Introducing Verify Before You File™

Verify Before You File™ is being developed to help you conduct a structured review of a crypto tax report before relying on it for tax filing.

You do not need to become a crypto tax expert or learn how to rebuild an entire crypto account reconciliation from the beginning.

Instead, Verify Before You File™ will help you:

  • Recognize common warning signs

  • Identify areas that may require further investigation

  • Understand which issues could affect the report

  • Ask better questions about the underlying data

  • Determine whether corrections may be needed

  • Recognize when professional assistance may be appropriate

The goal is not to promise that every report is perfect. It is to help you avoid relying on a report simply because the software was able to generate one.

Verify Before You File framework showing crypto activity, tax software, tax report, Verification Gap, and filing readiness.

A Practical Three-Step Review

Verify Before You File™ uses a practical framework to help you review the report, evaluate what you find, and decide what should happen next.

1. Review

Look for warning signs that may indicate missing data, incorrect cost basis, unmatched transfers, classification errors, unsupported adjustments, or other potential problems.

2. Evaluate

Consider whether the issues you identified are minor, material, or likely to affect the reliability of the report.

3. Decide

Based on what you find, determine the appropriate next step.

Outcome

🟢 Ready to File

You did not identify warning signs that require additional action, and the report appears reasonable to use for tax filing.

🟡 Fix Before Filing

You identified one or more issues that should be investigated or corrected before relying on the report.

🔴 Professional Help Recommended

The report contains significant issues, complex activity, or unresolved questions that may require assistance from an experienced crypto tax professional.

Note:

Verify Before You File™ is designed to support a more informed decision. It does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of a crypto tax report.

Who Is Verify Before You File™ For?

Crypto Investors

You prepared your own crypto tax report using software, or received a report prepared by a service provider.

Now you need to decide whether the results are reasonable before importing them into tax software, sending them to your tax preparer, or using them to file your return.

Verify Before You File™ will help you recognize potential warning signs, ask better questions, and determine whether your report may need more work.

Tax Professionals

Your client gave you a report generated by crypto tax software, but you were not involved in preparing the underlying reconciliation.

You need a practical way to evaluate whether the report appears reasonable or whether additional information, corrections, or professional reconciliation may be needed.

Verify Before You File™ will help you conduct a more structured review before relying on the report to prepare a client’s tax return.

Closing the Verification Gap™

Crypto tax software can organize transactions and calculate gains, losses, and income.

AI can explain tax concepts, summarize guidance, and help investigate individual issues.

These tools can be extremely useful. But they do not independently confirm that every account was included, every transaction was handled correctly, or every important judgment was reasonable.

That leaves a gap between generating a crypto tax report and confidently relying on it for tax filing.

We call this the Verification Gap™.

Verify Before You File™ is designed to help close that gap by giving you a practical process for reviewing the report, evaluating potential issues, and deciding what to do next.

Why I Created Verify Before You File™

Over the years, I have reviewed many crypto tax reports that appeared complete but contained problems beneath the surface.

Sometimes an entire wallet was missing. Sometimes transfers between a taxpayer’s own accounts were treated as taxable sales. In other cases, missing cost basis, incorrect classifications, or unsupported manual adjustments changed the final results.

Many of these reports were generated by reputable crypto tax software. The software was not necessarily malfunctioning. It was calculating based on incomplete data, incorrect assumptions, or decisions it could not independently evaluate.

That is why I believe generating a crypto tax report should not be the final step before filing.

Someone still needs to step back, review the report as a whole, and ask whether the results make sense.

I created Verify Before You File™ to make that review process more practical and accessible for crypto investors and the tax professionals who serve them.

Sharon Yip, CPA

Frequently Asked Questions

Looking Ahead: The CTI Verification Journey™

Verify Before You File™ is the first step in a broader educational journey designed to help crypto investors and tax professionals produce more reliable crypto tax reports.

Each phase addresses a different question that may arise before a crypto tax report is used for filing.

Phase 1: Verify Before You File™

Can I reasonably rely on this crypto tax report?

Learn how to review a crypto tax report, recognize common warning signs, evaluate the potential impact of the issues you find, and determine the appropriate next step.

Your review will lead to one of three possible outcomes:

  • Ready to File

  • Fix Before Filing

  • Professional Help Recommended

Status: Coming Soon

Phase 2: Fix Before You File™

How do I address the problems identified during my review?

Once you identify potential problems, the next step is understanding what may need to be corrected before relying on the report.

Fix Before You File™ will introduce practical approaches for addressing common crypto tax reporting issues, including:

  • Missing or duplicate transactions

  • Unmatched transfers

  • Missing or incorrect cost basis

  • Unsupported blockchains

  • Common transaction classification errors

  • Incomplete documentation

Some issues may be corrected by the person preparing the report. Others may require additional records, technical judgment, or assistance from an experienced crypto tax professional.

Status: In Development

Phase 3: Crypto Account Reconciliation Blueprint™

How do professionals produce reliable crypto tax reports from the beginning?

The Crypto Account Reconciliation Blueprint™ will go beyond reviewing or correcting an existing report. It will teach the end-to-end professional methodology used to transform raw exchange and blockchain data into a reliable and well-documented crypto tax report.

Topics will include:

  • Data collection and account verification

  • Transaction completeness

  • Wallet and exchange reconciliation

  • Transaction classification

  • Cost basis analysis

  • DeFi and NFT activity

  • Quality-control procedures

  • Documentation and audit readiness

This advanced program will be designed for those who want to develop a deeper understanding of professional crypto account reconciliation from start to finish.

Status: Planned

One Journey. Three Different Questions.

Verify Before You File™ helps you determine whether a report appears reasonable to rely on.

Fix Before You File™ helps you understand how common problems may be addressed.

Crypto Account Reconciliation Blueprint™ teaches the professional methodology behind producing a reliable report from the beginning.

Each phase builds on the one before it, moving from identifying potential problems, to addressing them, to understanding the complete reconciliation process.