Bitcoin.Tax - The OG Crypto Tax Calculator That Actually Works

Remember that sinking feeling in March when you realized you had to report every single trade? That's where Bitcoin.Tax comes in. It's not pretty, it's not trendy, but it's been doing the math since 2013 so you don't have to lose your mind with spreadsheets.

Why this thing exists

Here's the deal: the IRS wants every crypto trade reported, even that $5 DeFi swap you did at 2am while drunk on hopium. Manual calculation means going through thousands of trades, figuring out cost basis, tracking every wallet transaction, and somehow not making errors that'll get you audited. I've watched people spend entire weekends trying to calculate their taxes and still get it wrong.

Bitcoin.Tax just does the math. Import your exchange data, upload your CSV files (which will probably fail the first time because of date formatting bullshit - Binance changed their format three times in 2024, breaking everyone's scripts), and let it crunch the numbers. It supports FIFO, LIFO, specific identification, and average costing - pick whatever saves you the most money.

What it actually does

Bitcoin.Tax connects to major exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and others - here's their full supported list. If your exchange isn't supported, you're stuck with CSV uploads. Fair warning: CSV imports can be a pain in the ass because every exchange formats their data differently. Spent two hours last March figuring out why Kraken's new CSV format broke everything.

It tracks trading, spending, mining income, donations, and all the other ways crypto touches your taxes. Bitcoin.Tax handles the standard reporting requirements, though the IRS keeps changing their guidance every year because they're still figuring out how crypto works.

For cost basis calculation, you get the standard methods. FIFO is usually the worst for taxes but required in some countries. LIFO and specific ID can save you money if you're strategic about it. The platform also handles like-kind treatment for pre-2018 trades, though that's mostly irrelevant now unless you're dealing with ancient positions.

Who uses this

Three types of people pay for crypto tax software: crypto holders who don't want to do math, active traders with too many transactions to calculate manually, and tax professionals who need client management features.

Individual plans start at $54.95 for 1,000 transactions. If you're a degenerate trader with thousands of transactions, the unlimited plans become worth it compared to competitors charging $300-999. Tax pros get client management tools and can handle multiple clients through one interface.

Bitcoin.Tax integrates with TurboTax, TaxACT, and H&R Block. It generates the PDFs and files you need to actually file your taxes instead of just giving you numbers like some platforms do.

Bitcoin.Tax is a web app that's been around long enough to actually be stable. No mobile app, no fancy UI - just a website that does the job. It connects to major exchanges through APIs when possible, but half the time you'll end up manually uploading CSV files anyway because APIs break when you need them most.

Exchange integration hell

The platform connects to the usual suspects: Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Gemini, Bitfinex, KuCoin, and about 20 others. Sounds great until your favorite exchange isn't supported or their API is down during tax season - which always fucking happens. Tax season 2024, Binance's API v3 was throwing 503 errors for three weeks straight - their rate limiting was fucked and kept timing out on historical trades.

When direct import fails, you're stuck with CSV uploads. Each exchange formats their CSVs differently, so expect to spend time figuring out why your import failed. Kraken's new CSV format broke everything because they decided commas weren't good enough, let's use semicolons. Coinbase Pro exports have this fun quirk where they randomly drop the time zone, so half your trades are 8 hours off. Last year I fought with a FTX CSV for four hours because they had some custom transaction type "CONVERT_DUST" that Bitcoin.Tax couldn't parse - kept throwing "Unknown transaction type" errors.

They say they support 20,000+ trading pairs for pricing, which is actually important when you're dealing with obscure altcoins that were worth something when you bought them but are basically worthless now. Getting accurate historical pricing for random shitcoins can make or break your tax calculation.

What you actually get

Here's what Bitcoin.Tax actually generates for your tax filing:

Capital Gains Report: Every single trade with cost basis, proceeds, and gain/loss. This feeds directly into Form 8949 and Schedule D. It's a massive spreadsheet but the IRS wants to see every transaction, even that $0.50 dust trade you forgot about.

Income Report: Mining rewards, staking income, airdrops - anything that counts as ordinary income. These go on your regular tax return at their fair market value when received. The nightmare is when you received some random airdrop worth $2000 that's now worth $0.

Donation Report: If you donated crypto, this shows the cost basis and fair market value. Useful for claiming deductions without triggering taxable events, assuming you actually kept records of what you donated.

Closing Report: What you own at year-end with cost basis carried forward. Critical for next year's calculations unless you want to start from scratch again in twelve months.

File format compatibility

Bitcoin.Tax exports files that import directly into TurboTax, TaxACT, and H&R Block desktop versions. This actually works and saves hours of manual data entry. The integration pulls in all your calculated gains and losses automatically - no typing 500 transaction lines by hand.

For tax professionals, there are additional export formats for Drake and CCH tax software. The Pro plan at $349/year lets CPAs manage unlimited clients, which is actually cost-effective compared to per-client pricing from other platforms.

One limitation: the platform doesn't have API access for automated importing or advanced integrations. You're stuck with their web interface and manual file uploads. No fancy automation here - it's manual labor all the way.