When reviewing transactions, you may find that cost basis on a specific disposal looks wrong. This article explains why this might happen and what to do.
Reasons your cost basis may look incorrect
Cost basis calculations, while complicated for a human, are a pretty straightforward process for a computer. Because of that, the three main reasons for the cost basis calculated by Koinly to be wrong are:
🟩 Cost basis calculation is correct but based on wrong data
(true for most cases)Data needs to be fixed/adjusted (missing trades, missing tags, etc.)
Fixing the underlying data changes the calculations
🟨 Cost basis calculation is correct, only the expectations were wrong
(true for some cases)Cost basis is derived according to the cost basis method and rules assigned
Those rules may be counter-intuitive or result in an unexpected outcome
There is nothing to fix in this scenario - the cost basis is correct
🟧 Cost basis calculation is incorrect
(extremely rare)There's an issue in Koinly's cost basis calculation engine that needs to be reported to Koinly Support via our in-app chat
It's important to first know how cost basis should be calculated to be able to assess if the calculation provided by Koinly is correct. If you want to check/confirm Koinly's calculations Koinly, see: