Koinly Accountant: Who Can Review and Fix Your Koinly Report
CBAP (CIBA), GTP (SAIT)
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The Precision 7 System: every exchange, wallet, chain and DeFi position reconciled and verified, then reported.
Book a free exploratory callShort answer: a Koinly accountant is a crypto tax accountant who works inside your existing Koinly account: they find the sources and transfers it is missing, fix cost basis and classifications, clear the warnings that matter, and hand your CPA or preparer figures they can file from. You keep your account; nothing is rebuilt from scratch.
Koinly calculates well from the data it is given. The trouble starts when the data is incomplete: a wallet that was never connected, a transfer that was never matched, a DeFi deposit read as a sale. The report still produces a number, and that number can be badly wrong in either direction. Most people only notice when the gain looks impossible or a warning will not go away.
This guide is for a US Koinly user whose report looks wrong, or who wants someone to own the figures before a CPA files them. I am Chris Herbst, founder of CountDeFi. We are US crypto tax accountants and Koinly's #1 Global Partner: we review and reconcile clients' Koinly accounts and produce the reports their own CPA or preparer files from. We are not a CPA firm. I am a Chartered Business Accountant in Practice (CBAP) with the Chartered Institute for Business Accountants and a General Tax Practitioner (GTP) with the South African Institute of Taxation.
What Does a Koinly Accountant Actually Do?
The work is a review of the data behind the report, followed by the fixes, followed by a report pack someone else can rely on. The calculation is the last and smallest step.
Audit the source list
The first question is what is not in the account. Every exchange, wallet and chain you have used belongs in it, including closed exchanges and wallets you no longer use. A missing source is the most common cause of a wrong figure, because coins arriving from it carry no purchase history. Our guide on how to track crypto transactions for taxes sets out how that inventory is built.
Match transfers between your own wallets
Moving coins between wallets you own is not taxable. The IRS says a transfer between your own wallets, addresses or accounts is a non-taxable event, even if you receive an information return as a result of it. In the software, an unmatched transfer reads as a sale on one side and a receipt with no cost on the other. Matching them is slow, detailed work, and it is where most inflated gains come from.
Rebuild missing cost basis
Your basis is the amount you spent to acquire the virtual currency, including fees, commissions and other acquisition costs. When the purchase is missing from the account, the software has nothing to subtract. The accountant traces the purchase to its source: an old exchange export, a bank record, the on-chain history of the wallet that received it. Our guide to fixing missing cost basis covers the order that tracing follows.
Correct classifications
Liquidity pool deposits, staking, lending, bridges and wrapped tokens are each read by a rule, and a rule can pick the wrong one. A deposit into a pool booked as a sale creates a gain that did not happen. A reward booked as a transfer leaves out income that did. Each correction is made on the transaction itself, so the next year's report inherits it.
Check the closing balances
The last test is whether the account's year-end holdings match what each wallet and exchange actually holds. A balance that does not match means something is still missing or doubled, whatever the report says.
Signs Your Koinly Report Needs a Review
None of these proves the report is wrong. Each one is a reason to look before anything is filed.
A gain that does not fit what you remember
If the report shows a large gain in a year you feel you lost money, check for missing purchases and unmatched transfers first. Both inflate gains, and both are common.
Warnings you have been clicking past
Missing cost basis and negative balance warnings are the software telling you it is working from incomplete data. A negative balance means the account shows more coins leaving a wallet than ever arrived in it, which is impossible in real life and always means a source or a transfer is missing.
Wallets or chains Koinly could not read
Some chains and protocols import partially or not at all. If you used one, its activity may be absent from the report even though the wallet appears connected.
A broker form that disagrees with the report
For 2026 and beyond, the Form 1099-DA instructions set out mandatory reporting of gross proceeds for all digital assets, mandatory reporting of basis information for digital assets that are covered securities. A form that shows proceeds with no basis is normal for coins transferred in from elsewhere. A form whose proceeds do not appear in your report is a sign something was not imported.
What You Hand Your CPA After the Review
A review ends with a report pack, not a return. The person who signs your return files from it.
| Document | What it shows | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Capital gains report | Each disposal with date acquired, date sold, proceeds, basis and gain or loss | Your preparer, for Form 8949 and Schedule D |
| Income report | Staking, rewards, airdrops and other income at US dollar value when received | Your preparer, for the income lines of the return |
| Closing holdings | What you hold at year end, wallet by wallet, with basis carried forward | You and your preparer, for next year |
| Notes on judgement calls | How unusual transactions were treated and why | Your preparer, and you if the IRS writes |
How the figures reach Form 8949
The current Form 8949 instructions add new boxes G, H, and I for short-term digital asset transactions, with boxes J, K and L for long-term. Your preparer picks the box from whether a broker form was issued and whether it showed basis. Our Form 8949 and Schedule D guide walks through the boxes, and our guide to crypto tax reports for your CPA covers what a preparer expects to receive.
Why basis now has to be tracked wallet by wallet
Rev. Proc. 2024-28 gave taxpayers a safe harbor to allocate basis in digital assets to wallets or accounts as of January 1, 2025. From that date basis is tracked per wallet or account, not as one universal pool. A Koinly account set up years ago may still run on the older universal method, and a review checks which one it uses.
Koinly Accountant vs CPA vs Doing It Yourself
These are three different jobs, and most people with a messy history need two of them.
Doing it yourself
If every source is connected, nothing is flagged and the closing balances match your wallets, Koinly's report is ready for your preparer. Our comparison of Koinly and a crypto accountant covers when the software alone is enough.
A Koinly accountant
The right call when the data is the problem: missing basis, unmatched transfers, DeFi, closed exchanges, thousands of transactions. The output is a corrected account and a report pack.
A CPA, enrolled agent or attorney
The IRS states that enrolled agents, certified public accountants, and attorneys have unlimited representation rights before the IRS. You need one of them to represent you in an audit, a collection matter or an appeal. You do not need one to fix a transaction history. If you are weighing that question, our guide on whether you need a crypto CPA sets out what the licence covers.
How To Choose a Koinly Accountant
A listing in Koinly's directory confirms the firm works with Koinly data. It does not confirm what the firm can do with yours. Our guide to the Koinly partner directory explains what a listing means. Four questions narrow it down.
Do they work in my existing account?
A firm that wants to start over in a different tool is asking you to pay for the import twice. The fixes should be made in your account, so the history, notes and settings stay yours.
Do they cover my chains and protocols?
Name the chains, protocols and exchanges you used and ask which they have reconciled before. A firm that has not seen a protocol will learn it on your fee.
Do they check balances against the wallets?
Ask how they know the report is complete. The answer should be a comparison of the account's closing balances with what each wallet and exchange actually holds.
Who files the return?
Know before you start whether the firm prepares the return or hands the report pack to your own CPA or preparer. The IRS notes that anyone can be a paid tax return preparer as long as they have an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), so ask about credentials as well as the PTIN.
What To Prepare Before a Koinly Review
The review goes faster, and costs less, when the inventory is ready.
A list of every source you have used
Every exchange, wallet, chain and protocol since your first purchase, closed accounts included. The source nobody mentions is the one that breaks the report.
Records for anything Koinly cannot reach
Exports from closed exchanges, bank statements showing purchases, and any spreadsheets you kept. The IRS expects you to keep records documenting receipts, sales, exchanges, or other dispositions of virtual currency and the fair market value of it.
Your broker forms
Any Form 1099-DA, 1099-B or 1099-MISC you received. Your preparer will compare them to the report, so the review should too. Our Form 1099-DA guide explains what the new form shows.
Access to the account
Read access is enough to start the review. Edit access is needed for the fixes.
Where CountDeFi Fits
We review and fix Koinly accounts for US investors and hand the report pack to their own CPA or preparer. If your Koinly report looks wrong, start with our Koinly report review. If the account needs a full reconciliation, see our crypto tax accounting service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my CPA use my Koinly report directly?
Yes, if the data behind it is complete. A CPA files from the report as given, so missing sources and unmatched transfers flow straight into the return. Many CPAs ask for the report to be reconciled before they sign.
Why does Koinly show a negative balance?
Because more coins left a wallet in the account than ever arrived in it. That cannot happen in real life, so it always means a source, a purchase or a transfer is missing from the account.
Does Koinly file my taxes?
No. Koinly produces reports. A return is filed by you or by a preparer you choose, using those reports.
What is a Koinly partner?
A firm listed in Koinly's directory of accountants that work with Koinly data. The listing is a starting point, not a check of credentials or chain coverage.
How do I fix missing cost basis in Koinly?
Find where the coins came from. Usually it is a wallet or exchange not yet connected, or a transfer that was not matched. Adding the source or matching the transfer brings the purchase history across. Coins whose purchase cannot be traced need records from outside the account.
Does Form 1099-DA have to match my Koinly report?
The proceeds should agree for the sales the broker handled. Basis often will not, because a broker cannot see what you paid for coins transferred in from elsewhere. Your Koinly report supplies that basis, which is why it has to be complete.
Chris Herbst is the founder of CountDeFi, a crypto tax specialist whose qualifications span investment management, financial analysis, mathematical statistics and computer science. He holds the Chartered Business Accountant in Practice (CBAP) designation with the Chartered Institute for Business Accountants (CIBA) and the General Tax Practitioner (GTP) designation with the South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT). His combined background in investments, accounting and tax, mathematical statistics and computer science underpins his work in complex crypto tax reporting. This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal or investment advice. Consult a qualified tax professional for guidance specific to your situation. View our Editorial Policy.
