How to report Kalshi on your taxes
Kalshi hands you very little at tax time, so the reporting is on you. The good news is that once your numbers are assembled, the filing mechanics are straightforward. The hard part is the choice of treatment, which determines which forms you use.
This is a practical walk-through of the steps, not tax advice. Because the classification of event contracts is unsettled, decide your treatment with a professional before you file.
- Export your full Kalshi transaction history: every fill, every settlement, and the fees on each.
- Your result can be reported as ordinary income (the conservative default), under Section 1256 (the contested 60/40 split), or as gambling (generally the least favorable).
- Section 1256 is reported on Form 6781, which carries the 60/40 split into Schedule D.
- Most states tax this income too, and the rules vary, so check your state's treatment alongside the federal question.
- ContractTax assembles steps 1 and 2 for you: it ingests your trade history, computes your net result, and shows it under each treatment so you can see the difference before you choose.
Step 1: assemble your records
Export your full Kalshi transaction history: every fill, every settlement, and the fees on each. Your reportable result is total proceeds minus total cost basis minus fees, so you need the complete picture, not just a year-end balance.
If you traded across more than one year, pull each year separately. Reconstructing this later is painful, so save the raw exports somewhere safe now.
Step 2: choose a treatment
Your result can be reported as ordinary income (the conservative default), under Section 1256 (the contested 60/40 split), or as gambling (generally the least favorable). The right choice depends on your facts and your advisor's read of the law.
This single decision drives everything downstream, including which forms you file, so settle it first.
Step 3: file the matching forms
Section 1256 is reported on Form 6781, which carries the 60/40 split into Schedule D. An aggressive position is often paired with a Form 8275 disclosure.
Capital-gains-style reporting uses Form 8949 and Schedule D. Ordinary income generally lands on Schedule 1. If your activity rises to the level of a trading business, a different structure may apply, which is worth discussing with a professional.
Step 4: don't forget state and deadlines
Most states tax this income too, and the rules vary, so check your state's treatment alongside the federal question. The federal deadline for the 2025 tax year is April 15, 2026, with an extension available to October 15, 2026, though any tax owed is still due in April.
Where ContractTax fits
ContractTax assembles steps 1 and 2 for you: it ingests your trade history, computes your net result, and shows it under each treatment so you can see the difference before you choose. It produces the figures your preparer needs to complete the forms in step 3.