Best tax software for crypto

A lot of people got into cryptocurrency for the first time in 2021, and with tax season approaching, a lot of those new crypto investors are now scrambling to find the best tax software for crypto. If you’re one of the many folks who find themselves in that position and need some help figuring out how to factor your gains and losses into your filings for the year, then look no further. Below, we’ve rounded up the best tax software for crypto traders and investors so you can navigate the 2021 tax season like a pro.

TurboTax

Pricing: $69 for Premier plan, $89 for Self-Employed plan
Free trial: Start for free and pay only when you file
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Chrome OS
Expert help available: Yes
Crypto exchange integration: Yes, with Coinbase
Special features: Free edition available for simple returns, but does not cover crypto

TurboTax is a name that pretty much everyone has heard, which is no surprise considering that it’s been around for as long as do-it-yourself tax software has existed. It might surprise some to see it on a list of the best tax software for crypto, though. TurboTax isn’t focused on cryptocurrency, but its $69 Premier plan does allow you to calculate and include your crypto trading gains and losses into your tax filing. The $89 Self-Employed plan includes this as well, along with some other additions aimed at freelancers, contractors, and small business owners.

TaxBit

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Pricing: Free for individual filers using the TaxBit Network, $50 for Basic plan
Platforms: Browser-based
Expert help available: Yes, with Basic plan
Crypto exchange integration: Yes, more than 500 exchanges and wallets
Special features: NFT and DeFi support

The surge of crypto traders and investors has led to a number of tax filing services aimed specifically at cryptocurrency. TaxBit is ranked high among the best tax software for crypto, as it’s free to use for individual filers. There are also paid Enterprise solutions for managing reporting for businesses. The Enterprise Tax Center package allows organizations to handle income and other data for multiple people and automates a lot of the reporting work for you (such as tax-loss harvesting), while the Enterprise Accounting Suite is useful for managing books if your business deals with crypto, DeFi, or NFTs.

For individual filers, though, the regular TaxBit filing service is free, so long as you are reporting income from institutions on the TaxBit Network. This network includes more than 500 exchanges and other platforms involved with crypto (such as PayPal and NFT markets). TaxBit interfaces directly through these platforms through its API, allowing you to easily import your profit and loss reports for easy filing. A few platforms supported by the TaxBit Network include Binance, Uniswap, Coinbase. FTX.us, BlockFi, Gemini, and PayPal. This connectivity ranks TaxBit among the best tax software for crypto if you’re looking for a streamlined, largely automated filing process.

There are also no limits on income or crypto gains, even for the free plan — providing that you’re reporting from institutions on the TaxBit Network. If you need to import reporting data from out-of-network platforms, however, then you’ll have to sign up for the $50 Basic plan at least. The Basic plan also allows you to import historical tax returns if you need to, and offers live web chat support if you need some help at any point in the filing process. TaxBit is browser-based as well, so you don’t need to worry about having to download any software.

ZenLedger

Pricing: Free Basic plan, $49 for Starter plan, $149 for Premium plan
Free trial: No, but basic free plan available
Platforms: Browser-based
Expert help available: Yes
Crypto exchange integration: Yes, more than 500 exchanges and wallets
Special features: NFT and DeFi support (Premium and Executive plans only), TurboTax integration, professional consultations available

Another great tax software for crypto is ZenLedger, which is one of the best choices for basic users. It’s a little limited for active crypto traders and DeFi users, but for those who have smaller positions, are less active with their investing (perhaps you bought some Ethereum and Bitcoin as a long-term investment, but don’t trade it much), ZenLedger is more than sufficient. Like TaxBit, ZenLedger can connect with more than 500+ crypto exchanges, wallets, and related platforms, allowing you to easily import your gain/loss information to streamline the process a bit. ZenLedger can then analyze your trading history to calculate your gains and losses for automatic tax-loss harvesting, making sure you take advantage of whatever tax savings you’re entitled to.

ZenLedger offers a basic free plan that allows for reporting of up to 25 crypto transactions and does not include support for NFT transactions or token staking. The $49 Starter plan allows for reporting of up to 100 transactions, but also does not work with NFTs and staking — for that, you’ll need to sign up for at least the $149 Premium plan. The Premium service lets you report up to 5,000 crypto transactions on your tax return, although it’s one of the more expensive plans for heavy crypto users.

Our conclusion is that ZenLedger is among the best tax software for crypto for very basic users who don’t actively trade tokens, buy or sell NFTs, or do any staking or other DeFi-related activities. It’s definitely not the best tax software for crypto for active traders and those involved in the DeFi scene, though — you’ll be better served with TaxBit or Koinly if you fall into those camps.

Koinly

Pricing: Free Basic plan, $49 for Newbie plan, $99 for Hodler plan, $179 for Trader plan
Free trial: Start for free and pay only when you file
Platforms: Browser-based
Expert help available: No
Crypto exchange integration: Yes, more than 400 exchanges and wallets
Special features: Reporting for 20+ countries, DeFi support, tax software integration

As you might have guessed just from looking at the name, Koinly is another self-filing tax app purpose-made for cryptocurrency investors. Koinly can sync with more than 350 exchanges and 50 wallets, so while its network integration is somewhat more limited than that of TaxBit and ZenLedger, you’ve still got the most commonly used platforms covered. Koinly can auto-sync data from popular exchanges and wallets like Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com, Kraken, KuCoin, and Electrum, although Uniswap is notably missing.

Once synced, you can easily download your transaction data for reporting purposes. Koinly can then easily calculate profits and losses for capital gains reporting and tax-loss harvesting, and it can also sort through everything to find and correct errors such as transactions being recorded twice. Koinly’s pricing structure makes it one of the best choices for advanced traders looking for tax software for crypto, too: Its basic free plan lets you report incoming from both trading and DeFi activities, although this is for U.S. filers only and does not include TurboTax, TaxAct, or H&R Block software integration. The paid plans allow you to export your reports directly to your tax software and can generate reports for other countries as well, including the U.K., Canada, and Germany.

There are a few drawbacks to Koinly that keep it from being the absolute best tax software for crypto. As we mentioned, it doesn’t support Uniswap currently. NFT support is also notably missing (meaning you may have to calculate any NFT-related gains and losses separately). Also, the free Basic plan does not give you a Form 8949, Schedule D — you’ll have to fill that out yourself, as well. If you can live without these features, however, then Koinly ranks among our favorite tax software for crypto, especially if you’re able to take advantage of the free package.