Specific lot identification

Specific lot identification lets you choose exactly which purchase lots fund a disposal when your books support it. Instead of a mechanical FIFO or HIFO queue, you target lots — for example, selling the highest-basis Coinbase lot while keeping older low-basis lots untouched.

Requirements in practice

• Contemporaneous identification — you must be able to show which lots you intended to sell
• Consistent records across exchanges, including transfer history
• Agreement with your CPA on how hybrid workflows combine specific lots with default methods

Hybrid workflows

Some filers use a default method (FIFO) for routine trades and specific identification for planned year-end sales or tax-loss harvesting transactions. CryptoTax8949 supports hybrid policies so you do not maintain parallel spreadsheets.