Author
Nick Christie
Nick Christie
Co-Founder
Brisbane, Australia
For Accountants
PDF instructions

You can easily get your Coinbase taxes done in Syla, ensuring you pay the lowest crypto tax legally possible.

Last updated
5
Jun
2024

What is Coinbase

Coinbase is a digital currency exchange that was founded in 2012. Coinbase is the easiest platform to buy and sell cryptocurrency. There are currently 103 million+ customers registered on Coinbase.

The benefits of using Coinbase for Australian investors are:

  • fast AUD deposits and withdrawals using PayID.
  • simple trading experience
  • 200+ crypto assets
  • earn interest on your crypto

Coinbase has the following tax reports:

  • Coinbase tax statement PDF
  • Coinbase tax CSV

Syla + Coinbase integration

✅ CSV file import

Do you have to pay tax on cryptocurrency?

Ever since the ATO first introduced taxation guidelines for crypto back in 2014 it’s been clear that crypto is taxable. You can also read the most up to date ATO guidelines on crypto.

For most individuals, your crypto will be subject to capital gains tax. This means you must calculate the gain or loss on every transaction and declare the resulting capital gains.

The ATO has advised that Australian taxpayers must keep the following records:

  • receipts when you buy, transfer or dispose of crypto assets
  • a record of the date of each transaction
  • a record of what the transaction is for and who the other party is (this can just be their crypto asset address)
  • exchange records
  • a record of the value of the crypto asset in Australian dollars at the time of each transaction

How is crypto taxed on Coinbase

The type and amount of tax paid can vary depending on the transaction, asset type and your tax settings. Here’s just some of the transaction types that can occur on Coinbase, all with different possible tax outcomes.

Coinbase transactions in Syla

Example tax treatment:

  • ordinary income - promotions
  • deduction / capitalisation - brokerage fees

All events involving cryptocurrency assets may result in acquisitions or disposals of a CGT asset.

As we all know, crypto tax is complicated, which is why most tax professionals recommend using crypto tax software to automate the tax calculations for you. That way you won’t make mistakes that could trigger an ATO audit.

If you want to know more about the different tax treatments, you can find detailed information in our ultimate crypto tax guide.

Does Coinbase report transactions to the ATO

Coinbase is a registered Digital Currency Exchange (DCE) with AUSTRAC. As an AUSTRAC registered DCE, Coinbase must perform KYC and know the identity of their customers. This is important for preventing scammers and criminal activity.

Since 2019 the ATO has been operating a data sharing program with Australian Digital Currency Exchanges. Under the data sharing program, the digital currency exchange must provide transaction data of their users to the ATO.

In short, the ATO knows your transaction history on Coinbase. You’ll know the ATO has your cryptocurrency transaction data, as it will show in the prefill report on your tax return. That means it’s important that you do calculate and declare your crypto gains, otherwise it’s only a matter of time before the ATO comes knocking.

What your tax agent can see on your prefill report for your tax return

CSV file import - how to get tax statement from Coinbase

There is one important Coinbase tax CSV file that you need to download to get your transaction history from Coinbase:

  • Account Statement CSV

Follow these instructions to download your transaction history from Coinbase:

  1. login to Coinbase
  2. click your user profile > Reports
  3. click Generate report for your all-time transaction history
  4. leave the default All time, All assets and All transactions selected and click to generate the CSV report
  5. wait for the report to generate and click Download
  6. generate the PDF report (recommended if you would also like a PDF copy)
Coinbase Transactions CSV 1
Coinbase Transactions CSV 2
Coinbase Transactions CSV 3

How to do Coinbase taxes

Our Australian financial year starts on the 1 July and ends on the 30 June each year. You can prepare and lodge your tax return any time after the 30 June.

You have until the 31 October to lodge your individual tax return, or you can get an extended lodgement deadline till 15 May when lodging through a registered tax agent.

There are three ways you can complete your cryptocurrency tax return

  1. do it yourself by hand in a spreadsheet 😭
  2. provide your transaction statements to your tax agent / accountant
  3. use crypto tax software to automate the calculations and optimise for lower tax.

If you decide to do it yourself by hand, then you will need to be very careful to track the individual cost base of each crypto asset, and calculate the capital gain or loss on each disposal. This might be okay if you only have a handful of transactions. 👍

Otherwise, you can use Syla to do your Coinbase crypto tax calculations and tax optimisation. You can also provide the final Crypto Tax Report you create in Syla to your tax agent, or you can use the report yourself to lodge your own tax return.

Important tips for Coinbase taxes and minimising your tax bill

Follow these tips for common gotchya’s that will save you time and lead to better tax outcomes.

  • Missing chainsplits - Some chainsplits, such as the Bitcoin Cash splits are missing from the Account Statement CSV. These need to be added in manually.

Syla’s smart tax logic for Coinbase

You’ll find some really smart logic in Syla that is going to make doing your crypto taxes on Coinbase quick and easy.

Smart logic means that transactions are correctly classified for you automatically and all possible costs are claimed. That’s great, because you’ll have certainty in your tax and avoid paying more tax than you are legally required to.

Here’s just some of smart logic that has been specifically implemented for Coinbase that you’ll find in Syla’s crypto tax calculator:

  • support for Coinbase Earn program
  • classification of commission and bonus payments
  • classification of interest rewards
  • capitalisation of brokerage fees

Pay the lowest crypto tax and save the hassle of doing crypto tax yourself

It's very difficult to calculate all the tax outcomes correctly for your crypto by hand unless you're a tax professional.

If you are using a tax accountant, then you probably don’t want them doing it by hand either, as it's going to take a long time and cost a lot.

That’s why using cryptocurrency tax software can save you a lot of time that you’d rather spend doing something else. 😊

Syla is the only crypto tax software designed specifically and only for Australia. Syla not only calculates all your tax outcomes to ensure you are compliant to the ATO, but it also optimises your tax to ensure you pay the lowest crypto tax legally possible, saving you both time and money.

  • Syla is built specifically for Australian taxpayers
  • Syla’s tax logic is optimised by Australian tax lawyers to legally minimise tax
  • Syla’s Crypto Tax Reports are recognised by Australian tax professionals as being ATO compliant

You can get started in Syla for free.

FAQ

Does Coinbase have tax statements?

Yes, Coinbase has 1 Account Statement CSV that you can download. This file is important for completing your crypto tax calculations and record keeping.

How do I get Coinbase tax statements?

You can easily login and download your tax CSV statements. Once you have your tax statements, you can use crypto tax software to import your data and calculate your tax. Syla is a crypto tax software specifically designed for Australian taxpayers.

Do I have to pay taxes on Coinbase?

Yes, Australian taxpayers are legally required to declare income from their worldwide income sources. The ATO has been providing crypto tax guidance since 2014. You’ll be facing an audit and penalties from the ATO if you don’t declare your crypto gains.

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Disclaimer

The information in this article reflects our understanding of existing legislation, proposed legislation, rulings and other tax law, as at the date of issue. In some cases, the information has been provided to us by third parties. While it is believed the information is accurate and reliable, this is not guaranteed in any way.

The information provided in this article is purely factual in nature and does not constitute tax advice, financial product advice or legal advice. The information is not, nor is it intended to be, comprehensive or a substitute for professional advice on specific circumstances. If you require professional advice that takes into account your particular circumstances, you should consult an appropriate professional.