Over the last couple of months, due to value of my small holding of BTC I purchased in 2014 and the massive rise of value, I have taken a deep dive into the prevailing opinion of CPA and tax attorneys regarding bitcoin and crypto currency by the IRS. I am going to quote some of the more important things to consider if you live and pay taxes in the US.
These are a few excerpts I have pulled from well researched paper addressing the exact issues the traders, miners and regular citizens looking to invest in the crypto coin space face every time to engage with their coin, tokens and crypto portfolio. These are excerpts pulled from longer articles, and a link to the original article is supplies and it is worth reading the entire essays.
What I discovered in my recent deep research dive is that the various decisions and non-decisions made over the last few years by the IRS on not well defined and confusing as hell. Basically, the IRS wants it cake and wants to eat t as well.
"So, an argument could be made that the IRS is treating cryptocurrency as both property and currency.Reeling from this dichotomy, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants recommended in a June 2016 letter[3] to the IRS that cryptocurrency accounts be reported in the summary information section of Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, which breaks with the IRS’s 2014 guidance that cryptocurrency be treated as property.
If a taxpayer were to hold gold overseas, which is considered property by the IRS and, more specifically, a commodity, there is nothing in the Tax Code, that requires the taxpayer to report the value of the gold to the IRS every year. Further, if a taxpayer owns residential property, rental property, or any other asset deemed property overseas, there also is no requirement for the taxpayer to report the fair market value of that property to the IRS.
In the case of cryptocurrency, we have a dichotomy where the IRS is treating the currency as property for income "http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/news/12380583/the-classification-of-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrency-by-the-irs "
Like any investment, individuals venturing into the cryptocurrency space must also learn about the tax repercussions of their investment decisions. In this tutorial, we’ll examine the implications of IRS Notice 2014-21, a set of guidelines and rules for investors which was first issued in early 2014.
One of the major implications of IRS Notice 2014-21 is that the U.S. government has decided to treat cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as property instead of as currency. The result is that a wide-ranging group of bitcoin stakeholders—everyone from consumers and merchants to bitcoin miners and service providers—will now fall under the larger umbrella of bitcoin “investors” in some way or another, and this group will now have to deal with complicated and sometimes daunting reporting requirements.
The IRS requires that taxpayers report the fair market value of bitcoin holdings for the date that the currency was received, not for another time. Thus, as long as Max is able to determine his fair market value in a “reasonable manner which is consistently applied,” he maintains leeway when it comes to determining his cost bases. Thus, he could make a determination of fair market value using a daily high price from one exchange, so long as he didn’t also use a daily low value from a different exchange as a reference point for his sales. This would artificially reduce his tax liability.
Bitcoin Tax Guide: Trading Gains And Losses - LIFO, FIFO, Offsetting LotsThe fact that bitcoin traders have the right to calculate their cost bases using one of several different methodologies makes the questions of tax reporting and enforcement even more complicated. Because bitcoin is taxed as personal property, investors have the option to sell their assets on a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) basis, a Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) basis, or they can sell specific tax lots that are most efficient via the “specific share identification” method that is commonly used in stock trading. Which of these options a trader decides to use may have a major impact on the calculations of both long- and short-term capital gains."
Certain digital currency exchange platforms automatically incorporate FIFO or LIFO methods for investor clients, regardless of whether one method or the other (or neither) is the most tax-friendly means of tracking cost basis. Investors might prefer to sell off a set of bitcoins purchased at a different time as a means of writing off ordinary income, then sell a different lot in order to realize a smaller long-term capital gain. The result can be significant tax savings based on a straightforward and legal change in personal accounting.
Practically, though, “specific identification” sub-accounting could be either out of the hands of the individual investor or impossible. It’s unlikely that exchanges and wallets will work to ensure that trades are executed in a way that optimizes tax returns. An investor would have to specify exactly which bitcoins to sell and at which time, keeping track of any new transactions with time-stamps in the process. Combining different wallet addresses into a single account, for example, could completely jeopardize this process. The result is that the entire process of keeping track of bitcoin trades for tax purposes is incredibly complicated, and it’s likely that many individual investors (regardless of whether they have help from tax professionals) will incur unnecessary tax liabilities in the process.
Bitcoin IRS Tax Guide For Individual Filershttps://www.investopedia.com/university/definitive-bitcoin-tax-guide-dont-let-irs-snow-you/Crypto to Crrypto
How Do Taxes Work With Cryptocurrency? – Paying Taxes on Cryptocurrency in the United States"...this means that you can’t trade one cryptocurrency for another and defer gains and losses year-to-year that way. For example: you can’t buy a bitcoin in 2017, trade it to litecoin in 2017, sell the litecoin in 2018, and then pay taxes then. You have to pay taxes each time a cryptocurrency is converted into another currency.
This can have some complicated tax implications where you can end up owing on profits in one year, but see those gains wiped out the next year, and then are unable to write off gains against losses because you are dealing with separate investments in separate tax years! In other words, you could, in the worst case, lose all your money and still get a giant tax bill if you trade a lot of cryptocurrencies over the course of a two year period with heavy gains one year and heavy losses the other.
If you are going to trade cryptocurrencies, consider every trade from cryptocurrency to cryptocurrency, or from cryptocurrency to USD, as its own transaction for tax purposes (each transaction from one coin to another is a taxable event where the fair-market value of profits and losses must be calculated in USD).
You can write of capital gains and losses in a year (writing off real estate, against gold, against one cryptocurrency, against another cryptocurrency for example), and things like the 30-day rule (and other such rules) should by all means apply, but you can’t treat different cryptocurrencies as “like-kind properties” and defer gains and losses into another calendar year that way."
http://cryptocurrencyfacts.com/the-basics-of-cryptocurrencies-and-taxes/Virtual Currency and Section 1031 – A Retraction and New PositionBut since the release of Notice 2014-21, the IRS and the federal government as a whole have shown a considerable amount of hostility toward virtual currency. Last year, the IRS issued a hotly contested John Doe summons directed at Coinbase, a virtual currency exchange. Recently, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has cracked down on virtual currency exchanges that have not registered with the federal government as a Money Services Business.
The recent regulatory enforcement constriction as it relates to virtual currency appears to evidence a shift in the government’s position and suggests the IRS is beginning to view cryptocurrency more like actual currency and less like investment property. Our change in opinion with regard to Section 1031 applicability is a result of this apparent shift. A taxpayer exchanging Euros for U.S. Dollars would not be able to rely on Section 1031 to defer any currency exchange gain and so it appears that the same could be said about exchanging one type of virtual currency for another.
https://klasing-associates.com/virtual-currency-section-1031-retraction-new-position/Cryptocurrency Traders Risk IRS Trouble With Like-Kind Exchangeshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/08/15/cryptocurrency-traders-risk-irs-trouble-with-like-kind-exchanges/#51d255a026a8How To Report Bitcoin Cash And Avoid IRS Troublehttps://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/08/04/how-to-report-bitcoin-cash-and-avoid-irs-trouble/#Top 3 Legal Ways to Bypass Bitcoin Capital Gains Taxes in the UShttps://themerkle.com/top-3-legal-ways-to-bypass-bitcoin-capital-gains-taxes-in-the-us/Do I need to pay taxes if I sit on (do not use) bitcoins?https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/47921/do-i-need-to-pay-taxes-if-i-sit-on-do-not-use-bitcoinsHow Specifically The EU & US Intend To Tax Your Bitcoinhttps://news.bitcoin.com/specifically-eu-us-intend-tax-bitcoin/IRS Uses Chainalysis to Track Down Bitcoin Tax Cheatshttps://cointelegraph.com/news/irs-uses-chainalysis-to-track-down-bitcoin-tax-cheatsIRS To Go After Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Profits, What to Expecthttps://cointelegraph.com/news/irs-to-go-after-bitcoin-and-bitcoin-cash-profits-what-to-expectTax compliancehttps://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Tax_compliance#TradingHow do I report digital currency activity on my taxes?https://support.coinbase.com/customer/en/portal/articles/1496488-taxes-faqSo, I truly apologize for sparking the fear, loathing, denial and delusion that taxes produces in many people. Here in the US it pays to hire accountants that specialize in the various fields of investment, stock traders, and the like. These traditional professions have developers intricate tax strategies, investment schemes and are forced to adhere to regulatory policy that keeps them from getting into serious legal and tax issues.
The world of the cryptocurrency exchanges has be the Wild West, with basically no regulatory structure (for the most part). The interesting fact that came up in my research is that when the IRS classified bitcoin as a form of property opposed to a currency is put bitcoin into a class where every single transaction is considered a taxable event, subject to long or short capital gains. According to the IRS, this includes crypto to crypto trades and sales. It also means that if you were to buy a cup of coffee using bitcoin, that is a taxable event subject to capital gains.
This is by design, and in making the rulings on crypto over the last 5 years clearly demonstrate the hostile posture the IRS has taken against bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Unreported capital gains equals tax evasion, which is serious business that carried fines, penalties, back interest and potentially prison. With the IRS 'John Doe' fishing expedition lawsuit against Coinbase, the IRS has an agenda to identify and prosecute a few suckers in high profile trails as a public example and PR campaign, Since the IRS is currently under budgetary assault by the US House of Representative, the skinny on the street is that this is battle that the IRS cannot afford to lose. They need a high profile demonstration of muscular power by making examples out of a few crypto players.
Of course, this is only one agency in the US Govt. There are a few others that understand the serious threat to global financial system that the sudden interest, popularity, financial commitment and belief that bitcoin has ignited in the people.
This is my overall take away from the volumes is read trying to interpret specifics on the current IRS position and policy regarding the taxing of cryptocurrencies.
- You don't owe any traditional capital gains if you don't cash out your bitcoin profits into fiat currency.
- Bitcoin Cash is magic money, however the IRS has not made a policy around that event deciding whether it is a stock split, or pure capital gains.
- There is no clear IRS policy at this point as to whether Crypto to Crypto trades and transactions fall under the IRS purview. Some tax experts say yes, other are not sure as the IRS waffles on policy.
- In the case of hacked exchanges, stolen coins, locked out wallets, the IRS does not care. You are on the hook for whatever tax you owe on the coin.
- Charity and Donations: Due to the policy of bitcoin being property and assets of value, opposed to currency, both you as well as the receiving charity are on the hook for taxes. I kid you not.
If you have made significant money over the last few years mining, buying, trading, and speculating on bitcoin, before you go to cash out in fiat US dollars, find a tax attorney that works with the various aspects of capital gains, wealth management, and setting up an LLC that will give you a structure in which to maximize your capital and minimize your tax exposure. Doing something like this takes planning and lead time and will allow you to legally enjoy your new found wealth.
There is one other option that I discovered.
Become a full time resident of Puerto Rico (183 days of the year) Move to Puerto Rico and Pay Zero Capital Gains Taxhttp://premieroffshore.com/move-puerto-rico-pay-zero-capital-gains-tax/ Anyway, I found a pretty great tool that will give you the ability to track down important exchange transactions and the relative value, gains and losses of your trade history. It claims to be anonymous and the data can be destroyed after you has run your own personal financial forensic trade reports.
Your personal Profit / Loss Portfolio Monitor and Tax Tracker for all Digital Coinshttps://cointracking.info/Good luck on this wild ride, if the last few days have not been wild enough ($14.5K), the next few weeks are going to be mind boggling!~
Bobby Ocean
