Tasse sul trading di futures: Una guida completa per gli utenti degli scambi di criptovalute e Bitcoin

Futures trading has cemented itself as a core feature at leading i migliori scambi di criptovalute and bitcoin exchanges, enabling active traders to speculate on price movements with leverage, hedge portfolio risk, or access deep liquidity in global markets without holding spot crypto. In 2025 and 2026, daily open interest across regulated and offshore crypto futures markets routinely exceeds $30 billion, and CME Group Bitcoin futures alone have recorded average daily volumes surpassing 50,000 contracts in peak periods. With that explosive growth has come a surge of complex questions about futures trading taxes. Whether you use a US-regulated broker to trade CME Bitcoin futures or an offshore crypto exchange offering perpetual futures with up to 100x leverage, understanding tax treatment is essential to manage taxable income, calculate gains accurately, minimize slippage on your after-tax returns, and reduce your overall tax liability.

This comprehensive guide explains how futures contracts are taxed in the United States, how mark to market accounting works for section 1256 contracts, who qualifies for the favorable 60/40 rule, how to report gains and futures trading losses, and what special tax considerations apply to crypto derivatives in 2025 and 2026. Regulatory frameworks are evolving rapidly: the IRS issued updated digital asset reporting guidance in 2024, and brokers are now required under rules finalized in 2024 to report cost basis for digital assets beginning with the 2025 tax year under Form 1099-DA. While this resource is educational, it is not specific individualized tax or investment planning advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified tax advisor or professional tax advisor before you file your tax return or adjust your trading strategy.

Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you open an account through these links, at no additional cost to you.

What Are Futures Contracts in Crypto and Why Does the Contract Type Matter for Taxes?

A futures contract is a standardized agreement to buy or sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price on a future date. On bitcoin exchanges and broader crypto exchanges, these financial instruments are typically cash-settled, though physically delivered contracts exist at certain regulated venues. The depth of the order book and prevailing market liquidity directly affect execution quality, including slippage costs when entering or exiting large positions. Popular contract types include:

• Cash-settled Bitcoin and Ether regulated futures contracts listed on CME Group and cleared through US futures commission merchants, subject to CFTC oversight and robust KYC/AML verification requirements. CME Bitcoin futures trade in contract sizes of 5 BTC, while Micro Bitcoin futures trade at 0.1 BTC per contract, lowering the barrier for retail participants.
• Perpetual futures (perpetual swaps) on offshore crypto exchanges that do not expire and use funding payments — typically paid every 8 hours at rates ranging from 0.01% to 0.10% per interval — to keep prices anchored near fair market value of the underlying spot asset
• Quarterly or dated crypto futures listed by various exchanges serving global markets, often with varying margin requirements between 1% and 20% initial margin and liquidation mechanics tied to index price oracles

Because crypto futures sit at the intersection of commodities, derivatives, and other asset classes, the tax rules you face can differ significantly depending on where and how you trade. That is why the tax code distinction between regulated futures contracts and unregulated contracts matters enormously for futures trading profits and the capital gains tax you ultimately pay. A detail that most generic reviews overlook: funding rate payments received on perpetual futures positions are treated as ordinary income in the tax year received, not as capital gains, which means a trader holding a large long Bitcoin perpetual position during a period of elevated positive funding rates could accumulate significant ordinary income tax liability even if the underlying position is flat or at a loss. Exchanges with strong regulatory compliance records, transparent order books, and verifiable cold storage of client collateral tend to attract institutional liquidity providers, which in turn tightens bid-ask spreads and reduces trading costs for all participants.

How Does the Regulatory and Compliance Landscape Shape Your Crypto Futures Tax Obligations?

The regulatory environment surrounding crypto futures trading has become substantially more complex between 2023 and 2026, and compliance failures carry increasingly serious consequences for both exchanges and individual traders.

In the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) holds primary jurisdiction over Bitcoin and Ether futures, having classified both as commodities. The CFTC’s Division of Enforcement has brought more than 50 enforcement actions related to digital asset fraud and unregistered futures activity since 2021, with civil monetary penalties in several cases exceeding $100 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) maintains overlapping jurisdiction over certain crypto derivatives that may be classified as securities, and ongoing litigation against multiple exchanges has created a compliance gray area that US traders must navigate carefully heading into 2026.

Internationally, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA), which entered full application in December 2024, establishes a unified licensing framework for crypto-asset service providers operating across all 27 EU member states. MiCA requires exchanges offering crypto derivatives to obtain a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) license, maintain minimum capital reserves of at least €150,000 for smaller providers and up to €750,000 for larger firms, and implement detailed transaction reporting obligations. In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned the sale of crypto derivatives to retail consumers in January 2021, a prohibition that remained in force as of early 2026, meaning UK retail traders accessing offshore perpetual futures platforms may be doing so outside the FCA’s regulatory perimeter.

For US-based traders, it is critical to use only CFTC-registered derivatives clearing organizations and futures commission merchants (FCMs) when trading regulated futures contracts, as only contracts cleared through such entities qualify as section 1256 regulated futures contracts under the Internal Revenue Code. Traders using offshore platforms should consult a tax professional about whether their trading activity triggers US reporting obligations under FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if offshore account balances exceed $10,000 at any point during the calendar year, or Form 8938 under FATCA if aggregate foreign financial account values exceed $50,000 at year-end for single filers.

Which Exchanges for Crypto Futures Trading Offer the Best Tax Reporting Tools in 2025 and 2026?

Choosing the right exchange affects not only your trading costs and available leverage but also the tax reporting tools and documentation available to you at year-end. The following table compares leading platforms based on their futures trading fees, minimum deposit requirements, and overall platform ratings as of early 2026. A point that most reviews fail to highlight: exchanges differ significantly in the granularity of their downloadable trade history exports. Interactive Brokers and Coinbase Advanced both generate IRS-compatible CSV exports with per-trade cost basis and proceeds pre-populated, which can save a high-frequency futures trader several hours of reconciliation work per tax year. By contrast, several offshore exchanges provide only aggregate monthly P&L summaries, requiring traders to use third-party tools such as Koinly, CoinTracker, or TaxBit to reconstruct per-trade records — adding software subscription costs of $99 to $499 annually depending on trade volume.

US traders can explore compliant regulated options on our dedicated page for the best crypto exchanges usa.

When comparing regulated US platforms directly, Interactive Brokers edges out Coinbase Advanced for high-volume futures traders primarily because of its fully automated Form 1099-B issuance with mark-to-market year-end values already calculated for section 1256 contracts — eliminating the manual calculation step that trips up many self-filing traders. Coinbase Advanced, on the other hand, offers a more accessible onboarding experience with a $1 minimum deposit and lower account complexity, making it a better fit for traders transitioning from spot to futures for the first time. Offshore platforms like Binance and Bybit offer the lowest taker fees in the industry at 0.04% and 0.055% respectively, but their tax reporting infrastructure requires significantly more manual effort to reconcile for US tax purposes.

US-based traders looking for regulated venues should explore options on our dedicated page covering the best crypto exchanges usa for compliant futures access with proper 1099-DA reporting beginning for the 2025 tax year.

What Are the Core US Tax Rules That Apply to Futures Trading Profits and Losses?

In the United States, the Internal Revenue Code sets out special tax treatment for certain futures and options under section 1256. Understanding which contracts qualify, how mark to market works, and how capital gains are categorized is the foundation for filing taxes correctly. The IRS has increasingly focused audit attention on digital asset reporting since 2022, and that scrutiny has intensified heading into 2025 and 2026 as on-chain transaction data becomes more accessible to regulators. New Form 1099-DA reporting requirements that took effect for the 2025 tax year have made accurate self-reporting more critical than ever for crypto futures traders. The IRS estimates that unreported crypto gains resulted in over $50 billion in lost tax revenue between 2017 and 2022, which directly contributed to the legislative push for expanded broker reporting obligations under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

Section 1256 Contracts and the 60/40 Rule

Section 1256 contracts include certain regulated futures contracts, non-equity options such as index options, and foreign currency contracts as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. The defining tax advantage of section 1256 contracts is the 60/40 rule: regardless of how long you hold a position, 60% of net gains are automatically treated as long-term capital gains and 40% as short-term capital gains. For a trader in the 37% ordinary income bracket who also faces the 3.8% net investment income tax, the blended effective rate on section 1256 gains works out to approximately 26.8% — compared to 40.8% if all gains were treated as short-term. That differential can represent tens of thousands of dollars annually for active traders generating six-figure futures profits.

CME Bitcoin and Micro Bitcoin futures, CME Ether futures, and other CFTC-regulated crypto commodity futures contracts cleared through registered DCOs qualify as section 1256 contracts. Perpetual futures on offshore exchanges do not qualify because they are not traded on a domestic board of trade designated by the CFTC and are not cleared through a registered DCO.

Contabilità Mark to Market a fine anno

Section 1256 also imposes mark to market accounting. This means that all open regulated futures positions are deemed sold at their fair market value on the last business day of the tax year, December 31. Any resulting gain or loss is recognized in that tax year even if you have not closed the position. For a trader holding an open CME Bitcoin futures position on December 31, 2025, the unrealized gain or loss as of that date becomes a realized taxable event for 2025, subject to the 60/40 split. This creates a unique cash flow planning challenge: a trader could owe tax on paper gains from open positions before those positions are actually closed, requiring cash reserves to cover the liability without liquidating the trade.

Carryback and Carryforward of Section 1256 Losses

One of the lesser-known benefits of section 1256 contracts is the ability to carry back net losses up to three tax years, applying them against section 1256 gains from those prior years and potentially generating a tax refund. This carryback election, available under IRC section 1212(c), is not available for ordinary capital losses, which can only be carried forward. A trader who suffered a large loss in a volatile year for Bitcoin futures could amend prior-year returns to recover taxes paid on futures gains — a meaningful liquidity benefit that many traders and even some tax preparers overlook.

How Are Perpetual Futures and Offshore Crypto Derivatives Taxed Differently?

Perpetual futures contracts traded on offshore crypto exchanges — including platforms like Binance Futures, Bybit, and OKX — do not qualify as section 1256 contracts because they are not cleared through CFTC-registered entities. This has significant tax consequences that are often misunderstood even by experienced traders.

Gains and losses on perpetual futures are treated as capital gains and losses under general capital asset rules. Short-term capital gains, applicable to positions held for one year or less, are taxed at ordinary income rates ranging from 10% to 37% for 2025 and 2026. Long-term capital gains rates of 0%, 15%, or 20% apply only to positions held for more than one year — which is uncommon for actively managed perpetual futures positions. There is no automatic 60/40 blended rate treatment, no year-end mark to market requirement, and no three-year loss carryback right. The mark to market absence means that unrealized losses on offshore perpetual positions cannot be recognized at year-end, preventing traders from harvesting paper losses to offset gains realized elsewhere in the same tax year without actually closing positions.

Funding rate payments received on perpetual futures are an additional ordinary income item that requires separate tracking. If you hold a long Bitcoin perpetual position during a period when the funding rate is 0.05% every 8 hours — a rate that prevailed during several high-volatility periods in 2024 — the annualized funding cost or income approaches 54.75% of notional value, creating substantial income entries that must be reported regardless of whether the underlying position is profitable.

What Unique Tax Scenarios Do Active Crypto Futures Traders Face That Generic Guides Miss?

Beyond the standard section 1256 framework, active crypto futures traders encounter a set of tax scenarios that most guides gloss over or ignore entirely. Understanding these edge cases can meaningfully reduce tax liability and avoid costly filing errors.

The first scenario involves liquidation events. When a leveraged futures position is forcibly liquidated due to margin exhaustion, the loss is a realized capital loss in the tax year of liquidation — not a deferred item. Traders who experience cascading liquidations during high-volatility events such as the sharp Bitcoin price movements of August 2024 may have accumulated substantial realized losses that can offset gains from other positions or, for section 1256 contracts, be carried back to prior years. Properly documenting each liquidation event with timestamp, contract, notional value, and realized loss amount is essential for substantiation in the event of an IRS inquiry.

The second scenario involves collateral appreciation. Many offshore exchanges allow traders to post Bitcoin or Ether as margin collateral rather than cash. If you deposit appreciated Bitcoin as collateral and the exchange later uses that Bitcoin to cover a margin call, the IRS may treat that disposition as a taxable sale of the Bitcoin at its fair market value at the time of the margin call, triggering a separate capital gain separate from the futures contract itself. This double taxation risk — gains on the collateral asset plus losses on the futures contract — is a scenario that even experienced traders frequently miss until they receive a notice from the IRS.

The third scenario involves wash sale rules. As of early 2026, the wash sale rule under IRC section 1091 does not apply to cryptocurrency spot positions, but proposed legislative changes have been circulating since 2021 that would extend wash sale treatment to digital assets. If Congress enacts such legislation, traders who close losing crypto futures positions and reopen substantially identical positions within 30 days could find those losses disallowed — a rule that would fundamentally change common tax loss harvesting strategies used in crypto futures trading.

How Should Traders Approach Record-Keeping and Tax Software for Crypto Futures?

Accurate record-keeping is the foundation of defensible futures tax reporting. The IRS requires traders to substantiate each transaction with records showing the date opened, date closed or mark-to-market date, contract description, number of contracts, entry price, exit or year-end price, and resulting gain or loss. For traders executing hundreds or thousands of futures trades per year across multiple exchanges, manual record-keeping is impractical and error-prone.

Dedicated crypto tax software platforms have matured significantly since 2022. TaxBit, which serves both retail and institutional users, offers automated Form 6781 preparation for section 1256 contracts and integrates directly with CME Group brokerage data feeds. Koinly and CoinTracker both support perpetual futures tracking through exchange API connections, with plans ranging from $99 annually for fewer than 1,000 transactions to $499 or more for high-volume traders. CoinLedger has introduced a specific futures module that handles funding rate income classification separately from capital gains, addressing one of the most common errors in DIY crypto tax filings.

For traders using Interactive Brokers to access CME Bitcoin futures, the platform’s built-in tax optimizer generates a pre-populated Form 6781 that distinguishes section 1256 gains and losses with the 60/40 split already applied, which can be imported directly into TurboTax or H&R Block software. This end-to-end automation is a meaningful differentiator for US traders who want to minimize professional tax preparation costs while maintaining accuracy.

What Are the Key Reporting Forms and Deadlines for Futures Traders Filing US Taxes?

Crypto and traditional futures traders in the United States must navigate several distinct IRS forms depending on the types of contracts traded and the nature of any foreign account holdings.

Form 6781, Gains and Losses From Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles, is the primary form for reporting regulated futures contract activity. Line 1 of Form 6781 captures gains and losses from section 1256 contracts subject to mark to market, and the 60/40 split is calculated directly on the form before the results flow to Schedule D. Traders making the net section 1256 loss carryback election must also complete Part II of Form 6781 and file amended returns for each carryback year using Form 1040-X.

For perpetual futures and other non-section 1256 derivatives, gains and losses are reported on Form 8949 and summarized on Schedule D of Form 1040. Each individual trade must be listed separately on Form 8949 unless the trader qualifies to use the aggregate reporting method permitted for brokers that issue compliant 1099-B or 1099-DA statements.

Beginning with the 2025 tax year, Form 1099-DA is now the official IRS form for broker reporting of digital asset transactions, including crypto futures where the broker or exchange qualifies as a reporting broker under the final regulations. Traders should retain copies of all 1099-DA forms received and reconcile them against personal records, as discrepancies between reported amounts and self-reported figures on Form 8949 are a common audit trigger.

FBAR filings on FinCEN Form 114 are due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15, and must be filed electronically through the BSA E-Filing System. Form 8938 under FATCA is filed as part of the annual Form 1040 and is due with the regular tax return, including extensions. Penalties for failure to file FBAR can reach $10,000 per non-willful violation and $100,000 or 50% of account value per willful violation, underscoring the importance of offshore account disclosure for traders using non-US exchanges.

How Do Crypto Futures Taxes Compare to Spot Trading and Other Asset Classes?

Understanding how futures tax treatment stacks up against spot crypto trading and traditional equities helps traders make informed decisions about which instruments to use based on their overall tax situation.

Spot cryptocurrency held for more than one year qualifies for long-term capital gains rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%, with no wash sale rule exposure as of 2026 and no mark to market requirement. This makes spot holding tax-efficient for long-term investors but inefficient for active traders who frequently close and reopen positions. Short-term spot crypto gains are taxed at ordinary income rates, placing active spot traders at the same marginal rates as perpetual futures traders without the section 1256 benefits available through regulated CME contracts.

Traditional equity futures such as S&P 500 futures or Nasdaq futures are also section 1256 contracts, giving them the same 60/40 treatment as CME Bitcoin futures. However, equity index options on broad-based indices also qualify for section 1256 treatment, while options on individual stocks do not — a distinction that affects traders who combine crypto futures with equity options strategies in a single portfolio. Forex futures and certain foreign currency contracts qualify for section 1256 treatment if they are exchange-traded, while over-the-counter forex transactions are governed by separate rules under section 988.

The net result is that CME-regulated Bitcoin and Ether futures offer the most favorable tax treatment available to US crypto traders: the 60/40 blended rate, mark-to-market loss recognition, and the three-year carryback right — advantages unavailable to spot holders, perpetual futures traders, or most other crypto derivative users. For traders generating over $100,000 annually in crypto trading profits, the tax differential between regulated futures and offshore perpetuals can easily exceed $10,000 to $30,000 per year at current tax rates, making exchange selection a meaningful tax planning decision, not just a cost or feature choice.

Frequently Asked Questions About Futures Trading Taxes

Do CME Bitcoin futures qualify for the 60/40 tax rule?

Yes. CME Bitcoin futures and CME Micro Bitcoin futures are CFTC-regulated commodity futures contracts cleared through a registered derivatives clearing organization, which means they qualify as section 1256 contracts under the Internal Revenue Code. All gains and losses are automatically subject to the 60/40 rule — 60% long-term capital gains treatment and 40% short-term — regardless of how long each position is held. The mark-to-market rule also applies, meaning open positions are deemed closed at fair market value on December 31 of each tax year.

Are perpetual futures on Binance or Bybit taxed the same way as CME futures?

No. Perpetual futures on offshore exchanges like Binance and Bybit do not qualify as section 1256 contracts because they are not traded on a CFTC-designated contract market or cleared through a registered DCO. Gains and losses are treated as regular capital gains and losses — short-term if the position is held one year or less, long-term if held more than one year. There is no 60/40 blended rate, no year-end mark to market, and no three-year loss carryback right. Additionally, funding rate payments received on perpetual positions are taxed as ordinary income in the year received.

What IRS form do I use to report futures trading gains and losses?

Section 1256 contract activity is reported on Form 6781, Gains and Losses From Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles. The 60/40 split is calculated on Form 6781, with results flowing to Schedule D. Non-section 1256 futures and derivatives activity is reported on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Beginning with the 2025 tax year, brokers are required to issue Form 1099-DA for digital asset transactions, which traders should reconcile against their own records before filing.

Can I carry back a net futures trading loss to prior tax years?

Yes, but only for net losses from section 1256 contracts. Under IRC section 1212(c), a net section 1256 loss can be carried back up to three years and applied against net section 1256 gains from those prior years, potentially generating a refund. This carryback election is made on Form 6781, Part II, and requires filing amended returns (Form 1040-X) for each carryback year. Losses from non-section 1256 contracts such as offshore perpetual futures cannot be carried back and can only be carried forward as capital loss carryforwards.

Do I need to report offshore futures trading accounts to the IRS?

Yes if your aggregate balances meet reporting thresholds. If the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts — including offshore crypto exchange accounts — exceeded $10,000 at any point during the calendar year, you must file FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) by April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15. If aggregate foreign financial assets exceed $50,000 at year-end for single filers (or $100,000 for married filing jointly), Form 8938 must also be filed with your annual tax return. Failure to file these forms can result in penalties ranging from $10,000 per non-willful violation to 50% of account value per willful violation.

Are funding rate payments on perpetual futures taxable income?

Yes. Funding rate payments received on perpetual futures positions are treated as ordinary income in the tax year they are received, separate from any capital gains or losses on the position itself. This means a trader who holds a long perpetual position during a period of elevated positive funding rates accumulates taxable ordinary income even if the underlying futures position is at a loss. Accurate tracking of all funding rate receipts through exchange CSV exports or API integrations with tax software is essential for correct reporting.

What happens to my crypto collateral from a tax perspective if it is used to cover a margin call?

If you post appreciated Bitcoin or Ether as margin collateral on an offshore exchange and the exchange subsequently uses that collateral to cover a margin call, the IRS may treat that disposition as a taxable sale of the cryptocurrency at its fair market value at the time of the margin call. This would trigger a capital gain on the collateral asset entirely separate from the gain or loss on the futures position itself. To avoid this double-exposure risk, many US tax advisors recommend using only USD or stablecoin collateral when trading on offshore platforms where collateral liquidation events are possible.

How do I find the best crypto exchanges for futures trading with proper tax reporting?

The best crypto exchanges for futures trading with strong tax reporting capabilities in 2025 and 2026 include Interactive Brokers for CFTC-regulated CME futures (with automated Form 1099-B and Form 6781 preparation), Coinbase Advanced for US retail futures with 1099-DA reporting, and Kraken Futures for international access with CSV export and third-party tax software integration. For a broader comparison of compliant platforms, visit our main page covering the i migliori scambi di criptovalute or our US-focused guide at best crypto exchanges usa.

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