Keep a ledger; do not treat one screen as the whole record
A useful transaction record identifies the asset, quantity, date/time, price or proceeds, fees, product/account, and whether the activity was a purchase, sale, deposit, withdrawal or network transfer. A transfer between addresses is not automatically a purchase or sale. Keep the original confirmation and reconcile it with the provider’s activity history and statements.
This guide teaches arithmetic, not tax law. The cited support pages are for Robinhood’s US Crypto service and may change. A provider record does not prove it includes activity outside the provider, corrects missing basis, or determines a person’s tax obligations.
Records and statements: what to collect and compare
- Save each transaction confirmation and periodic statement available from the provider.
- Record date/time, asset and network, units, gross price/proceeds, fees and transaction type.
- For transfers, preserve source and destination records and any provider transaction reference; do not treat a transfer as a sale without analyzing the facts.
- Compare opening quantity + acquisitions − disposals ± documented adjustments with ending quantity.
- Flag missing dates, quantities, fees, acquisition records or external transfers for follow-up. Do not invent a basis to make totals balance.
Important scope check: Robinhood’s US “Finding your reports and statements” help says the downloadable brokerage/retirement Activity Report CSV excludes crypto. Do not use that CSV to reconcile Crypto transactions. For the Crypto product, review the Crypto History/trade details and the applicable Crypto tax documents described in Robinhood’s Crypto tax FAQ; account statements remain product-specific. The FAQ and history are provider records, not a guarantee that external activity or every basis detail is complete.
Robinhood’s US Crypto average-cost help describes displayed average cost as an estimate for open-position performance, not a tax calculation of realized gains. For general US tax education, IRS Topic 703 says basis is generally amount paid but adjustments and acquisition exceptions apply. That IRS summary is general US tax information, not crypto-specific, and does not determine a reader’s basis or tax treatment.
Fictional checklist result: if an invented ledger shows 10 Q bought but the provider report begins at 6 Q, mark 4 Q of opening history “unreconciled”; do not silently assign it a cost.
Realized and unrealized are different arithmetic snapshots
For a closed quantity in this teaching example, realized arithmetic P/L = net sale proceeds minus the allocated purchase cost. For an open quantity, unrealized arithmetic P/L = reference market value minus its remaining purchase cost, before future sale fees. A displayed estimate can move with price and may use a provider-specific method. Neither label alone decides tax treatment.
Fictional worked example R-01: partial sale and remaining position
Assume, purely for the exercise, 10 units of Q were acquired for $10 each ($100 total); no purchase fees or other activity; 4 units are later sold for $13 each ($52 gross) with a fictional $1 sale fee; the remaining six units have a fictional reference price of $12 each.
- Allocated purchase cost for the four sold units: 4 × $10 = $40.
- Net proceeds for those units: $52 − $1 = $51.
- Realized arithmetic P/L: $51 − $40 = $11.
- Remaining cost assigned in this simple exercise: 6 × $10 = $60.
- Open reference value: 6 × $12 = $72; unrealized arithmetic P/L before future fees: $72 − $60 = $12.
- Combined snapshot relative to the original $100: $51 net proceeds + $72 open reference value − $100 cost = $23, matching $11 + $12.
This assumes the stated quantities, allocation and fee, with no other flows. It is fictional arithmetic—not a forecast, reported performance, tax-lot method or individualized tax result. A real record may require different basis rules, adjustments or professional advice.
Reconcile gaps without guessing
If a provider screen and your own records disagree, note the exact date range and missing field, compare available confirmations and statements, and ask the provider through its official support channel. Never share a password, one-time code, private key or recovery phrase. Do not rely on an old exported balance as proof of current holdings.
Source review date: 26 October 2026. Provider details are US Crypto help only; account products and records differ by region. No live account was accessed, no transaction was made and no external tax treatment was evaluated.