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Starting in 2026, all centralized crypto exchanges are required to issue Form 1099-DA to the IRS, reporting your crypto sales and disposals directly to the government. If you traded on Phemex in 2025, your activity is now part of the tax record, and accuracy matters more than it ever has.
The problem is that exchange-issued forms often have missing or incorrect cost basis data, especially if you have transferred crypto between platforms, used DeFi protocols, or staked assets across multiple wallets. The IRS receives the proceeds number from the exchange, but if the cost basis is wrong, you could end up paying tax on gains you never actually made.
That is the problem Koinly solves, and Phemex has partnered with Koinly to make the connection as simple as possible. Here is how the integration works, what is actually taxable, and how to file your crypto taxes correctly in 2026.
What Is Koinly?
Koinly is a crypto tax calculator that connects to over 800 exchanges and wallets, imports your full transaction history (spot trades, futures, staking rewards, DeFi, NFTs, airdrops, and wallet transfers), and generates tax-ready reports for over 20 countries. Instead of manually tracking every transaction across multiple platforms, Koinly pulls all of that data together, calculates your capital gains and losses, identifies which transactions are taxable and which are not, and outputs a completed tax form.
Supported reports include IRS Form 8949 and Schedule D for U.S. users, ATO myTax reports for Australia, HMRC Capital Gains Summary for the UK, Schedule 3 for Canada, and tax reports for Germany, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and over a dozen other jurisdictions. Paid plans start at $49 per year.
How the Phemex-Koinly Integration Works
Phemex has a dedicated tax reporting page that consolidates everything you need for the connection. The process takes approximately five minutes.
Step 1: Generate your Phemex API key. Log in to your Phemex account and click your profile icon in the top right corner. From the left-hand menu, select API Management, then create a new API key. Give it a name (for example, "Koinly"), select "don't bind" under IP address, and set permissions to read-only. Copy both the API key and API secret.
Step 2: Connect to Koinly. Log in to Koinly, go to the Wallets page, search for Phemex, and paste your API key and API secret into the fields. Hit Import and wait for Koinly to sync your data. This typically takes a few minutes depending on your transaction volume.
Step 3: Review your transactions. Once imported, review the Transactions page in Koinly to confirm everything is tagged correctly. Koinly will automatically identify transfers between your own wallets (not taxable), distinguish between short-term and long-term holdings, and flag any missing cost basis data that needs manual input.
Step 4: Generate your tax report. Go to the Tax Reports page, select your country and tax year, and download the appropriate report. For U.S. users, this is a pre-filled Form 8949 and Schedule D. You can file directly through TurboTax, TaxAct, or H&R Block, or share the report with your accountant through Koinly's access-sharing feature.
Alternative method (CSV upload). If you prefer not to use an API connection, Phemex also lets you download CSV files of your full transaction history from the tax reporting page. Download the CSV, upload it to Koinly, and the process continues from Step 3.
Phemex users can enter the promo code PHEMEX30 for a 30% discount on Koinly's paid plans.
What Crypto Activity Is Actually Taxable?
Not every crypto transaction triggers a tax event. Understanding the difference saves you from overpaying and from under-reporting.
Taxable events (capital gains tax applies):
Selling crypto for fiat currency (USD, EUR, etc.) creates a taxable event on the difference between your purchase price and sale price.
Swapping one cryptocurrency for another (for example, BTC to ETH) is treated as a sale of the first asset and a purchase of the second.
Spending crypto on goods or services is taxed the same way as a sale.
Futures trading profits are taxable, including realized gains from closing perpetual or delivery futures positions on Phemex.
Taxable events (income tax applies):
Staking rewards are taxed as income at the fair market value when received.
Mining rewards follow the same treatment.
Airdrops you receive without paying or providing services are taxed as income.
Interest earned through lending or earn products (including Phemex Earn) is taxable income.
Non-taxable events:
Buying crypto with fiat currency is not taxable at the time of purchase.
Transferring crypto between your own wallets does not trigger a tax event (though exchanges sometimes misreport these as disposals, which is exactly the kind of error Koinly catches).
Donating crypto to a qualified charity is generally not taxable and may qualify for a deduction.
Holding crypto without selling or swapping does not create a tax event.
Koinly automatically categorizes each transaction into the correct bucket, which is the primary reason to use tax software rather than attempting manual calculations across hundreds or thousands of trades.
What Changed for Crypto Taxes in 2026
Several regulatory shifts make 2026 the most significant year for crypto tax compliance to date.
Form 1099-DA is now mandatory. This new form, designed specifically for digital asset transactions, replaces the 1099-B and 1099-K forms that previously caused confusion for both taxpayers and the IRS. It is sent to both you and the IRS, meaning the government has your proceeds data before you file. If your cost basis is inaccurate (because you moved crypto between exchanges or used DeFi), the gap between what the IRS sees and what you report becomes a flag for audit.
OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) is live. More than 75 countries have committed to CARF, which standardizes how exchanges report user identity and transaction data across borders. Data collection began January 1, 2026, with the first international exchanges of information expected in 2027. If you trade on exchanges in multiple jurisdictions, tax authorities will soon be able to see your activity across all of them.
Country-specific rate changes are reshaping the global picture.
Japan is cutting its maximum crypto tax rate from 55% to a flat 20%, aligning crypto with stocks and making it the most significant single-country improvement for crypto investors.
Italy raised its crypto capital gains tax from 26% to 33%.
Canada introduced a higher 2/3 capital gains inclusion rate for larger gains.
Brazil implemented a flat 15% rate on crypto gains with enhanced reporting requirements.
The global direction is toward lower rates but dramatically increased visibility into trading activity.
Tax-Loss Harvesting: How Losses Save You Money
BTC dropped 41% from its $126,000 ATH. Many altcoins fell 60-80%. If you sold any positions at a loss during the 2025-2026 correction, those losses are not just damage. They are a tax asset.
Realized losses can offset your gains dollar for dollar. You only pay capital gains tax on your net gain after subtracting losses. If your losses exceed your gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 per year against ordinary income in the U.S. and carry the remaining losses forward to future tax years indefinitely.
Koinly calculates this automatically. It identifies all your losing positions, applies them against your gains using the cost basis method you select (FIFO, LIFO, or HIFO), and shows your net tax liability after the offset. For traders who experienced significant drawdowns in the 2025-2026 correction, this feature alone can save thousands of dollars.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Phemex provide tax reports?
Phemex does not generate completed tax reports directly, but it provides financial statements and a dedicated tax reporting page where you can export your full transaction history via API or CSV. Connecting this data to Koinly generates the tax-ready reports you need.
Is Phemex crypto taxable?
Yes. Any capital gains from selling, swapping, or spending crypto on Phemex are subject to capital gains tax. Staking rewards, earn product interest, and airdrop receipts are taxed as income. Losses can be offset against gains to reduce your tax liability.
How much does Koinly cost?
Koinly has a free plan for viewing your portfolio and tax summary. Paid plans for generating downloadable tax reports start at $49 per year. Phemex users can use promo code PHEMEX30 for a 30% discount.
What if I transferred crypto between my own wallets?
Transfers between your own wallets are not taxable, but exchanges sometimes misreport them as disposals. Koinly's transfer tracking feature automatically identifies these and excludes them from your taxable transactions, preventing you from paying tax on non-events.
Bottom Line
Crypto tax reporting in 2026 is not optional, and it is not something you want to get wrong. Form 1099-DA means the IRS already has your exchange data before you file. CARF means cross-border visibility is expanding globally. And the cost basis problem, where exchange-reported numbers do not account for transfers, DeFi activity, or multi-platform holdings, means the default data the IRS receives is often incomplete.
Koinly solves that by pulling your full Phemex transaction history (along with every other exchange, wallet, and blockchain you use), calculating accurate cost basis across all of them, and generating the exact form your country requires. The integration takes five minutes. The promo code PHEMEX30 saves you 30%. And the alternative is manually reconciling hundreds of transactions across multiple platforms, hoping the numbers match what the IRS already has.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Tax laws vary by jurisdiction. Consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.
