Do I Need Crypto Tax Software?

How the quiz decides

Three things drive the answer. Volume: a calculator handles one sale at a time, so the count of disposals is the strongest signal — somewhere between a few dozen and a hundred trades, hand-tracking stops being realistic. Complexity: multiple exchanges and wallets break cost-basis trails, and DeFi, NFTs, and bridges create events most people cannot classify by hand. Your goal: estimating, filing inside TurboTax, and handing everything to a CPA are three different jobs, and the right tool for each is different.

Received a Form 1099-DA this year? Before you decide anything, check whether its cost basis matches your own records with the free 1099-DA reconciler — a mismatch there is the most common reason filers end up needing software after all.

Common questions

When your year is a handful of sales on a single exchange, with no DeFi, NFTs, or transfers between platforms. A per-sale calculator plus a staking income log covers the math, and the Form 8949 guide covers the filing.

When you have dozens or hundreds of transactions across several exchanges and wallets, received a 1099-DA you need to reconcile, or used DeFi. Software imports every lot, applies one cost-basis method consistently, and generates the forms — and most vendors let you preview the full report free before paying. See the free-tier comparison.

When the amounts are large, the history includes DeFi, lending, or business activity, or you have received an IRS notice. Software computes; a professional advises and can represent you. The two are not mutually exclusive — many CPAs ask you to bring a software-generated report.

The two-minute check

How the quiz decides

Common questions