Crypto Tax Tracker Google Sheets (2026)

Why You Need a Crypto Tax Tracker

If you bought, sold, or traded cryptocurrency in 2025 or 2026, you likely owe taxes on your gains. Tax authorities in the US (IRS), UK (HMRC), EU, Australia, and most other jurisdictions require you to report:

• Realized gains/losses — Profit or loss when you sell or trade crypto
• Income — Crypto received as payment, mining rewards, staking rewards, or airdrops
• Cost basis — What you originally paid for the crypto you disposed of

CoinTable, a Google Sheets add-on for cryptocurrency prices, gives you live market data to calculate unrealized gains on coins you still hold. Combined with a simple transaction log, you get a complete tax-tracking spreadsheet.

For the basics on pulling crypto prices into Sheets, see how to get crypto prices in Google Sheets.

Basic Tax Tracking Spreadsheet Structure

Start with a transaction log that records every buy and sell:

Transaction Log Columns

Formulas for the Transaction Log

F2 (Total):      =D2*E2
H2 (Net Amount): =IF(B2="BUY", -(F2+G2), F2-G2)

For buy transactions, the net amount is negative (money out). For sell transactions, it's positive (money in).

Example Transaction Log

Using CoinTable for Unrealized Gains

For coins you still hold, CoinTable provides live prices to calculate unrealized gains — positions that haven't been sold yet.

Holdings Summary Sheet

Create a separate sheet that aggregates your current holdings:

Current Price:     =CT_PRICE(A2)
Current Value:     =CT_PRICE(A2) * B2
Cost Basis:        =C2 * B2
Unrealized P&L:    =CT_PRICE(A2) * B2 - C2 * B2
Unrealized P&L %:  =(CT_PRICE(A2) - C2) / C2 * 100

Holdings Summary Layout

The "Qty Held" and "Avg Cost" columns should be calculated from your transaction log. More on that in the FIFO and LIFO sections below.

FIFO: First In, First Out

FIFO is the most commonly used cost-basis method. Under FIFO, when you sell coins, the cost basis comes from the oldest purchase first.

FIFO Example

Let's walk through a concrete scenario with three transactions:

Purchases:

1. Buy 1.0 BTC at $60,000 (June 2025)
2. Buy 0.5 BTC at $70,000 (September 2025)

Sale: 3. Sell 0.5 BTC at $95,000 (January 2026)

FIFO Calculation:

Under FIFO, the 0.5 BTC sold comes from the first purchase (June 2025 at $60,000):

Proceeds:    0.5 × $95,000 = $47,500
Cost Basis:  0.5 × $60,000 = $30,000  (from the FIRST purchase)
Capital Gain: $47,500 - $30,000 = $17,500

Remaining holdings after sale:

The remaining 0.5 BTC from Lot 1 and all 0.5 BTC from Lot 2 are still held. Your average cost basis for the remaining 1.0 BTC is $65,000.

FIFO Formulas in Google Sheets

Implementing pure FIFO in Sheets requires tracking individual lots. Here's a simplified approach:

Create a "Lots" sheet:

When you sell, manually update the "Qty Remaining" column starting from the oldest lot. Then calculate the gain on your sales sheet:

Realized Gain = Sell Proceeds - (Qty Sold × Cost per Coin from Oldest Lot)

For sales that span multiple lots (e.g., selling 1.2 BTC when Lot 1 has only 0.5 remaining), split the calculation:

Gain from Lot 1: 0.5 × ($95,000 - $60,000) = $17,500
Gain from Lot 2: 0.7 × ($95,000 - $70,000) = $17,500
Total Gain: $35,000

LIFO: Last In, First Out

LIFO assigns the cost basis from the most recent purchase first. Using the same transactions:

LIFO Calculation:

The 0.5 BTC sold comes from the second purchase (September 2025 at $70,000):

Proceeds:    0.5 × $95,000 = $47,500
Cost Basis:  0.5 × $70,000 = $35,000  (from the LAST purchase)
Capital Gain: $47,500 - $35,000 = $12,500

FIFO vs. LIFO Comparison

In this example, LIFO results in a lower capital gain because the more expensive lot is used as the cost basis. However, LIFO is not allowed in all jurisdictions — the IRS generally requires FIFO unless you specifically identify which lots you're selling.

Check with your tax professional which method is permitted in your jurisdiction before choosing.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Gains

In the US and many other countries, how long you held a coin affects your tax rate:

Add a "Holding Period" column to your sales sheet:

=DATEDIF(Purchase Date, Sale Date, "D")

And a "Term" column:

=IF(Holding Period >= 365, "Long-term", "Short-term")

Example Sales Sheet with Holding Period

Tracking Multiple Coins

For a portfolio with multiple cryptocurrencies, you need a separate lot-tracking system per coin. The simplest approach:

1. One "Transactions" sheet — All buys and sells in chronological order
2. One "Lots" sheet per coin — BTC Lots, ETH Lots, SOL Lots, etc.
3. One "Sales" sheet — All realized gains/losses with FIFO cost basis applied
4. One "Holdings" sheet — Current unrealized positions with CoinTable formulas

Holdings Formulas

Current Price:    =CT_PRICE(A2)
Market Value:     =CT_PRICE(A2) * B2
Unrealized Gain:  =CT_PRICE(A2) * B2 - C2

For a broader portfolio tracking setup beyond tax purposes, see our crypto portfolio tracker in Google Sheets guide.

Handling Special Tax Events

Crypto tax tracking goes beyond simple buy/sell transactions. Here are events you should also log:

Staking Rewards

Staking rewards are typically taxed as income at the fair market value when received:

The income value becomes your cost basis if you later sell those coins.

Airdrops

Similar to staking — taxed as income at FMV when received.

Crypto-to-Crypto Swaps

Swapping one crypto for another (e.g., ETH → SOL) is a taxable event in most jurisdictions. Record it as a sell of the first coin and a buy of the second.

Year-End Tax Summary

Create a summary sheet that aggregates your full-year activity:

Limitations: When to Use a Dedicated Tax Tool

A Google Sheets tax tracker works well for:

• Small portfolios (fewer than 50 trades per year)
• Simple buy-and-sell patterns
• One or two exchanges

It becomes impractical when you have:

• Hundreds of trades — Manual lot tracking becomes error-prone
• DeFi activity — Yield farming, liquidity pools, and complex swaps are difficult to track manually
• Multiple exchanges and wallets — Importing and reconciling data from 5+ sources is tedious

For heavy traders, dedicated crypto tax software handles the complexity automatically:

You can still use CoinTable in Sheets alongside these tools — many people use the spreadsheet for ongoing portfolio monitoring and a dedicated tool for year-end tax filing.

For formula references and more CoinTable functions, see the crypto formulas cheat sheet.

Getting Started

1. Install CoinTable — Get it from Google Workspace Marketplace for live price data
2. Create a Transactions sheet — Log every buy, sell, and income event
3. Set up Lot tracking — One section per coin, sorted by date
4. Record sales with cost basis — Apply FIFO (or your jurisdiction's required method)
5. Build a Holdings sheet — Use =CT_PRICE() formulas for unrealized gains
6. Generate a year-end summary — Aggregate short-term, long-term, and income totals

If you want a starting template, our best crypto Google Sheets templates article includes a tax helper layout you can adapt.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Cryptocurrency tax laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.