How to Export Kraken Trades and Ledgers for Taxes
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On this page
To export your Kraken history for taxes, click your profile icon, open Documents, and use Create Export in the Exports section. Create two exports for the same dates: Trades and Ledgers, as CSV. Kraken says an export can take anywhere from a few minutes to a week, and it does not email you when it is ready, so start early.
Why Kraken needs two files
Kraken splits your history in a way that matters for taxes:
| Export | What is in it | Why your tax report needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Trades | Execution details for margin and non-margin trades | Prices, sizes and fees of each trade |
| Ledgers | Every balance change: deposits, withdrawals, fees, staking rewards and other movements | Transfers in and out, income, and trades that are not in the Trades file |
The second point is the one people miss. Kraken's help center says instant buy and sell transactions are not recorded in your trade history, but they do appear in the Ledger. If you only upload Trades, any coin you bought with the simple Buy button may be missing, and your tax report will show sales with no cost basis.
Most tax software asks for the Ledgers file, or both. Read the import instructions of the tool you use; if it supports both, upload both.
Step by step: create a Kraken export
These steps follow Kraken's article "How to export your account history".
- Sign in to Kraken on the web.
- Click your profile icon at the top right and choose Documents.
- In the Exports section, click Create Export.
- Select Ledgers (repeat later for Trades).
- Set a start date and an end date. Both are required. For a tax report, start from the day you opened the account.
- Optionally filter by asset or trading pair. For taxes, leave every asset selected.
- Choose CSV as the format and click Generate.
- Come back to Documents later. When the download icon becomes active, click it to save the file.
On Kraken Pro, the path is similar: your profile icon, then Statements, then Export Statement.
Limits to know
| Item | What Kraken's help pages say |
|---|---|
| Types | Trades, Ledgers (and Balances, which needs one date) |
| Formats | CSV or PDF |
| Processing time | From a few minutes up to a week |
| Notification | None: check the Documents page yourself |
| Order history | Cannot be exported directly; use the Trades export |
| Support help | Kraken support cannot create or download exports for you |
Connect by API instead
Kraken's help center has a page on using its API for taxes. Create a key with read-only permissions. Kraken lists these as the permissions tax services need:
- Query funds
- Query closed orders and trades
- Query ledger entries
- Export data
Do not enable trading, deposit or withdrawal permissions for a tax tool. And do not import the same period both by API and by CSV: every transaction would be counted twice.
Check the files before you upload
- Same dates on both files. Trades and Ledgers should cover the same full period, from your first deposit to December 31, 2026 or later.
- Instant buys present. Search the Ledger for the coins you bought with the Buy button. If your software only read the Trades file, they will be missing.
- Staking rewards. Kraken staking rewards appear as ledger entries. In the US they are generally ordinary income when you receive them.
- Closing balances. After importing, each coin's balance in your software should match your Kraken balance.
- Transfers. Every withdrawal to a wallet you own should match a deposit in that wallet's export, so the software treats it as a transfer, not a sale.
US customers: Kraken tax forms and 1099-DA
Kraken publishes a tax forms FAQ that explains which forms it issues and to whom. Check the Documents section of your account after the year ends. Kraken notes that tax forms are documentation to share with your tax professional, and that it keeps them in your account for a limited time, so download your own copies.
Under the IRS rules for 2026, a broker's Form 1099-DA shows cost basis only for covered assets: crypto bought after 2025 in that account and held there until sale. Coins you deposited from elsewhere show proceeds with no basis. The US crypto tax guide explains how to report the correct basis on Form 8949.
Turn the export into a tax report
Two CSV files from one exchange is manageable in a spreadsheet if you made a handful of trades. With staking rewards, margin trades or transfers to other platforms, a tax tool that reads Kraken's ledger format saves hours of matching.
FAQ
Which Kraken file do I upload to tax software?
Usually the Ledgers CSV, because it includes deposits, withdrawals, fees, staking and instant buys. Some tools also ask for Trades. Follow your tool's Kraken import guide.
My Kraken export has been pending for days. Is that normal?
Kraken says exports can take up to a week to process. Large accounts with many years of history take longest. Kraken support cannot speed it up or create the export for you.
Why do my Kraken taxes show sales with no cost basis?
Most often the purchases are missing: they were instant buys, which are in the Ledger but not in Trades, or the coins were deposited from another platform whose history you have not imported.
Sources
Official pages we used for this guide, last checked Oct 12, 2026. Menus change: if a step doesn't match your screen, the official page is the final word.
- Kraken Support: How to export your account history
- Kraken Support: Reading your trade history and ledger
- Kraken Support: How to use our API for taxes
- Kraken Support: Tax forms FAQ
- IRS: Instructions for Form 1099-DA
This guide is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Tax rules depend on your country and situation; check with a qualified tax professional before you file.