Key Takeaway:
- IRS may allow electronic-only 1099-DA delivery for digital asset brokers.
- Applies to statements on or after January 1, 2027; not final.
- No paper required; brokers must notify electronically and maintain accessible portals.
According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, a new proposal would allow digital asset brokers to furnish recipient copies of Form 1099-DA exclusively via electronic delivery. The change would apply to statements on or after January 1, 2027, and is not yet final. It is intended to streamline compliance with the emerging digital-asset reporting regime under Section 6045 of the Internal Revenue Code, enacted by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Under the proposal, brokers would not be required to offer paper alternatives or permit customers to withdraw electronic consent once provided. In exchange, they would need to meet enhanced electronic notice-and-access obligations, including clear communication that a tax document has been furnished electronically and maintaining accessible portals for retrieval. The approach shifts operational duties from printing and mailing to reliable digital notification and record availability.
Industry feedback points to cost and clarity. According to Coinbase’s formal comment letter on Form 1099-DA, defaulting to electronic delivery would reduce environmental and economic burdens associated with paper mailings and billions of small transactions, and the firm urged trimming nonessential data fields to improve usability. The company also urged a compliance runway of roughly 18 months after final forms and instructions are issued to implement electronic delivery at scale.
The proposal centers on “digital asset brokers,” with practical emphasis on platforms that furnish recipient statements to users, such as centralized exchanges. As reported by Blockonomi, the contemplated change would allow these firms to send tax forms only electronically, replacing paper fulfillment. While definitional lines for some market participants remain a policy focus, the delivery framework is targeted at entities already positioned to generate recipient copies.
Rulemakers have framed the timing and mechanics as part of the broader rollout of Section 6045 reporting for digital assets mandated by the IIJA. In this context, the proposed electronic delivery is designed to make standardized reporting more accessible to recipients while improving administrative efficiency for intermediaries. Officials have also indicated that notice-and-access safeguards are essential to preserving taxpayer awareness and retrieval of their Form 1099-DA statements.
A senior policy view underscores the compliance goals that accompany these mechanics. “Will help taxpayers more easily pay taxes owed under current law, while reducing tax evasion by wealthy investors,” said Aviva Aron-Dine, Acting Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy.
For brokers, the operational obligations are specific: provide clear electronic notice when a 1099-DA is available, maintain reliable access to prior-year statements, and ensure customers can reasonably retrieve their records. For recipients, practical readiness likely means confirming email settings, logging into account portals during tax season, and securely downloading copies for retention. The delivery method changes the channel, not the underlying duty to report taxable digital-asset transactions.
Policy experts have also flagged trade-offs. According to the Tax Law Center at NYU Law, implementing digital-asset broker rules can bolster compliance and narrow the tax gap, but guidance around decentralized platforms must be careful to avoid creating loopholes or undue burden. Balancing accessibility, privacy, and administrative feasibility will remain central as the rule advances through public comment and potential revision.
At the time of this writing, market context for a key industry participant is mixed: Coinbase Global (COIN) closed around $182.36 on March 3, with an after-hours update near $182.13, based on data from Yahoo Finance. These figures are presented for background and do not imply any relationship to the proposal’s outcome.
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