How to Do Your FTX Taxes After the Exchange Shutdown

Doing your FTX taxes is very different from reporting activity from a normal crypto exchange. After FTX collapsed, many users lost access to their accounts, transaction history, and downloadable records. In some cases, only partial data remains. In others, no direct access exists at all.

Because of this, many people are unsure how to report FTX activity correctly, what records are required, or whether missing data can even be reconstructed. This page explains how FTX taxes work, what makes them difficult, and how accurate reporting is still possible.

Understanding Why FTX Taxes Are Different

FTX operated as a centralized exchange, but after the collapse, it no longer functions like a standard trading platform. Normal assumptions used by crypto tax software often break because:

• Transaction exports may be unavailable or incomplete
• Cost basis data may be missing or corrupted
• Internal transfers may not be labeled correctly
• Activity may span multiple years with gaps

As a result, doing your FTX taxes requires more than importing data into software. It requires rebuilding and reconciling activity manually so that records reflect what actually happened.

Do You Still Need to Report FTX Activity?

In most cases, yes.

Even though the exchange collapsed, many activities that occurred on FTX may still need to be documented during tax filing. These can include:

• Trades and derivatives activity
• Deposits and withdrawals
• Transfers between FTX and external wallets
• Activity that occurred before or during the shutdown

The collapse itself does not automatically remove reporting obligations. What matters is whether taxable or reportable events occurred during the time you used the platform.

Why FTX Tax Documents Are Often Missing or Incomplete

Many users search for FTX tax documents or transaction summaries after the crash and discover they are unavailable or incomplete. This is common.

FTX does not reliably provide:

• Complete transaction exports
• Standardized tax forms
• A usable FTX 1099

Because of this, accurate reporting often depends on reconstructing transaction history using alternative data sources rather than relying on exchange-generated documents.

What Information Is Still Useful for FTX Tax Reporting?

Even if you cannot access your full FTX account, useful data often still exists.

This can include:

• Old CSV exports or account statements
• Screenshots of balances or trade confirmations
• Blockchain transactions linked to FTX deposits or withdrawals
• Records from other exchanges that interacted with FTX

The goal is not perfection at this stage. The goal is gathering enough data to rebuild a complete and defensible transaction history.

How to Do Your FTX Taxes Step by Step

Once you understand the scope and challenges, the reporting process becomes clearer. Below is the step-by-step approach used to prepare accurate FTX tax reports after the exchange collapse.

Step 1: Understand What FTX Activity May Need to Be Reported

The first step is understanding that the exchange collapse does not automatically remove reporting obligations. Many types of activity that occurred on FTX may still need to be documented during tax filing.

This can include:

• Spot trades and derivatives
• Deposits and withdrawals
• Transfers between FTX and external wallets
• Internal transfers within the exchange
• Activity that occurred before or during the shutdown

Even if assets became inaccessible or were lost, the underlying transaction activity may still need to be reflected accurately in your records.

At this stage, the goal is not to calculate taxes, but to understand the scope of activity that must be documented.

Step 2: Identify What FTX Records You Still Have

After the crash, many users cannot download complete FTX tax documents or transaction summaries. However, partial records often still exist and can be used to rebuild history.

These records may include:

• Old FTX exports or account statements
• Screenshots of balances or trade confirmations
• Wallet transactions linked to FTX deposits or withdrawals
• Records from other exchanges that interacted with FTX
• On-chain transaction data connected to FTX wallets

Even incomplete or fragmented data can be useful. The objective is to gather every available data source that reflects how assets moved in and out of FTX.

Step 3: Rebuild Your FTX Transaction History

This is the most challenging part of doing your FTX taxes.

Because FTX no longer provides reliable exports for many users, transaction history often needs to be reconstructed, not imported. This means piecing together activity across multiple sources and aligning them into a consistent timeline.

Rebuilding FTX transaction history involves:

• Identifying missing trades or transfers
• Resolving duplicated transactions
• Aligning deposits and withdrawals with external wallets
• Restoring broken cost basis caused by the shutdown
• Correcting misclassified or incomplete activity

At Count On Sheep, this is handled through detailed digital asset reconciliation rather than automated assumptions.

Step 4: Reconcile FTX Activity With External Wallets and Exchanges

FTX activity rarely existed in isolation. Many users moved assets between FTX and:

• Self-custody wallets
• Other centralized exchanges
• DeFi platforms

To do your FTX taxes correctly, these movements must be reconciled so transactions are:

• Counted once
• Categorized correctly
• Tracked across platforms without gaps

Without reconciliation, reports often show missing assets, inflated gains, or incorrect balances.

Step 5: Restore Accurate Cost Basis After the FTX Collapse

One of the most common issues with FTX taxes is broken or missing cost basis.

The exchange collapse disrupted:

• Historical pricing data
• Trade sequencing
• Asset tracking across transfers

Accurate reporting requires rebuilding cost basis so gains, losses, and income are calculated correctly. This step is essential for producing documentation that a CPA or tax software can rely on.

Step 6: Prepare Structured FTX Tax Reports

Once transaction history and cost basis are rebuilt, the next step is preparing FTX tax reports in a structured format suitable for filing.

These reports typically include:

• Gain and loss summaries
• Income classifications where applicable
• Supporting transaction details
• Documentation aligned with standard tax forms

At Count On Sheep, reports are prepared through human-verified reconciliation, so they reflect your complete FTX activity accurately.

Step 7: File Through Your CPA or Tax Software

After your FTX tax reports are complete, filing is handled by your CPA or through your chosen tax software.

If questions arise during filing, clarification can be provided regarding how transactions were reconstructed and documented.

How Count On Sheep Helps With FTX Taxes

FTX taxes often require reconstruction due to missing or incomplete records after the exchange collapse. Count On Sheep helps by rebuilding accurate FTX transaction history through detailed digital asset reconciliation.

We gather all available FTX-related data, align it with external wallets and exchanges, and manually reconcile each transaction to correct missing cost basis and classification issues. The result is a set of CPA-ready FTX tax reports that licensed professionals or tax software can use for filing.