Category Archives: Cryptocurrencies

Square Pegs and Round Holes: Tornado Cash, Anti-Money Laundering, and Crypto

On August 8th, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) went after virtual currency “mixer” Tornado Cash.  Tornado Cash was sanctioned, and as the Treasury’s press release notes, As a result of today’s action, all … Continue reading

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Bozo Tax Tip #3: Ignore Cryptocurrency!

Right underneath your name and address (and your spouse’s name) on Form 1040 is this question: “At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?” All taxpayers must … Continue reading

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Online Gambling and Cryptocurrency Addresses for 2022

[This listing has been replaced by the 2023 listing.] If you have one or more foreign financial accounts and you have $10,000 aggregate in those account(s) at any time during 2019, you must file the Report of Foreign Bank and … Continue reading

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On NFTs, DeFi, DAOs, and Staking: Cryptocurrency Taxation (2022) (Part 1)

With NFTs (non-fungible tokens), DeFi (decentralized finance), DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations), and staking the rage in cryptocurrency, there are a lot of questions on what this means for taxes.  Then on Friday I see headlines like, “IRS Will Not Tax … Continue reading

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§1031 Exchanges for Cryptocurrency: The IRS Thinks Not

Back in September 2017 I wrote a piece titled, “Can You Use a §1031 Exchange to Defer Gain with Cryptocurrency?”  The conclusion I drew was, “[M]ost exchanges of one cryptocurrency for another do not qualify as §1031 exchanges and it’s … Continue reading

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Bozo Tax Tip #2: Ignore Cryptocurrency!

Three years ago was the last time I included cryptocurrency in my Bozo Tax Tips.  No matter how you slice it, when you dispose of cryptocurrency you have a taxable event.  In the view of the IRS, every disposal must … Continue reading

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If You Used Poloniex and Did Not Report Your Crypto…

…now is a very good time to amend your tax returns to include those cryptocurrency gains and losses.  The Department of Justice announced that a federal court in Massachusetts ordered Circle Internet, the former parent company of Poloniex, and Poloniex … Continue reading

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IRS Looking for “Hidden Treasure” (Unreported Cryptocurrency Income)

The IRS’s Director of the Office of Fraud Enforcement, Damon Rowe, announced at a conference that the IRS has started “Operation Hidden Treasure.”  The IRS is looking for individuals (and businesses) which had cryptocurrency income but didn’t report it on … Continue reading

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When Acquire Doesn’t Mean Acquire

It’s time for today’s lessen in double-speak, or bureaucratese, courtesy of the IRS.  On the top of Form 1040, just below your address is a question: At any time during 2020, did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire … Continue reading

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Online Gambling and Cryptocurrency Addresses for 2021

If you have one or more foreign financial accounts and you have $10,000 aggregate in those account(s) at any time during 2019, you must file the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (the “FBAR”). This is Form 114 from … Continue reading

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