Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Boxes 1a and 1b of Form 1099-DA identify the digital asset that the rest of the line is about: box 1a carries an identifier code and box 1b carries the asset’s name. They concern anyone whose broker reported a sale, exchange or other disposition. They are labels, not dollar amounts, and they name the asset that the rest of the line is about.
What boxes 1a and 1b show
The recipient instructions printed on Copy B describe the two boxes in one sentence each. Box 1a: “Shows the Digital Token Identification Foundation (DTIF) code associated with the name shown in box 1b for which the amounts are being reported.” Box 1b is shorter: “Shows the name of the digital asset.”
Together they answer a simple question: which asset is this line about? Every other box on the same line, including the units in box 1c, the dates in boxes 1d and 1e, the proceeds in box 1f and the basis in box 1g, describes that one asset. The next boxes are covered at Form 1099-DA boxes 1c, 1d and 1e, Form 1099-DA box 1f and Form 1099-DA box 1g, and the full form is laid out in the Form 1099-DA boxes guide.
The form itself is titled with the words Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions, and the instructions open by saying who it concerns: “Brokers must report proceeds from (and in some cases, basis for) digital asset dispositions to you and the IRS on Form 1099-DA.”
How the broker fills in box 1a
The broker’s own instructions say what goes into the box. For a registered asset: “Enter the nine alphanumeric characters of the digital token identifier issued by the Digital Token Identifier Foundation”. For an asset that is not in the registry, the instructions give a fixed placeholder: “If the digital asset is not registered with DTIF, enter “999999999”.”
There are two special cases. For a stablecoin reported under the optional method, the broker is told: “enter the digital token identifier for the qualifying stablecoin.” For the other optional method the instruction is: “If you are reporting sales using the optional reporting method for specified NFTs, enter “999999999”.” The box 11 page, Form 1099-DA box 11, explains those aggregate reporting boxes.
How the broker fills in box 1b
For the name, the broker’s instruction is: “Enter the full name of the digital asset for which the amounts are being reported.” “If you entered a DTIF digital token identifier in box 1a, enter the name that matches the DTIF registration.”
Where an asset was reported under the optional method for specified NFTs, the broker is told: “enter “Specified NFTs”.” and for a stablecoin: “enter the name of the qualifying stablecoin.”
Where this goes on the return
The recipient instructions point to a different line for the reporting location: “Indicates where to report this transaction on Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040), and which checkbox is applicable.” That is the unnumbered line labelled Applicable checkbox on Form 8949, and the amounts then go through Form 8949 and Schedule D.
The recipient instructions also raise the first-page question: “If you received a Form 1099-DA, you generally sold, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of a financial interest in a digital asset and should check the” Yes box next to the question on page 1 of Form 1040. Whether a particular swap is a taxable event is a separate question; see whether swapping one crypto for another is taxable.
Edition and box numbers
The primary read for this page is the 2025 edition of Form 1099-DA with its Instructions for Recipient, the form a taxpayer received in early 2026 for tax year 2025. The 2026 edition was the one irs.gov served as current on 2026-10-17, and both editions were compared for boxes 1a and 1b. The recipient text for box 1b reads the same in both editions. Box 1a differs by one word: the 2025 edition reads “Digital Token Identification Foundation (DTIF) code” and the 2026 edition reads “Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF) code”. The filer instruction for the registry code and the 999999999 placeholder is the same in both editions. The 2026 recipient instructions add a note near the box descriptions: “Boxes 1d, 1e, 1g, 1h, 1i, 2, 3a, 3b, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12a, and 12b may be blank if the broker is reporting sales of qualifying stablecoins or specified NFTs using an optional reporting method.” The 2025 recipient instructions have no such note. That note does not list boxes 1a, 1b or 1c. Check the tax year printed on the form you received, because the edition behind your form decides which wording applies to you.
Common mistakes
- Treating 999999999 in box 1a as a typo. The broker is told: “If the digital asset is not registered with DTIF, enter “999999999”.”
- Assuming the name in box 1b must match the ticker in your account. The broker is told to “enter the name that matches the DTIF registration.”
- Looking for a place to enter box 1a or 1b on the return. The instructions send you instead to the line that “Indicates where to report this transaction on Form 8949 and Schedule D (Form 1040)”.
Related: Form 8949, Schedule D, swapping one crypto for another, and the wash sale rule for crypto.
Sources
- Form 1099-DA (2025) with Instructions for Recipient: IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
- Form 1099-DA (2026) with Instructions for Recipient: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099da.pdf
- Instructions for Form 1099-DA (2025): IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.