Kalshi and Robinhood, side by side on forms, records and fees.

The difference starts with who holds the account. On Kalshi it is the exchange. On Robinhood it is the broker, Robinhood Derivatives, and each firm sets its own tax-reporting policy for the accounts it holds. Kalshi’s own fee schedule allows for the broker route: users reaching Kalshi through a third-party futures commission merchant “may be charged fees by their Futures Commission Merchant that vary from the above fee schedule”.

Robinhood’s tax article is short: “Event contract trades aren’t reported to the IRS by Robinhood”, “Robinhood doesn’t provide a 1099 for event contract trades”, and “Taxes related to event contracts are your sole responsibility”.

The consolidated 1099 that Robinhood Markets sends can carry a Section 1256 section on its 1099-B. Robinhood describes that section as reporting regulated futures contracts and non-equity options. Event contract trades are not on it: Robinhood provides no 1099 for them.

Kalshi sends more forms and still none with the trading result. Its tax documentation article lists a 1099-INT for interest, a 1099-MISC for credits and rewards, a 1099-B for crypto transfers and a 1099-DA from ZeroHash, and its Documents page says “Kalshi does not report profits/losses to the IRS”. Kalshi tax forms gives each form’s threshold.

On either app, then, the year’s trading result comes from your own records, whether or not a form reports it: gross income means “all income from whatever source derived” (IRC §61). There is no IRS guidance on how event contracts are taxed; Kalshi taxes works one year through the three routes people most often file under.

Tax forms

No 1099 for event contract trades

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Reported to the IRS

No: “Event contract trades aren’t reported to the IRS by Robinhood”

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Consolidated 1099

One PDF from Robinhood Markets, Inc., which can include a 1099-B Section 1256 section for regulated futures; due February 17, 2026 for tax year 2025

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What the statement is not

“The annual statement is not a substitute tax reporting form”

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Robinhood sends an event contracts annual statement “typically in late January or early February”, under Account, Reports and statements, Annual reports. It lists each transaction, closing dates, costs, proceeds, fees and commissions, and net profit and loss. Robinhood calls it “the authoritative record of all costs, proceeds, and net P&L for the year”, and in the same article says it “is not a substitute tax reporting form”.

Before the statement, the app has two views. Realized profit & loss, filtered to Prediction markets, shows results by period, and Robinhood notes “this view doesn’t include fees” and that its totals may not match the statement “due to the timing of settlements”. Account, History, filtered to Event contracts, shows every trade, payout and fee.

Kalshi’s records are downloads you can pull at any point in the year. The yearly profit and loss file is first in, first out, includes fees and any rebates, and the 2026 file downloaded on October 8, 2026 already held closes from that morning. The activity CSV covers orders, trades, settlements, deposits, withdrawals and credits for any date range, and the API reports the fee on every fill. Kalshi trade history covers the columns.

Someone trading on both has two records that may describe the same exchange: Kalshi contracts bought through Robinhood sit in Robinhood’s history and statement, not in a Kalshi account’s downloads.

Annual statement

Typically late January or early February: each trade, closing dates, costs, proceeds, fees and commissions, net P&L

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Where the statement is

Account, then Reports and statements, then Annual reports

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What the statement is

“The authoritative record of all costs, proceeds, and net P&L for the year”

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In-app realized P&L

Investing, Realized profit & loss, Prediction markets; “this view doesn’t include fees”

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Trade history

Account, History, filtered to Event contracts: every trade, payout and fee, in the app

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Since June 1, 2026, Robinhood’s commission is k x p x (1 - p) x c, with k at 10%, or 5% with Robinhood Gold at $5 a month, rounded up to the cent “with a maximum commission rate of $0.01 per contract”. On top of it sits an exchange fee: the overview says it “can be up to $0.01 per contract”, and the Robinhood Derivatives fee schedule sets it for Kalshi contracts at “$.01 per contract, per side”. Both apply to opening and closing trades. Robinhood’s own worked example, 100 contracts at 90¢ without Gold, comes to a$0.90 commission plus a $1.00 exchange fee, a total cost of $91.90.

Trading on Kalshi directly, a taker pays round up(M x 0.07 x C x P x (1-P)), where C is the contract count, P the price in dollars and M a multiplier that is 1 for takers in most markets; a resting order there pays nothing. Kalshi fees covers the schedule and its exceptions.

Robinhood’s documents do not agree on the commission. The overview and its table apply the formula and the cap. The tax article still says “Robinhood charges $0.01 per contract and exchanges typically charge ~$0.01 per contract”, and the fee schedule gives the formula without the cap. The table above follows the overview, whose own table it matches.

Commission

k x p x (1 - p) x c, k = 10% (5% with Gold), rounded up to $0.01, at most $0.01 a contract

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Robinhood Gold

$5 a month

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Exchange fee

Varies by exchange, up to $0.01 a contract, on opening and closing trades

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Exchange fee on Kalshi contracts

$0.01 per contract, per side

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Fee wording in the tax article

“Robinhood charges $0.01 per contract and exchanges typically charge ~$0.01 per contract”

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Commission cap in the fee schedule

Not stated; the overview article and its table carry the $0.01 cap

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Does Robinhood use Kalshi?

Yes, and three other exchanges. Robinhood’s disclosure says its event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC “through either KalshiEX LLC, ForecastEX, LLC or Rothera Exchange and Clearing LLC, or North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc.” Its event contract help articles do not say how to tell which of the four a given trade went to.

Does Robinhood send a 1099 for prediction markets?

No. Robinhood’s tax article says “Robinhood doesn’t provide a 1099 for event contract trades” and that those trades “aren’t reported to the IRS by Robinhood”. It sends an annual statement after year end, typically in late January or early February, and says the statement “is not a substitute tax reporting form”.

What 1099s does Kalshi send?

Up to four, each only once an IRS threshold is crossed: a 1099-INT for interest, a 1099-MISC for credits and rewards, a 1099-B for crypto transfers and a 1099-DA from ZeroHash. Profit or loss on event contracts is on none of them, so on Kalshi too the trading figure comes from your own records.

How do Robinhood’s prediction market fees compare with Kalshi’s?

They are built differently. Kalshi charges a taker 0.07 x C x P x (1-P), rounded up: $1.75 on 100 contracts at 50¢ and $0.63 at 10¢. Robinhood charges a commission of 10% x p x (1 - p) per contract, capped at $0.01, plus an exchange fee its fee schedule sets at $0.01 per contract on Kalshi contracts: $2.00 on 100 at 50¢ and $1.90 at 10¢, or $1.45 at 10¢ with Gold. Robinhood’s charges apply to opening and closing trades.

Can I trade Kalshi markets on Robinhood in Maryland?

Robinhood’s own articles word it two ways on October 9, 2026: its restrictions article says Maryland residents can’t trade event contracts, and its overview says Maryland residents can’t trade sports event contracts. Robinhood says to check the app for the current list. Where Kalshi itself is restricted follows court and regulator orders, covered state by state on Is Kalshi legal in my state?