Send, Receive, and Transfer in Crypto Tax Calculator are the categories that should only apply to the transactions when both source and destination belong to you and are imported.

If both the source and destination within the transaction belong to you, then you should only ever use the Send, Receive, and Transfer categories.

Send	An outgoing transaction goes from your wallet/exchange/account to another, where you maintain ownership.
Receive	An incoming transaction comes from your wallet/exchange/account to another, where you maintain ownership.
Transfer	A send and a receive transaction grouped as a transfer, and you maintain ownership on both sides.

What happens if I miscategorize the transactions?

When the Send/Receive/Transfer transactions happen, the cost basis is transferred from the initial acquisition cost (that is, when the token in question was first acquired from an external source, often a ‘buy’ transaction). Hence, incorrectly categorized Send or Receive will cause a Missing Purchase History issue, which increases your capital gains as the cost basis is not captured (treated as $0 cost buy).

The below transaction is an example. As the “Wallet 1” wallet is not imported, there is no cost basis for this 0.5 BTC.

To resolve this issue:

If the “Wallet 1” wallet belongs to you, you need to add the wallet to the Integrations page.
If the “Wallet 1” wallet does not belong to you, you can not use the “Receive” category, and it needs to be categorized accordingly.

How to categorize my transactions correctly?

Step 1: Ensure to import your wallet and only your wallet

You can import your wallet/exchange from the Integrations page:

Or click the address, and it will lead you to the Integrations page:

Note: The “Identify address” feature makes it easier for you to recognize the addresses when categorizing the transactions. It does NOT mean you have imported it.

For more details on how to import your data, check our guides:

Step 2: Fix a Send/Receive suggestion

When you see one side (a Send or a Receive) of the transaction with a yellow dot, you should find the other side of the transaction and categorize them correctly. You can use our 'Date' filter on the top-left corner to the date to find it.

Once you find the other side of the transaction, click three dots on the right-hand side and categorize it correctly.

Once the report refreshes successfully, they should group as a Transfer.

What is Send and Receive don’t group as Transfer?

A transfer transaction correctly transfers the balance and cost basis from one wallet to the other. If the Send and Receive transactions do not group, you can check the below requirements:

Timestamp	When the Send is before the Receive, CTC provides a 12-hour window for the transfer. When the Receive is before the Send, CTC only allows a 1-hour window to avoid incorrect matching.
Amount	The amount received must be similar to the amount sent (5% tolerance accepted).
Currency	They need to be in the same currency.
Source and Destination	The Send and Receive transactions need to have the same source and destination. If the source and the destination are on different blockchains, you need to use the Bridge category.

Step 3: Create a Transfer

Occasionally, the transactions would not group even when all the requirements were checked. You can use the “ + Add Transaction” button on the Transactions page to add a Transfer transaction.

Select “Transfer” and follow the prompt to add the transaction.

After adding this new Transfer transaction, ensure you “ignore” the unmatched Send and Receive.

Bridging Transactions

FAQ - How to Categorize Transactions by Checking Blockchain Explorers

How to Manually Add a Transaction

Tax Toggle - Automatically generate the counterparts of unmatched transfers

Cost Basis Tracking: Universal vs By Wallet and Exchange