In the US, the IRS classifies and taxes cryptocurrency as both a capital gains based asset, as well as a kin to your standard, run-of-the-mill fiat currency – depending entirely on your personal use case.
Wages paid to employees using cryptocurrency are taxable to the employee, must be reported by an employer on a Form W-2, and are subject to federal income tax withholding and payroll taxes.
Any payments using cryptocurrency made to independent contractors and other service providers are taxable and self-employment tax rules generally apply. Normally, payers must issue Form 1099.
Capital gains tax – Cryptocurrency
The character of gain or loss from the sale or exchange of cryptocurrency depends on whether the cryptocurrency in question is a capital asset in the hands of the taxpayer.
Any payments made using cryptocurrency is subject to information reporting to the same extent as any other payment made in property.
Taxation on Crypto Trading & Investments
Here are a few steps you can take to ensure that you don’t get any unexpected notices or bills in the mail:
Honesty is your best policy
Don’t try to purposefully cheat the system and be sure to report all of your earnings and losses honestly and accurately.
Keep all of your paperwork, receipts and reports of transactions and purchases just as you would with traditional fiat. Nearly all cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges have a bulk export feature where you can download your entire historical transaction data into a CSV / Excel file.
Be consistent with your reporting
Since cryptocurrencies can behave like stocks and are taxed as capital gains against the US dollar, you will need to know the time and cost at which you purchased your cryptocurrency, as well as the time and cost at which you sold your cryptocurrency. You can use methodologies like first-in-first-out (FIFO) or last-in-first-out (LIFO) to keep track of your gains and losses.
Do your taxes on time. Late filings are hit with additional penalties and fees and there is no reason why you should have to pay more than your fair amount.
Many people believe that because some cryptocurrencies are anonymous they are somehow immune to taxation, when as you’ll come to learn, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The IRS released a statement in 2017 saying they have partnered with Chainalysis and have begun scraping the web for various tags; places like forums, social media, blogs, exchanges, etc. They also have information on over 25% of all Coinbase wallets opened to-date.
I will pay my Cryptocurrency investment taxes
Please pay your taxes and help build global trust in cryptocurrency. If many people don’t pay their fair share of taxes, the result will add even more undesirable scrutiny and regulation to the cryptocurrency community.
You must consult with a qualified tax and investment professional(s) to ensure that you are not breaking the law and to support the quality and longevity of your investments.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer: CryptoAnswers.com does not provide investment, tax, or legal advice, and nothing in this guide or any articles or communications from CryptoAnswers.com should be taken as such. In addition, CryptoAnswers.com does not represent any government nor are we agents of any government. Before undertaking any action, be sure to discuss your options with a qualified advisor.
