Does Kalshi report your trades to the IRS?
It is one of the most-searched questions among Kalshi traders, and the honest answer has two parts: Kalshi reports less than a stock broker does, but that does not make your gains invisible or untaxed.
This guide covers what Kalshi actually reports, which forms you might get, and what the IRS can see regardless. It is educational, not tax advice.
- Kalshi generally issues information returns for certain non-trading income.
- Kalshi does not typically issue a comprehensive broker-style 1099-B summarizing your event-contract gains and losses the way a stock brokerage would.
- Your obligation to report income does not depend on receiving a form.
- Even without a 1099-B, the IRS receives copies of any 1099-INT or 1099-MISC issued to you, and regulated exchanges keep records.
- ContractTax reconstructs exactly what Kalshi does not hand you: a clean net of your trading gains, losses, and fees, computed under each tax treatment, so you can report accurately even without a 1099-B.
What Kalshi does report
Kalshi generally issues information returns for certain non-trading income. You may receive a 1099-INT for interest paid on your cash balance, or a 1099-MISC for referral credits, bonuses, and rewards once they cross the reporting threshold. When a form is issued to you, a copy goes to the IRS.
These cover ancillary income, not your core trading results, which is where the gap is.
What it generally does not report
Kalshi does not typically issue a comprehensive broker-style 1099-B summarizing your event-contract gains and losses the way a stock brokerage would. The profit and loss from your actual trading is generally left for you to compute and report.
That is the source of the confusion: with no 1099-B arriving, some traders assume there is nothing to report. There is.
Why no form does not mean no tax
Your obligation to report income does not depend on receiving a form. The IRS requires you to report taxable income whether or not a third party documented it, so the absence of a 1099-B does not remove the duty to report your trading gains.
Reconstructing your gains, losses, and fees from your trade history is therefore on you, which is exactly the work that trips people up at filing time.
What the IRS can see
Even without a 1099-B, the IRS receives copies of any 1099-INT or 1099-MISC issued to you, and regulated exchanges keep records. Assuming trading income is untraceable is a risky bet, and an unnecessary one given the income is taxable regardless.
The right framing is not whether you can be caught, but that the income is owed, so the practical task is simply to report it correctly.
Where ContractTax fits
ContractTax reconstructs exactly what Kalshi does not hand you: a clean net of your trading gains, losses, and fees, computed under each tax treatment, so you can report accurately even without a 1099-B.
It is educational software, not tax advice, but it removes the hardest part of doing this right.