Kraken Tax Guide: Reporting Futures, Staking, and Spot Trades
Step-by-step guide to Kraken taxes. How to export your Kraken history, report staking rewards, futures PnL, and spot trades on your US tax return.
Does Kraken Report to the IRS?
Yes. Kraken is a US-registered exchange and is required to file Form 1099-DA with the IRS starting with tax year 2025. Kraken previously issued 1099-MISC for staking rewards above $600. If you received a 1099-MISC from Kraken, include it in your income — and make sure your crypto tax software reconciles the same figures to avoid discrepancies.
Taxable Events on Kraken
- Spot trading — every trade is a disposal of the coin you sold; capital gain or loss
- Kraken Staking — staking rewards (ETH, SOL, DOT, ATOM, etc.) are ordinary income when received
- Kraken Earn — interest on deposited assets is ordinary income
- Kraken Futures (nano and standard contracts) — capital gains/losses at close
- Kraken NFT marketplace — sales are capital gains; creation/minting income is ordinary income
- OTC desk transactions — capital gains/losses
Kraken Staking: The IRS Position
Kraken was at the center of a landmark SEC enforcement action in 2023 regarding its staking-as-a-service program, ultimately paying $30 million and shutting down the US staking service. Kraken later relaunched staking under a different structure.
Regardless of the regulatory structure, staking rewards are taxable as ordinary income at FMV when received. The IRS has been consistent on this point. If you received ETH staking rewards through Kraken in 2025, those rewards are income in 2025, valued at the ETH price on the date each reward was distributed.
The ETH staking exit queue means you may have received staking rewards in batches rather than continuously — your Kraken statement will show the exact dates and amounts.
How to Export Your Kraken Tax History
- Log in to Kraken → click your username → History
- Click Export in the top right corner
- Select Ledger entries (not just trades — ledger captures everything including staking rewards, deposits, withdrawals)
- Set your date range to the full tax year (January 1 – December 31)
- Download the CSV
Pro tip: The Ledgers export is more comprehensive than the Trades export. Staking rewards, earn distributions, and on-chain settlements appear in Ledgers but not always in Trades. Use both if you're doing manual reconciliation.
Kraken Futures Tax Treatment
Kraken offers nano Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts. These are not exchange-regulated contracts that qualify for Section 1256 treatment (the 60/40 rule that applies to CME futures). Kraken futures gains and losses are short-term capital gains for most traders, reported on Form 8949.
If you use margin on Kraken spot, borrowed funds do not change the tax treatment — gains are still capital gains when you close the position. Interest paid on margin loans is an investment expense.
Connecting Kraken to Tax Software
Blockchain Smart Tax connects to Kraken via read-only API key, automatically importing all spot trades, staking rewards, earn income, and futures PnL. You don't need to manually reconcile CSV exports — the platform pulls your full ledger and classifies each transaction correctly.
To connect, generate a read-only API key in Kraken under Settings → API → Add Key, then paste it into Blockchain Smart Tax. Check "Query Funds" and "Query Ledger Entries" permissions — no withdrawal or trading permissions needed.
Common Kraken Tax Mistakes
- Missing staking rewards: Staking rewards appear in Ledgers as "staking" entries. Easy to miss if you only export the Trades file.
- Ignoring the Kraken Pro CSV format change: Kraken updated their CSV format in late 2024 — older tax software may not parse it correctly. Check that all rows imported successfully.
- Not tracking transfers to external wallets: Moving ETH from Kraken to MetaMask carries the original Kraken cost basis — crucial for accurate DeFi tax reporting.
Go Beyond Kraken — Track Everything
Blockchain Smart Tax imports your Kraken transactions automatically via API, but it doesn't stop there. It also reads directly from 550+ blockchains to capture your self-custody wallet activity, DeFi interactions, staking rewards, and more — giving you a complete tax picture, not just your exchange history.
How we compare to other crypto tax platforms:
- Koinly ($49+/year) — supports Kraken but with established exchange integration
- CoinTracker ($59+/year) — Kraken integration available; limited DeFi classification outside Ethereum
- CoinLedger ($49+/year) — Kraken import supported; no transfer-pattern wallet discovery
- Blockchain Smart Tax (from $25/year) — Kraken API import plus automatic wallet discovery across 550+ chains, all cost basis methods included, free during beta
Connect Kraken and all your wallets in minutes — free during beta →