], so the dates, amounts and addresses of past transfers can be looked up again from a wallet address or a transaction hash. The steps are on the page about reading an XRP Ledger transaction on a public explorer. The ledger does not record what you paid in dollars on an exchange, which is why the exchange export still matters.

What records help if I lose XRP to a scam?

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center asks fraud victims for crypto addresses, the amounts and types of crypto, transaction hashes, and the dates and times of the transactions [7]. The same details support a tax claim. The IRS’s 2025 Form 4684 instructions say some scam victims may claim a theft loss if the loss is theft under state law, there is no reasonable prospect of recovery, and the loss came from a transaction entered into for profit [8]. Which scams qualify is explained on the page about deducting crypto lost to a scam.

What new reporting is coming in Canada?

Canada’s Budget 2025, released November 4, 2025, said the government intends to proceed with the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, subject to a deferred application date of January 1, 2027 [9]. That is a stated intention, not a rule in force. Separate foreign-property and foreign-account forms are covered on the page about reporting XRP held on a foreign platform or in self-custody. Income from yield, AMM fees and airdrops has its own treatment on the page about how XRP yield and airdrops are taxed.

What is the case against keeping detailed crypto records?

Records that prove a tax position also map a person’s holdings. Chainalysis wrote in August 2026 that a data breach is the likeliest cause of a surge in violent crypto attacks in France. It cited a French tax official alleged in 2024 to have sold dossiers on crypto holders, including names, addresses, holdings and tax records, and a January 2026 breach at the crypto tax-reporting firm Waltio affecting some 50,000 users [10]. Chainalysis also said publicly disclosing holdings, including on-chain activity linked to a known identity, can make people targets [10].

None of this removes the CRA’s six-year requirement [1]. It does mean the storage of tax files is a security question as well, which the page on limiting the personal data that links you to your crypto takes up. For the wider rules on what is taxed in each country, see whether you pay tax on XRP in Canada or the US.