What is tax lot?

One purchase of an asset, with its own date, quantity, and cost, tracked separately so a gain can be calculated when part of a holding is sold.

Exchanges report lots inconsistently and transfers between platforms break the chain. From 2025 United States taxpayers track basis account by account rather than across all holdings (source: Internal Revenue Service Revenue Procedure 2024-28). See cost basis method.

A holding of one coin bought over two years is not one position for tax purposes. It is a stack of lots, and which one you sell changes what you owe.

How it works

Every acquisition creates a lot: a quantity, a date and time, and a cost in your currency including fees where the rules allow. Staking rewards, airdrops, and coins received in a swap each create lots too, with a basis equal to the value at receipt.

When you dispose of part of the holding, the rules of your jurisdiction decide which lot left. In the United States you may identify the specific units if you documented them no later than the disposal, and otherwise the earliest units are treated as sold first. See specific identification and fifo.

Two structural rules shape how the records must be kept.

Per-account tracking. Revenue Procedure 2024-28 requires United States taxpayers to track basis within each wallet or account rather than across all holdings combined, which took effect for 2025 (source: Internal Revenue Service Revenue Procedure 2024-28). Moving coins between your own accounts moves lots along with them.

Holding period. Each lot has its own clock, and in jurisdictions where the rate depends on how long you held, two lots of the identical coin can be taxed at different rates on the same day. The tax section tracks those thresholds by jurisdiction.

Some jurisdictions do not use lots at all and pool identical assets into a single average cost instead, which removes the choice and simplifies the records.

Example

Illustrative figures. You buy 1 unit at $20,000 in January and 1 unit at $60,000 in June, then sell 1 unit at $50,000 in December.

The coins are identical and the sale price is the same. The $40,000 swing is entirely a records question, and in the United States it is settled by whether an identification existed at the time of the sale.

Why it matters when you buy

Each purchase you make is a lot you will have to account for later, so buying the same asset across several venues multiplies the bookkeeping without changing what you own. The fee comparison is the reason people spread purchases around, and the tax section shows the holding rules that make the dates matter. The crypto tax basics guide covers the wider picture.

Related terms

• cost basis — what each lot records
• cost basis method — how lots are selected on sale
• specific identification — the method that gives you the choice
• fifo — the usual default
• wallet by wallet accounting — the per-account requirement
• capital gains — what the arithmetic produces

Questions

Does moving coins between my own wallets create a taxable event?

Generally not, in most jurisdictions. It does move the lot, and the receiving account needs the acquisition date and cost carried over or the basis is effectively lost.

Do fees count in the cost of a lot?

Acquisition fees are commonly added to basis and disposal fees deducted from proceeds, subject to the rules where you file. Keep the fee figures, not just the net amounts.

What if my exchange does not provide lot records?

The obligation is yours regardless. Export transaction history as you go rather than at filing time, because access to historical records ends if an account is closed.