As a cryptocurrency owner, you likely understand the hassle of working out your crypto taxes when that time of the year comes. With the growing interest in crypto as an investment avenue, national tax agencies have intensified the debate on the tax treatment of this digital asset class.
You may know that crypto holdings are taxable, but accurately determining your tax liability as a crypto trader or investor isn’t as simple. Tax authorities keep amending the regulations on how crypto income is taxed. Even responsible taxpayers have landed themselves in trouble due to the confusion around cryptocurrency taxation.
Crypto tax software tools help you navigate the shifting landscape of crypto tax laws and prevent unintentional errors on your tax form. A good crypto tax calculator can even help you save money by offering tax loss harvesting.
To support you in choosing the right app for your specific needs, check out our list of the best cryptocurrency tax software tools out there.
What is Crypto Tax?
Most national tax authorities count cryptocurrency profits as taxable assets.
The US IRS states that “virtual currency is treated as property and general tax principles applicable to property transactions apply.” Instead of defining it as a foreign currency, the IRS treats cryptocurrencies the same as gold or stocks.
You can’t hide your crypto transactions from the authorities or, at least, should not attempt so since tax evasion is a crime. Most cryptocurrency trading that happens today is transparent. Crypto exchanges must comply with comprehensive anti-money laundering regulations to stay in good faith with the authorities.
How we rank Crypto Tax Calculators
Our handpicked list of the best crypto tax tools relies on a methodology we’ve developed to single out and rank the most comprehensive options available on the market today. Looking for these features in a crypto tax calculator can help you make a well-informed choice.
Special features
Does the crypto tax calculator offer special features like crypto portfolio tracking or a trading tax optimizer? These are important because, with some tools, you get an incomparably better value for money, especially in the long run, as you further save money by using it to get your crypto tax bill minimized.
Integrations
Crypto tax calculators pull data from your wallets and exchanges to estimate your cryptocurrency taxes. The more integrations the software boasts, the higher the chances it supports the exact combination of crypto wallets and exchanges you need.
The smooth integration with popular tax software like TurboTax and TaxACT matters equally. Check the available integrations on the product’s website before you buy it.
Data Import and Tax Reports
How the app pulls your transaction data and generates the crypto tax report makes a lot of difference. Some of the available software solutions offer data import through a direct API connection to the exchanges, while for others, you must upload your transaction history CSV file. Finally, check whether your chosen app offers a free tax report download and how many transactions it is limited to.
Customer Support
As with any other piece of software, crypto tax apps can run into problems. You really won’t like having issues beyond your control on top of all the stress during tax filing season. Quality customer service at crucial moments will make a massive difference to your experience using the tax calculator.
Price
Price always plays a role, and it’s worth paying attention to what’s included in the subscription pricing. Check how many pricing plans the software offers, whether you pay annually or per tax year, and how much each suits your own needs.
Best Crypto Tax Calculators List
Best overall: ACCOINTING.com
With its wide selection of features and affordable pricing plans, Accointing’s product is currently the best crypto tax calculation and reporting software on the market. It includes a portfolio tracking tool with an intuitive, user-friendly dashboard suited for both beginners and advanced investors.
Users can manage their crypto transactions and generate crypto tax reports in just a few clicks. Accointing’s comprehensive user-focused software offers a Trading Tax Optimizer tool to help with tax-loss harvesting. This CPA-approved software supports ANY cryptocurrency and 300+ wallets and exchanges.
Accointing Pro’s
- Excellent mobile app
- Intuitive portfolio tracking dashboard available for free
- Features a tax-loss harvesting tool
- DeFi support
- NFT support for the tax tool
- Fast and simple onboarding experience
- Supports American and European tax forms
- A generous referral program (up to 60$) and valuable free plan
- Highly-rated 24/7 live and online customer support
- Excellent regional tax guides and a library of resources for both beginners and advanced traders in English and German
- Supports many exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Bittrex, FTH, Bybit, and Etoro
Accointing Cons
- Payment in crypto not possible
- Limited free version
Crypto.com Tax
Singapore-based platform Crypto.com is popular among both traders and investors. It supports 250+ alt coins and different fiat currencies. The platform gives users access to a large library of tutorials and webinars to help beginners get to know the crypto market better. However, it doesn’t come with a mobile app and the cheap versions of the software are very limited.
Crypto.com Pros
- Most major exchanges and BTC and ETH blockchains supported
- Free of charge
Crypto.com Cons
- No mobile app
- Limited auto-sync capability
- Not so easy to navigate
- No full DeFi support
- Frequent negative customer service reviews
- No user guidance beyond the website
Cryptio
Crypto tax calculator reviews rank Cryptio as a good choice for professional use. This accounting suite offers a solid experience for users as it creates a comprehensive list of your crypto tax documents. The company offers excellent support but its product is pricier compared to other solutions.
Cryptio Pros
- Scalable platform good for complex organizations
- Allows easy integration of internal finance processes
- Can assign contacts and labels to blockchain addresses and crypto transactions
- Mobile app available
Cryptio Cons
- Complicated dashboard for begginers
- Real-time pricing
- Pricing plans are not advertised
ZenLedger
ZenLedger is a popular cryptocurrency tax administration and accounting software. Traders can use it to import crypto transactions, calculate income tax and crypto tax bills, and prepare tax returns. Widely used by tax professionals, it’s a powerful cryptocurrency tax calculator that helps with the crypto tax accounting procedure.
ZenLedgers Pros
- Features a crypto tax-loss harvesting tool
- Direct integration with 400+blockchains and 20+ DeFi protocols
- Newbies get access to a library of blogs, guides, and webinars
- Offers 24/7 live support (mixed reviews)
ZenLedger’s Cons
- The app is too limited for experienced crypto investors
- DeFi integration is only available in the more expensive packages
- Localized tax forms only available in the United States
TaxBit
Often backed by popular figures in the crypto market, TaxBit offers solutions for both individual investors and corporations. Users get an easy-to-use dashboard and beginners can easily navigate through their crypto tax forms and crypto tax bills. The app is available only to users from the USA.
TaxBit Pros
- Beginner-friendly dashboard
- Good customer support
- Tax expert reviews
- 14-day free trial
TaxBit Cons
- No mobile app
- No full DeFfi support
- Limited blockchains support
- Only partial auto-sync capability
- Cheaper plans are too limited
Koinly
Financial accounting software that supports over 6000 cryptocurrencies, 50 wallets and 350 exchanges. It offers a free app to traders that allows tracking of about 10,000 crypto transactions. Biggest plus is the wide coverage of national tax jurisdictions since the software is available in more than twenty countries. However, pricing per tax year can prove expensive for advanced traders with a high volume of transactions.
Koinly Pros
- DeFi support
- Available in 20+ countries
- Automatic transaction data import and export
- Free trial available
Koinly Cons
- No NFT support
- Expensive for frequent traders
- Slow customer support response levels
- You need to get a higher plan to get access to a considerable support level
- The free version is too limited
CoinTracker
CoinTracker is another crypto software on this list that combines a portfolio tracker with a tax management tool. Available worldwide, the app supports five cost basis accounting methods to help users generate the necessary tax forms. Users get API access for entering their crypto trades and it’s possible to import CSV files from your crypto exchanges.
CoinTracker Pros
- Portfolio tracker available
- Free plan (up to 25 transactions)
- Allows users to share the tax report with tax professionals
- Some plans come with DeFi support
CoinTracker Cons
- Low customer service response quality
- Only the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada are covered by full customer service
- Long wait to get a refund
- Relatively costly
- User reviews frequently mention duplicate transactions and other errors
CoinLedger
CoinLedger was formerly called CryptoTrader.Tax. Originally available only in the US and Australia, CoinLedger now offers its tax reporting services in any tax jurisdiction that supports one of the FIFO, LIFO and HIFO tax lot ID methods. The algorithm allows adding crypto gains such as mining, gifts, and airdrops. Like other software on this list, it automatically fills the IRS form 8949.
CoinLedger Pros
- DeFi and NFT support
- Free portfolio tracking
- Good value for money
CoinLedger Cons
- No free plan
- No mobile app
- Not supported in many countries
- Limited number of supported exchanges in the base plan
- The platform is difficult to understand at first
Main takeaways
If you invest in, trade or mine cryptocurrencies you likely owe money in taxes. To make sure you understand which actions qualify as taxable events, it’s worth doing your own research on how to file crypto taxes. You don’t have to do the tax preparation process manually though. Using the best crypto tax software tool for your needs will save you time, money and stress.
