U.S. crypto tax filing deadline approaches: What investors need to know before October 15

For American crypto investors who have been granted a tax filing extension, the final stage is approaching for the federal tax filing deadline of October 15, 2026, which falls under the 2025 fiscal year, although the taxes due are usually still required to be paid in April.

• October 15th is the deadline for federal filings for the 2025 tax returns that have been granted an extended period.
• Despite the extension, taxes for 2025 are still generally due to be paid by April 15th.
• Most of the 2025 1099- DA forms will report the total amount of encrypted assets sold, but they will not include the cost base for taxpayers.
• The sale, exchange, staking of rewards, and payment of crypto assets may all trigger federal tax filing obligations.
• According to the guidance of IRS, late filing may result in a penalty calculated on a monthly basis, up to 25% of the unpaid taxes.

IRS indicates that taxpayers who applied for an extension by the deadline of April 15th were granted a tax filing extension until October 15th. However, the extension does not mean that the deadline for paying taxes is also postponed. From the original deadline onwards, any unpaid balance continues to accrue interest and may result in late payment penalties.

For crypto investors, this deadline coincides with the first federal tax filing season, and many custodian brokers have already reported their 2025 digital asset sales through the 1099-DA form. The new form provides IRS with more transaction data, but most of the reports for 2025 do not provide investors with information on the cost basis of their purchases.

U.S. crypto tax deadline applies to taxpayers applying for extensions

October 15th is not a special deadline for all Americans who hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital assets. It is an extended filing date for most taxpayers who file their taxes on a calendar year basis and who have been granted extensions for their 2025 federal income tax returns.

IRS Publication designates April 15, 2026, as the regular deadline for most taxpayers based on the calendar year, and October 15 as the extended filing deadline under automatic extension. The institution's electronic tax filing calendar also lists October 15 as the last date for filing extensions through Form 4868.

Table 4868 only extends the filing date. For taxpayers who owe taxes in 2025, it is usually necessary to estimate the tax amount due and pay it by April 15th. Therefore, submitting a tax return on October 15th will not eliminate the interest or late payment penalties that may have accumulated during these six months.

The deadline for some taxpayers may vary. The IRS guidelines indicate that disaster relief can extend the filing period for taxpayers in eligible areas, while certain U.S. citizens and residents living overseas are subject to special rules. Investors covered by these regulations need to use the deadlines applicable to their individual tax returns.

1099- The DA table may not display the purchase cost of investors.

The biggest change for the 2025 crypto tax year is the 1099- DA form. The Treasury Department and IRS require covered custodian brokers to report the total income from the sale of certain digital assets starting from January 1, 2025. Brokers must also provide customers with statements that contain the same information as that submitted to IRS.

Total revenue is not equal to taxable profit. If an investor buys a token for $8,000 and then sells it for $10,000, that $10,000 is the sales income. However, profit is usually calculated based on the difference of $2,000, with further adjustments applied as appropriate.

For most transactions in 2025, brokers were not required to report the cost base at that time. IRS warns that for most of the 2025 1099- DA forms, the original purchase cost necessary to calculate profits or losses will be left to the taxpayers to calculate on their own.

As previously reported, some crypto investors nearing the extension deadline are still working to verify incomplete or uncertain 1099-DA information. A survey conducted in August among 1,000 American crypto investors found that 21% of those who had submitted or planned to submit an extension application were still waiting for information from exchanges or platforms.

IRS does not require the receipt of tax forms as a prerequisite for reporting transactions. Its Digital Assets Frequently Asked Questions page states that even if taxpayers have never received a 1099 form or other information reporting documents, they are still obliged to report taxable income, gains, and losses.

Encrypted investors are required to declare not only cash sales.

The 2025 version of Form 1040 requires each filer to answer a question regarding digital assets, and they must choose either "Yes" or "No".

IRS explains that after taxpayers obtain digital assets through mining, staking, rewards, or payments, or after selling, exchanging, or otherwise disposing of digital assets, they should typically answer 'yes'. Even if there is no inflow of dollars in the transaction, exchanging one cryptocurrency for another may also constitute a disposition.

Purchasing goods or services with cryptocurrencies may also trigger the same reporting requirements. Paying transaction fees with digital assets can also constitute a digital asset transaction. Investors who sell assets held as capital assets typically use Form 8949 to calculate gains or losses and report the results through Schedule D.

To obtain staking rewards, mining rewards, or some other forms of compensation, it follows an income pathway rather than being simply treated as a disposal of capital. IRS indicates that digital assets received as compensation or ordinary income must be declared in accordance with the rules applicable to such income.

Simply holding crypto assets does not automatically generate taxable transactions. Purchasing and holding digital assets in US dollars usually means that one can answer "no" regarding tax implications related to those digital assets, assuming no other circumstances arise. Transferring assets between wallets or accounts controlled by the same taxpayer generally falls under the same category as well; however, if transfer fees are paid with digital assets, it may result in a taxable transaction.

The current IRS crypto tax rules distinguish between taxable dispositions and simple purchases and holdings; transactions, payments, and asset sales between cryptocurrencies generally require the calculation of gains or losses.

Missing the October 15 deadline may result in a separate penalty for declaration.

Once the extension expires, taxpayers who still owe taxes may face fines for not filing on time.

IRS stipulates that the usual late-filing penalty is set at 5% of the unpaid tax amount, calculated on a monthly basis or for any period less than a month, with a maximum of no more than 25%. For tax returns due in 2026 that are filed more than 60 days after the deadline, the minimum penalty is $525 or 100% of the unpaid tax amount, whichever is lower.

Another penalty for failing to pay taxes on time is typically calculated at 0.5% of the unpaid tax amount per month, with a maximum of 25%. When both penalties apply in the same month, IRS usually reduces this amount, resulting in a combined monthly rate of 5%. Unpaid federal taxes will also continue to accrue interest, with compound interest calculated daily.

Taxpayers who are unable to pay the full amount in one go can still submit their tax returns first. IRS offers a installment payment plan, and filing by the deadline can prevent additional fines for late filing on top of any existing debts.

October 15th applies to the federal tax return form and does not constitute a separate process for encrypted asset declarations. The 1099- DA form cannot replace the records kept by taxpayers themselves regarding exchanges, private wallets, decentralized platforms, or earlier purchase transactions.

New encryption regulations will expand the cost base declaration after 2025.

Brokers will provide more detailed reports on transactions that occur in 2026.

IRS indicates that starting from January 1, 2026, or thereafter, certain covered transactions will be subject to mandatory cost-based reporting. Digital assets purchased before 2026, or those transferred to a broker from other locations, may still be classified as non-covered assets for reporting purposes. This means that investors will still need to keep their own records of sales that are not held by the broker.

The new system will not change the 2025 annual tax returns that those who have requested extensions are about to submit. As previously reported by crypto.news, the first 1099- DA tax filing season mainly provides total income information to IRS, while most investors still need to rebuild their cost bases on their own.

Congress is considering making separate modifications to the digital asset tax rules. A recent House proposal includes provisions regarding small network fees and other crypto tax treatments, but this proposal has not yet replaced the rules applicable to the 2025 federal tax returns. The crypto tax legislation currently being advanced by Congress includes a proposed exemption of $10 for network fees.

CLARITY The legislation concerns the structure of the digital asset market, not the October 15 tax return deadline. On September 15, the Senate recorded a vote on whether to conclude the debate on the motion, with 49 votes in favor and 50 against, failing to reach the three-fifths threshold.

The stalled CLARITY legislation has left the federal market structure legislation in a pending state, while regulatory agencies continue to carry out their work under the existing authorization. This vote did not change the rules for the 2025 annual tax filings that are due by October 15 for those who requested extensions.

For transactions in 2026, the mandatory cost base reporting for eligible covered digital assets will begin to appear in the 1099- DA form during the 2027 tax filing season.