Missing acquisitions, the finding that protects you

Checked against app build 2026-08-26-01-41 on 2026-08-26.

The heaviest findings in the app, missing cost basis and its sibling the negative wallet balance, both point at the same underlying problem, the workspace shows you disposing of units it never saw you acquire.

Why is missing cost basis a 20-point finding?

Because units with no recorded acquisition carry no cost, so when they are sold the entire proceeds read as gain, and your tax is overstated.

This finding exists to protect you from paying tax on money you did not make, which is why the app refuses to work around it without telling you, and why it costs the same as a negative balance in the confidence score.

What causes a missing acquisition?

Four things, in order of likelihood.

An exchange or wallet you have not imported yet, the buy lives there. A partial export, one year instead of the whole history, pooling needs everything since your first purchase, see the UK rules. A transfer with the wrong wallets on it, making a genuine move look like an exit and an unexplained arrival. And occasionally, an airdrop or income receipt recorded by the source as appearing from nowhere.

How do I fix it?

Import the missing source, correct the mislabelled transfer, or record the acquisition by hand with the evidence you have.

Import the missing source with the complete history this time. Correct the wallets on the mislabelled transfer, per-wallet balancing shows exactly which wallet and asset to look at. If the record genuinely no longer exists anywhere, an exchange long dead, add the acquisition manually with your best-evidenced date and cost and keep whatever evidence you have, record keeping covers what HMRC expects when history is imperfect.

Can I file with the finding still standing?

No. Do not file from a workspace still carrying it.

The number on screen is wrong in your disfavour while it stands, and clearing it is usually one import away.