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Axel Bourke

Confused about my Robinhood 2023 tax form for crypto purchases

I made a single crypto transaction on Robinhood back in 2022 where I bought about $135 worth of Bitcoin. When reading the 2023 tax forms they sent me, I'm totally confused about how to report this. The form looks different than I expected and I can't figure out if I need to report anything since I only bought and never sold any crypto. Does buying crypto even count as a taxable event? The form has all these boxes and numbers that make no sense to me. This is my first time dealing with crypto on my taxes and I don't want to mess anything up. Has anyone dealt with Robinhood crypto tax forms before? Do I need to report my purchase even though I didn't sell anything?

Aidan Percy

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The good news is that simply buying cryptocurrency isn't considered a taxable event, so you don't need to report the purchase of Bitcoin on your tax return. Taxable events for crypto include selling it for fiat currency, trading one crypto for another, using crypto to purchase goods or services, or receiving crypto as payment or through mining. Since you only purchased crypto on Robinhood in 2022 and didn't sell or trade it, there shouldn't be any tax implications to report for 2023. Robinhood is required to provide tax forms that show all potential taxable activity, which is why you received documents even though you might not have any reportable transactions. What you're probably looking at is a Form 1099-B, which brokers use to report sales of investments. If you didn't sell anything, the form might just be documenting your holdings without showing any taxable events.

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Thanks for the explanation! So if I bought crypto in 2022 but then sold some in 2023, would that appear on my 2023 tax forms from Robinhood? And do I need to keep the purchase documents for when I eventually do sell?

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Aidan Percy

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Yes, if you bought crypto in 2022 and sold it in 2023, the sale would appear on your 2023 tax forms from Robinhood. The form would show your cost basis (what you paid), the proceeds from the sale, and the resulting gain or loss that you'd need to report on your tax return. You should definitely keep all purchase records and transaction history. This documentation is crucial for accurately calculating your cost basis when you do eventually sell. Robinhood should track this for you, but it's always good practice to maintain your own records as a backup.

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Norman Fraser

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After struggling with similar crypto tax confusion, I found an amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved me tons of headaches. I uploaded my Robinhood documents and it instantly identified that my crypto purchases weren't taxable events. The tool breaks down which transactions you actually need to report and which ones you don't - super helpful for crypto newbies! It also explained all those confusing boxes on the forms in simple terms.

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Kendrick Webb

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Does it work with other platforms too? I've got crypto spread across Coinbase and Binance as well as Robinhood and it's a nightmare trying to figure out what's taxable.

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Hattie Carson

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I'm skeptical about these tax tools. How accurate is it with complex situations? Like if you've done staking or received airdrops? Those have weird tax implications.

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Norman Fraser

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It definitely works with other platforms! I had stuff on Coinbase and Kraken too, and it consolidated everything seamlessly. You can either connect your accounts directly or upload the tax documents/CSV files from each platform. As for complex situations, it handles those really well actually. I did some staking last year and the tool correctly identified it as ordinary income at the fair market value when received. It also tracks airdrops, mining rewards, and even those confusing DeFi transactions. The explanations it provides for each category really helped me understand why certain crypto activities are taxed differently.

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Hattie Carson

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Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after being skeptical and wow, I'm impressed! It figured out all my crypto tax situations correctly, even the complicated stuff like the liquidity pool rewards I earned. It showed me that I had been about to overpay by reporting some non-taxable events. The visualization of my cost basis across different platforms made everything so much clearer. Definitely worth checking out if you're confused by crypto taxes.

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If you're still confused about your Robinhood crypto taxes and need to talk to someone at the IRS for clarification, good luck getting through on the phone! I spent DAYS trying before I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have this system that basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to pick up. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. After weeks of frustration, I got through to an IRS agent in about 45 minutes who explained exactly how my crypto purchases should be handled.

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Dyllan Nantx

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Wait how does that even work? I thought the IRS phone system was impossible to get through. Does it just auto-dial for you or something?

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Sounds like a scam tbh. No way this actually works. The IRS is deliberately understaffed to make it impossible to get help. I've tried calling about my crypto tax questions for months with no luck.

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It's not auto-dialing - that wouldn't work with the IRS system. Instead, they use a proprietary system that secures your place in line and monitors it. When you're getting close to speaking with an agent, they call you so you can take over the call. It's completely legitimate. The reason it works is because they've figured out the optimal times to call and how to navigate the complex IRS phone tree efficiently. You don't have to sit around listening to hold music for hours - you just go about your day until they notify you that an agent is about to be available.

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Ok I have to eat my words. I was the skeptic about Claimyr but figured I had nothing to lose by trying it for my crypto tax questions. IT ACTUALLY WORKED. Got connected to an IRS agent in about an hour who confirmed that my crypto purchases weren't taxable until I sell them. The agent also explained which forms I needed to look out for next year if I do sell. Saved me from spending another month trying to get through on my own. Still can't believe it worked that easily!

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Anna Xian

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Pro tip from someone who's been trading crypto for years: create a spreadsheet tracking all your purchases with dates, amounts, and which platform you used. Makes tax time WAY easier when you eventually sell. Robinhood is actually one of the better platforms for tax docs, but their reporting can still be confusing if you don't know what to look for.

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Anna Xian

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I've had the best experience with TaxAct for crypto reporting. TurboTax has improved but still struggles with some of the more complex crypto situations like liquidity mining or certain DeFi transactions. If you have straightforward buying and selling, most tax software will handle it fine. But if you're into more advanced crypto activities, I'd recommend either using a specialized crypto tax calculator first (like CoinTracker or Koinly) to generate the necessary forms, then importing those results into your tax software.

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What tax software do you recommend for handling crypto? I've heard TurboTax messes it up sometimes.

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Anna Xian

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I've had the best experience with TaxAct for crypto reporting. TurboTax has improved but still struggles with some of the more complex crypto situations like liquidity mining or certain DeFi transactions. If you have straightforward buying and selling, most tax software will handle it fine. But if you're into more advance

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Rajan Walker

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I just got my Robinhood tax forms too and I'm in the EXACT same boat! I bought some Ethereum in 2022 and haven't sold, but they still sent me forms. I called customer service and they said I don't need to report anything since buying isn't taxable. They told me they're required to send the documents by law but that doesn't mean I have any tax obligation. Hope that helps!

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This is correct but keep in mind Robinhood also reports to the IRS, so make sure what they told you matches what they actually reported. Sometimes companies say one thing to customers but send different info to the IRS.

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