Form 1099-MISC

Form 1099-MISC reports miscellaneous income such as rents, prizes, and certain other payments of 600 dollars or more, and some crypto exchanges use it to report staking, rewards, and referral income.

How it works

Form 1099-MISC reports rents, prizes, and other income of 600 dollars or more. Nonemployee compensation moved to Form 1099-NEC in 2020. Crypto exchanges commonly use the 1099-MISC to report staking rewards, referral bonuses, and other income credited to customers, which is ordinary income reported on Schedule 1.

Why it matters

The IRS matches 1099-MISC amounts, and the reported value becomes the cost basis of the tokens received, so the same figure has to appear in two places on the return.

Related: staking rewards. Read more: Form 1099-MISC explained.

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Definitions are general information, not legal advice, and may not reflect the most recent changes in law.