How do I work out my cost basis and gain on XRP bought at different times and prices?

The full answer

Both countries start from the same subtraction: what the XRP brought in, minus what it cost. They differ on which cost to use when XRP was bought in several lots. This page sets out the official rules as published by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS); it is not tax advice for any individual. Which events trigger tax at all is on whether you pay tax on XRP in Canada or the US.

How is the gain worked out in Canada?

The CRA says a capital gain arises when “the proceeds of disposition (usually the sale price of the crypto-asset) are more than your adjusted cost base (usually the cost of a crypto-asset, plus expenses to acquire it) and the outlays and expenses incurred to make the disposition.”[1] Its general capital gains page describes the adjusted cost base as “the cost of a property plus any expenses to acquire it, such as commissions and legal fees.”[2]

A swap counts at market value. In a CRA example, a holder “disposed of 2.5061 units of crypto-asset B in exchange for 100 units of crypto-asset A at a value of $20,600.” With an adjusted cost base of $15,000, the result is “$5,600 capital gain taxed at 50% = $2,800 taxable capital gain.”[1]

What about XRP bought at different prices in Canada?

This is where the CRA’s crypto pages stop. None of the CRA crypto pages read on September 29, 2026 explains how to set the cost of identical units bought at different prices. The CRA’s general page on special rules says that if you buy and sell several identical properties at different prices over a period of time, “you have to calculate the average cost of each property in the group at the time of each purchase to determine your adjusted cost base”.[9] It says the average cost is the total cost of the identical properties purchased, usually the cost plus any expenses involved in acquiring them, divided by the total number of identical properties owned.[9] The CRA’s own records list shows it expects the cost to be tracked: holders should keep “The beginning wallet balance (and its cost) and ending wallet balance for each crypto-asset for each year.”[3]

How is the gain worked out in the US?

The IRS says the gain or loss “will be the difference between your adjusted basis in the digital assets and your ‘amount realized’ on the sale.” The amount realized is “reduced by your digital asset transaction costs allocable to the disposition.”[4] On the buying side, the FAQ says basis in digital assets bought with cash “includes the amount you paid in cash for the digital assets plus the amount you paid for transaction services to effect the purchase.”[4] The costs “may include transaction and ‘gas’ fees, transfer taxes, and commissions,” but fees paid to move XRP “between your own wallets or accounts are not treated as digital asset transaction costs.”[4]

The holding period “begins on the day after you acquired the digital assets and ends on the day you sell or exchange them.”[4] A year or less gives a short-term result.

Which units count as sold in the US?

The holder can choose, within one wallet, if the choice is recorded in time. For self-custody wallets and sales on or after January 1, 2025, the IRS says “no later than the date and time of the sale,” the holder “must identify the particular units to be sold” on their own books, using an identifier “such as purchase date and time or the purchase price for the unit.”[4]

Without that record, the default applies. Units are treated as sold “in order of time from the earliest date on which units of the same digital asset in this wallet were acquired by you, regardless of the date on which any such units were transferred into the wallet.”[4] In practice this is first-in, first-out, counted inside each wallet.

At a broker the timing rule is stricter from 2026. For sales “after December 31, 2025,” the holder must “specify to the broker having custody of the units, no later than the date and time of sale,” which units are sold, “using the identifiers designated by your broker.”[4] For 2025 sales, temporary relief under Notice 2025-7 let holders record the choice on their own books, or by a standing order recorded in advance, instead.[4]

What changed on January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026?

Before 2025, some holders treated all their wallets as one pool. The IRS calls this “the ‘universal’ or ‘multi-wallet’ approach.”[4] Its older virtual currency FAQs “generally apply to transactions involving digital assets completed before Jan. 1, 2025.”[6]

From January 1, 2025, basis follows each wallet. Rev. Proc. 2024-28 gave a safe harbor to “allocate unused basis of digital assets to digital assets held within each wallet or account of the taxpayer as of January 1, 2025.”[5]

Broker reporting of basis on certain sales began on January 1, 2026, on Form 1099-DA.[8] The form covers “proceeds from (and in some cases, basis for)” disposals, and the IRS says “You must calculate basis before you file your tax return.”[7]

What records are needed?

The CRA list includes “The date and time of each transaction,” “The value of the crypto-asset (in Canadian dollars) at the time of each transaction” and “The addresses associated with each digital wallet used.”[3] The IRS identification rules depend on records that show purchase dates and prices per wallet.[4] The full list is on what records to keep for crypto taxes.

Where do the two systems differ, and what is uncertain?

The US lets holders choose which lots were sold, so two holders with the same trades can report different gains depending on their records.[4] Canada ties the gain to an adjusted cost base,[1] and the CRA says that for identical properties bought at different prices you calculate the average cost of each property in the group at the time of each purchase.[9] The US wallet-by-wallet rule dates from January 1, 2025, and Rev. Proc. 2024-28 provided a safe harbor for allocating unused basis to the digital assets held in each wallet or account as of January 1, 2025.[5] Anyone with lots spread across exchanges and self-custody wallets faces the most record-keeping, and should check the current CRA or IRS pages, or a tax professional, before filing.