Using Coinbase Crypto Gain/Loss Report with FreeTaxUSA - Any Way to Import?

I'm trying to wrap my head around filing taxes with my crypto stuff this year. I've been using FreeTaxUSA for filing since they're pretty affordable, and I just downloaded the free Gain/Loss report from my Coinbase account. Does anyone know if there's any possible way to use this Coinbase report with FreeTaxUSA? Like can I import it somehow or do I need to manually enter everything? Really hoping I don't have to input every single transaction by hand (had a bit of a trading phase last summer lol). If it is possible to use this report, could someone walk me through how to do it? Thanks in advance for any help!

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19 comments

Luca Russo

•8M

FreeTaxUSA doesn't have a direct import feature for Coinbase reports like some of the premium tax software options do. But don't worry, you've still got workable options! What you'll need to do is use the Coinbase Gain/Loss report as your reference document while manually entering the summary information into FreeTaxUSA. The good news is you don't have to enter every single transaction. When you get to the income section in FreeTaxUSA, select the cryptocurrency section, and you'll see options to enter summary totals for your crypto transactions. Look at your Coinbase report for the total proceeds (amount you sold for) and cost basis (what you originally paid). FreeTaxUSA will ask for these summary numbers rather than individual transactions. If you have multiple types of crypto, you'll need to enter each type separately, but still just using the summary amounts.

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Luca Russo

•8M

You don't need to attach a transaction-by-transaction report to your tax return - the summary information (total proceeds and cost basis) is what goes on your tax forms. The detailed transaction history is something you should keep for your records in case of an audit, but it doesn't get submitted with your return. Yes, the holding period definitely matters for tax purposes. FreeTaxUSA will ask you to separate your crypto transactions into short-term (held less than a year) and long-term (held more than a year). Enter the summary totals for each category separately. Short-term gains are taxed at your ordinary income rate, while long-term gains get the more favorable capital gains tax rates.

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Mateo Sanchez

•8M

After struggling with the exact same thing last year, I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that made dealing with crypto taxes way easier. I was pulling my hair out trying to manually enter all my trades from Coinbase into FreeTaxUSA when a friend recommended it. What's cool is you just upload your Coinbase report to taxr.ai and it formats everything exactly how you need it for manual entry into FreeTaxUSA. It breaks down your short-term vs long-term gains and gives you the exact summary figures you need to enter. Saved me hours of spreadsheet work trying to calculate everything myself.

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Mateo Sanchez

•8M

Staking rewards are treated as ordinary income at the fair market value when you received them. Taxr.ai actually flags these separately in the report it generates so you know to enter them in the "Other Income" section of FreeTaxUSA rather than with your capital gains. I was concerned about security too, but they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after processing. They have a whole section about their security practices on their site that put my mind at ease. Plus, they only need your transaction history, not any login credentials or personal info beyond what's in the Coinbase report.

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Ethan Clark

•8M

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai that was mentioned earlier. I was skeptical but decided to give it a try with my Coinbase reports and it actually worked perfectly! The formatted output made it super easy to enter into FreeTaxUSA. The best part was how it separated everything into short-term and long-term gains automatically and calculated my cost basis correctly even with all the weird partial sells I did. Took about 5 minutes instead of the hours I spent last year trying to figure it all out manually. Definitely recommend if you're using FreeTaxUSA for crypto.

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AstroAce

•8M

If you're having trouble getting someone at the IRS to answer questions about reporting crypto correctly (I was on hold for 3+ hours last time), I found a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually got me through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They have a demo video of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was confused about how to report some NFTs along with my regular crypto, and couldn't find clear answers online. Claimyr got me through to an actual IRS agent who confirmed exactly how to report everything. They basically hold your place in the phone queue so you don't have to listen to that awful hold music for hours.

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AstroAce

•8M

They don't call for you - you still make the call yourself. What happens is they use some technology to monitor the IRS phone queue and notify you right before an agent is available. So instead of you waiting on hold for hours, their system waits in line for you and calls you when you're about to be connected. I was super skeptical too! I had tried calling four separate times and gave up after an hour+ each time. With Claimyr, I called, got their confirmation, went about my day, and got a text when I was about 2 minutes from being connected. Was actually speaking to an IRS agent about 20 minutes after my initial call. Totally worth it for the peace of mind of getting official answers directly from the IRS about my crypto reporting.

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Carmen Vega

•8M

I need to eat my words about that Claimyr service mentioned above. After spending another hour on hold with the IRS today and getting disconnected AGAIN, I gave in and tried it. Not gonna lie, I was 100% expecting it to be a scam. But damn, it actually worked. Got the text around 35 mins after starting, hopped on the call, and was talking to an actual human IRS agent within minutes. The agent confirmed that for FreeTaxUSA, I just need to enter the summary info from my Coinbase report, split between short and long term. Saved me from going crazy trying to get through on my own. Sorry for being a doubter!

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Andre Rousseau

•8M

Yes, that's actually one of the biggest advantages of using something like Koinly or CoinTracker. They can pull data from multiple exchanges and consolidate everything for you. Most support 20+ exchanges and wallets. The free tier will usually show you all your calculated gains and taxes, which gives you the summary numbers to enter into FreeTaxUSA. You only need to pay if you want the full tax forms generated, but since you're using FreeTaxUSA anyway, you can just use the summary data.

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Dmitry Petrov

•3d

I went through this exact same situation a few months ago! The manual entry process in FreeTaxUSA really isn't as bad as it seems at first. What I did was open up my Coinbase Gain/Loss report and created a simple spreadsheet to separate everything by holding period (short-term vs long-term). Then I just added up the totals for proceeds and cost basis for each category. FreeTaxUSA makes it pretty straightforward - you don't need to list every individual transaction. One tip: make sure you double-check that your Coinbase report includes ALL your crypto activity for the year, including any transfers between wallets or other exchanges. I missed some DeFi transactions initially and had to go back and add those manually to my calculations. The whole process took me maybe an hour once I got organized, which beats paying extra for premium tax software just for the import feature. Plus you'll have a better understanding of your crypto taxes for next year!

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