Traded on Three Platforms and Now Someone Wants a Number
Most people with active crypto accounts have the same quiet assumption: that the tax side will be manageable once they get to it. Then they get to it.
The problem is not the trading. It is the documentation. Every disposal, every reward, every swap between tokens is a separate event the IRS expects to see accounted for individually.
Most Crypto Tax Problems Start with Incomplete Records
The activity happened across three platforms. One closed. The wallet transfers were never labeled. The staking rewards arrived daily for six months and nobody tracked the fair market value on each date.
That is not a corner case. That is a common starting point.
At Maris, we go through the records, separate transfers from taxable events, assign consistent cost basis, and document every position taken on the return. If something is missing, we work with what exists and note the methodology clearly.
Selling Was Not the Only Taxable Event
This is where most DIY returns go wrong. Swapping one token for another is a taxable event. Spending crypto on a purchase is a taxable event. Staking rewards are ordinary income on the day they arrive, calculated at fair market value, not at the price you eventually sell them.
Software processes what it receives. It does not flag what is missing or question whether a wallet transfer was coded correctly.
At Maris, we work through the same records and ask whether the labeling is correct before any numbers go on the return. Software confirms entries. A CPA questions them.
The Crypto Tax Forms Are Specific
Form 8949 requires a separate line for each disposal. The cost basis method has to be applied consistently. The holding period determines whether a gain is taxed at capital rates or ordinary rates, and the difference can be significant.
Getting those details right on the original return matters more than most people realize. An inconsistency in basis method or a missing entry is exactly the kind of thing that surfaces in an inquiry, not upfront.
Working with a cryptocurrency tax specialist at the CPA level means the forms are reviewed, not just processed, with IRS representation authority behind the filing. If a notice arrives, we respond to it. That is not an add-on.
The Year Is Still Open for a Reason
Crypto tax planning is not a filing-season conversation. If you are sitting on unrealized gains, the timing of a disposal matters. If staking rewards are accumulating, the income is building whether or not you have planned for it.
A taxpayer who reviews the portfolio before acting has options. One who reviews it in April has a number.
Clients who engage before the year closes get disposal sequencing, loss harvesting analysis, and estimated payment planning while the options are still open. Clients who come to us at filing get the same review from wherever the records are. Both are reasonable starting points.
You Do Not Have to Explain the Whole History First
If the transaction history feels too tangled to hand someone without a long preamble, the initial call is what the preamble is for. We go through what you have, identify what is missing, and outline the process from there.
Clients in Everett and across Snohomish County often arrive with years of activity that has never been fully reconciled. That does not delay the engagement.
It defines where it starts. By the time the return is filed, every number has a documented explanation and a clear path for what to track going forward.
Reach out to Maris & Associates CPAs. We will start from where the records actually are.