How to file your Kalshi taxes

1.Export your full trade history from Kalshi

Download your fills and settlements for the entire tax year. You want every trade, not a partial window, because you will report your net across all of them.

2.Convert the CSV from cents to dollars

Kalshi's export stores prices, amounts, and fees in cents. Divide the monetary columns by 100 before anything else, or every figure on your return is off by 100x.

3.Reconstruct your cost basis and fold in fees

Match buys to sells with FIFO, and include acquisition and exit fees, to get an accurate per-trade gain and an annual net. Kalshi will not hand you a clean basis report.

4.Compute your net under each treatment

See your result under ordinary income, Section 1256's 60/40 split, and gambling treatment. The gap between them can be thousands of dollars on the same trades.

5.Choose a treatment with a professional

The classification of event contracts is unsettled, so pick a defensible position with a CPA who knows your full situation. Ordinary is simplest; 1256 is more favorable if it applies.

6.File the right forms

Section 1256 flows through Form 6781 to Schedule D; capital-style reporting uses Form 8949 and Schedule D; ordinary lands on Schedule 1. An aggressive stance may warrant a Form 8275 disclosure.