The IRS has published guidance stating that pre-2018 swaps among Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin are not eligible for 1031 tax-free exchange treatment. This means that investors who made swaps among
Continue Reading IRS Says No Tax-Free Exchange Treatment for Swaps of Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin

On May 20, 2021, the Treasury Department released a report that proposes new reporting requirements for transactions, including cryptocurrency transactions. Under the proposed plan, financial institutions, payment settlement entities, and
Continue Reading The Biden Administration Proposes New Cryptocurrency Reporting Rules

Recent John Doe summonses show the IRS is expanding its use of those summonses to aggressively investigate potential tax evasion. Within the past week, the IRS has received authorization to
Continue Reading The IRS Continues Aggressive Use of John Doe Summonses to Investigate Tax Evasion Related to Use of Cryptocurrency, Offshore Service Providers

Taxpayers that have engaged in cryptocurrency transactions should be aware that the Internal Revenue Service is seeking customer records from cryptocurrency exchanges. The Department of Justice recently filed petitions in
Continue Reading IRS Actively Seeking Information Regarding Cryptocurrency Via John Doe Summonses

On Oct. 9, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released revenue ruling (Rev. Rul. 2019-24) and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document, which provide additional guidance on the tax treatment and reporting obligations for transactions involving virtual currency (also known as cryptocurrency). This guidance supplements the original guidance that was issued in 2014 in the form of a notice (Notice 2014-21), which provides a baseline rule that cryptocurrency is property for federal income tax purposes.

Rev. Rul. 2019-24 addresses questions related to the tax treatment of hard forks. The revenue ruling describes a hard fork as a protocol change that results in a permanent split of a new distributive ledger from a legacy or existing distributed ledger, resulting in the creation of a new cryptocurrency on the new distributed ledger in addition to the legacy cryptocurrency on the legacy distributed ledger. 
Continue Reading IRS Issues New Cryptocurrency Guidance