IRS Proposes Rules for Electronic 1099-DA Delivery by Digital Asset Brokers, March 2026

On March 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations (IR-2026-29) establishing an alternative, optional process for digital asset brokers to furnish Form 1099-DA statements to customers electronically, without first offering paper delivery. The proposed regulations are at the notice-and-comment stage and carry no immediate compliance obligations.

The authority for the proposed rules derives from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which amended the Internal Revenue Code to treat digital asset intermediaries as brokers required to file information returns and furnish payee statements. Under existing Treasury Regulation Section 31.6051-1 and the electronic-furnishing rules of Section 1.6050W-2, a broker must obtain affirmative consent before substituting electronic delivery for paper. The proposed regulations would create a separate pathway under which brokers meeting enhanced notice-and-access requirements need not offer paper at all and need not preserve the right to withdraw consent.

Digital asset brokers — including centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, custodial wallet providers, and certain DeFi platforms classified as brokers under the 2021 amendments — face Form 1099-DA reporting obligations for transactions occurring on or after January 1, 2025. Under the proposed rules, a qualifying broker may deliver 1099-DA statements solely in electronic form for statements required on or after January 1, 2027. The broker must notify each customer that an important tax document has been furnished electronically, provide continuous access to that document, and meet specified format and delivery-confirmation standards.

The IRS also issued Notice 2026-4 alongside the proposed regulations, seeking public comment on extending analogous electronic-furnishing relief to Form 1099-B and other payee statements. The comment period closes sixty days after Federal Register publication. Brokers that do not use the new optional process may continue to rely on existing consent-based electronic-furnishing procedures or deliver paper statements.

Source: IR-2026-29, Internal Revenue Service, "Treasury, IRS issue proposed regulations to make it easier for digital asset brokers to provide 1099-DA statements electronically" (March 5, 2026); Federal Register, "Electronic Furnishing of Payee Statements Regarding Digital Asset Sales by Brokers," published March 6, 2026. Official URL: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/treasury-irs-issue-proposed-regulations-to-make-it-easier-for-digital-asset-brokers-to-provide-1099-da-statements-electronically — Confirmed March 12, 2026.

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