Taxes on NFT holders

[Renampun]

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has taken its first formal steps in laying out rules for the taxation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), potentially exposing them to a maximum long-term capital gains tax rate of 28% if they are considered collectibles rather than the 20% that applies to other digital assets and to securities. The March 21 Notice 2023-27 says that the agency is intending to issue specific rules for NFTs, which can represent collectible assets (Artwork like the BoredApe Yacht club or Crypto Punks series) and non-collectibles (event tickets) and sometimes both.

This notice marks the first formal attempt by the IRS on laying out guidelines for NFT taxation. Previously taxpayers have been applying general rules applicable to property for NFT transactions, relying on IRS Notice 2014-21 issued in 2014. This notice also comes as part of a visible if undeclared campaign by the executive branch, federal agencies, and some members of Congress against the digital-assets industry.

NFT Tax Treatment
Section §408(m)(2) of the U.S. Tax Code defines a collectible as:

any work of art
any rug or antique
any metal or gem
any stamp or coin
any alcoholic beverage
any other tangible personal property specified by the secretary of the Treasury
Taxation of an NFT under current IRS practice depends on the asset it represents. The agency calls this “look-through analysis” and encourages filers to use it when determining tax consequences until the new guidance is issued. For example, a gemstone represented by an NFT would be a collectible, but the right to develop a plot of land in the metaverse would not.

Collectible Vs. Non-Collectible
The status matters for tax rates and reporting requirements. Long-term capital gains generated from NFTs classified as collectibles could be subject to a 28% tax rate, above the 20% of other capital assets. Moreover, collectible-NFT sales should be reported on Form 8949, Column (f) with code “C” to indicate to the IRS that it’s a collectible as opposed to a regular capital asset.

you can read the full article here--

after the US government imposed a 30% tax on the mining industry, it seems that the US government will not stop there, they planning to make new tax rules on NFT holders. it seems that this decision will have a big impact on the future of the NFT token category.

For those who have NFT category tokens, are you going to sell immediately or are you going to continue to follow the development of new rules on NFTs?

[1714692176]

1714692176

[franky1]

imagine it

paying tax on ingame purchases.. turns Steam into tax reporting agents of its customers rather than games retailers

so soon you wont be able to play online games without KYC

[Hispo]

That was unexpected, quite high considering this is rather a new kind of asset.
On the other hand I find amusing that people at the IRS is willing to tax literally anything that has liquidity. In the early days on Bitcoin, I assume they were laughing at the idea of it becoming an actual currency or being accepted to some extend as a tool to transfer value in a decentralized way.

As soon as liquidity, adoption and volume increased, they had stop the laughter and move onto taxing.

imagine it

paying tax on ingame purchases.. turns Steam into tax reporting agents of its customers rather than games retailers

so soon you wont be able to play online games without KYC

How things are going, it should not be a surprise Steam and Epic Games would ask for full KYC in a decade or earlier.
But it would make more sense it was related to MMORPG's where people can partake in a secondary market of in-game currency, which gains are (of course) taxable.

[Darker45]

Well, in all fairness, this is probably the right thing to do, especially at this point in time when NFTs are apparently used for money laundering. Somebody can make millions of dollars in legitimate transactions selling pixelated images and monkey jpegs. So I guess it's just the IRS doing its job well. This may be perceived as a villain agency but it's just performing its mandate.

But what I'm particularly amazed at is how updated the IRS is on what's happening around. In my country, the Bureau of Internal Revenue is clueless and is still operating on archaic policies.

[Renampun]

imagine it

paying tax on ingame purchases.. turns Steam into tax reporting agents of its customers rather than games retailers

so soon you wont be able to play online games without KYC

How things are going, it should not be a surprise Steam and Epic Games would ask for full KYC in a decade or earlier.
But it would make more sense it was related to MMORPG's where people can partake in a secondary market of in-game currency, which gains are (of course) taxable.

with the possibility of imposing taxes on NFT games that generate money it will have a big impact on players, the development of NFT games that generate money has not been fully accepted by many people, if news like this already appears then I doubt people will be interested in playing NFT games in the future ahead.

Well, in all fairness, this is probably the right thing to do, especially at this point in time when NFTs are apparently used for money laundering. Somebody can make millions of dollars in legitimate transactions selling pixelated images and monkey jpegs. So I guess it's just the IRS doing its job well. This may be perceived as a villain agency but it's just performing its mandate.

But what I'm particularly amazed at is how updated the IRS is on what's happening around. In my country, the Bureau of Internal Revenue is clueless and is still operating on archaic policies.

as a bureau with authority, they are reasonable to make tax regulations on NFTs, especially now that NFTs are already categorized as digital assets, but the rates are quite high, just imagine up to 20% ++ of the value of the NFT assets.

[Wind_FURY]

OP, will they do tax-cuts for losses from NFT "investing" as well? I believe there will be more tax-cuts than tax-payments.

 

imagine it

paying tax on ingame purchases.. turns Steam into tax reporting agents of its customers rather than games retailers

so soon you wont be able to play online games without KYC

I could imagine it. There might not truly be a difference in how they could differentiate, and systemize, between an NFT and a CS:GO skin or WOW items. But I believe there would be a push-back from gaming companies, some sane politicians, and users if the government starts proposing KYC for gamers. Plus it cannot simply be done without legislation.

[davis196]

imagine it

paying tax on ingame purchases.. turns Steam into tax reporting agents of its customers rather than games retailers

so soon you wont be able to play online games without KYC

There's a big market for CSGO skins and other in-game items, which can be bought and sold. Actually, some gamers are making money out of selling their skins and games(when the prices do up). They should report their income from gaming.
If KYC policies were forced upon Steam(Valve corporation) I think that Steam would simply kick out of their platform all the games, that offer in-game items like skins, boxes, etc.(which can be bought and sold in different online marketplaces).
Personally, I don't care about the NFT market at this point. All the hype around NFTs is gone and taxing NFT holders would be another nail in the coffin for the NFT world. It's like kicking a dead horse.

[Lorence.xD]

As far as I know, it would be impossible for government to put taxes on decentralized market. Here in my country, NFT games were popular especially in the times of pandemic. A lot of investor tried this kind of investment where it reach to the point that it has been acknowledged by the media and news. They interviewed people who profit and asked them questions such as what they did to their money. Some bought houses, motorcycle and build businesses.

Due to its popularity, government take initiative to how people can earn that much without paying taxes. They announced it to the public that taxes will be included when playing NFT games. Of course they can't do that in the end its still decentralized.  Maybe in the next decades some games every transactions will include taxes fee. It just need some proper documentation and legalisation.

[KiaKia]

Biden is the culprit, that's why this man is not coming back as the predisnde of the United States of America soon, he has simply made the US a cruel place for crypto holders and investors, and he wants all the piece of the pie using high Tax rate on everything crypto, this is stupidly insane, this is one reason that I can quit a country for because all my life is built on crypto investment, trading, and mining, USA is not a place for someone like me.

Right now China must have noticed that Bitcoin and crypto could be beneficial for their people I think that's why they now become friendly to crypto adoption, even when their CBDC is in place already, it just show how stupid USA is right now .

[BenCodie]

Tax the poor. Print for the rich. What a perfectly sound way of running a country! I suppose that they are going broke after all, so one should expect some ridiculous moves in an attempt to keep the machine running...they are only making themselves more prone to uproar and rebellious minds who will create technology and solutions to defy these moves. Let regulators and politicians shoot themselves in the foot, Bitcoin and everyone who believes in it will only be better off for it.

[o48o]

imagine it

paying tax on ingame purchases.. turns Steam into tax reporting agents of its customers rather than games retailers

so soon you wont be able to play online games without KYC

Well if people paid taxes for really expensive game skins before ( i haven't heard that they did), i guess nothing would change on that front.
But if not, i am guessing you can opt out from any ski trading activity because online game companies sure as hell aren't going to drive away potential customers that won't be filling kyc or buying and selling skins. They can still buy games and addons even if they are not selling them forward.

It's not like every game will have mandatory marketplace. But sure, people who buy and sell skins, either nfts or not, will be most likely be filling mandatory kyc.

[karmamiu]

Tax the poor. Print for the rich. What a perfectly sound way of running a country! I suppose that they are going broke after all, so one should expect some ridiculous moves in an attempt to keep the machine running...they are only making themselves more prone to uproar and rebellious minds who will create technology and solutions to defy these moves. Let regulators and politicians shoot themselves in the foot, Bitcoin and everyone who believes in it will only be better off for it.

It's just absurd how the government tries to dip their feet on almost everything for the sake of their so called "security". Now, everyone can no longer game in peace. Almost everything requires taxes, and you need to report each asset you own. Right, I have a free arcana from the recent welcome package, where should I register this to declare ownership? ahahaha It isn't even tradeable. This new government laws imposing taxes to everything is getting nonsense. That aside, if this really requires KYC, are we on the way to become pro players? we can no longer create new accounts if we cannot verify using KYC?

[S3300]

imagine it

paying tax on ingame purchases.. turns Steam into tax reporting agents of its customers rather than games retailers

so soon you wont be able to play online games without KYC

Only in the US I bet, this is getting out of hands and the current president of the US needs to leave the office for someone better to run, this man is just trying to milk out of every possible thing he can think of, I am hoping that this will only affects all players in the US, I can't do without online gaming, this will suck very bad.

[karmamiu]

imagine it

paying tax on ingame purchases.. turns Steam into tax reporting agents of its customers rather than games retailers

so soon you wont be able to play online games without KYC

Only in the US I bet, this is getting out of hands and the current president of the US needs to leave the office for someone better to run, this man is just trying to milk out of every possible thing he can think of, I am hoping that this will only affects all players in the US, I can't do without online gaming, this will suck very bad.

I remembered back then when gamers are very excited about the future of gaming industry as how it was depicted on the anime Sword Art Online (SAO if you know what I mean) yet now it's getting farther and farther from the reality, although we knew that it is close to impossible, doing this act against the gaming community will only leave dreams as dreams. I don't know about other companies but there're few companies who are planning to adopt NFTs such as steam to their gaming experience, and if this new law implemented world wide, how will the players able to afford those taxes? I have been a free to play gamer since the launch of DOTA 2, do we have to go to jail for being unable to pay tax from games? I should've listened to my mom back then and focused on my education.

[Yogee]

This is just a formality. If the IRS have been encouraging taxpayers to file NFT holdings according to its purpose then it's only a matter of time before a specific law is introduced.

As far as I know, it would be impossible for government to put taxes on decentralized market.

You really believe NFTs are decentralized? This is like saying Tornado Cash is decentralized until the Government made its move. Keep in mind that anything that generates profit is generally taxable in all places unless there's a specific law that says it's not.

[rossjamie]

In the end tax people will try to find their way to charge you a tax more. It's an open secret though,
if they don't have any resource to charge the tax maybe they will charge you for breathing or walking

[Gyfts]

imagine it

paying tax on ingame purchases.. turns Steam into tax reporting agents of its customers rather than games retailers

so soon you wont be able to play online games without KYC

I'd imagine they would want you to pay taxes if you bought an in-game item and then resold it for a profit regardless of any new NFT classifications. Under these guidelines though, the seller would be subject to nearly a 30% tax presumably. Wonder how many people will inadvertently have dodged taxes not realizing their in-game item sale would be subject to the same tax as any other digital asset?

That's assuming they don't make in-game items classified as a collectible. NFT's aren't physical so the Biden administration are just making useless tax provisions because they're desperate for revenue. They need to pay their trillion dollar spending packages somehow.

[woez]

My opinion regarding Tax regulations are often subject to change, and it is possible that proposed tax regulations on NFTs may not come to fruition or may be revised in some way. I think it's also worth considering the potential long-term value of NFTs, as well as the potential gains or losses from holding them beyond the tax implications.

Regarding the decision to sell or retain NFTs is an individual decision which should be based on a thorough understanding of the situation and a careful assessment of individual financial goals and risk tolerance.

[sana54210]

As far as I know, it would be impossible for government to put taxes on decentralized market.

You really believe NFTs are decentralized? This is like saying Tornado Cash is decentralized until the Government made its move. Keep in mind that anything that generates profit is generally taxable in all places unless there's a specific law that says it's not.

I would guess that you could make it decentralized until figured out. No matter how hard you try, if I open a new metamask today, and put all my NFT in there, nobody in the world would be able to track that down to me, that's impossible, you can use something like The onion router as well to make sure that it can't be tracked back to you and you are done.

Basically it is as decentralized as you want it to be, and then when you want to cash that out, there are mixers if you want to use it, but then you could always just pay the cash if you profited and not really care about the tax in that situation, after all making x100 means you can pay the tax.

[lionheart78]

But what I'm particularly amazed at is how updated the IRS is on what's happening around. In my country, the Bureau of Internal Revenue is clueless and is still operating on archaic policies.

Isn't that a good news for us?  We can still have a tax-free interaction with NFTs.  I hope our BIR will stay clueless and stuck operating on archaic policies.    After all, I don't believe that 100% of the tax collected by this bureau goes to the government treasury.

Honestly I do not mind the government taxing NFT holders after all tax is taken on the successful trade that brings profit to the holder.  It is that 28% is a bit high IMO. 

As far as I know, it would be impossible for government to put taxes on decentralized market. Here in my country, NFT games were popular especially in the times of pandemic. A lot of investor tried this kind of investment where it reach to the point that it has been acknowledged by the media and news. They interviewed people who profit and asked them questions such as what they did to their money. Some bought houses, motorcycle and build businesses.

Due to its popularity, government take initiative to how people can earn that much without paying taxes. They announced it to the public that taxes will be included when playing NFT games. Of course they can't do that in the end its still decentralized.  Maybe in the next decades some games every transactions will include taxes fee. It just need some proper documentation and legalisation.

They are not taxed because there isn't a law yet that is implemented on the subject matter.  They had only announced that NFT will be included and yet there is no bill or regulatory implementation made yet. It is different if the law is already made and the announcement is the implementation itself not just an announcement to include.