The IRS and Cryptocurrency Transactions

Both digital currencies and cryptocurrencies have been around for several years (Bitcoin since 2009), but only in the past couple of years has the IRS begun to really focus its enforcement on cryptocurrency transactions. So far the IRS approach has been focused on Enforcement and Punishment, rather than amnesty and voluntary prior year disclosure, a “Stick” approach (punishment) without the “Carrot” (reward). The current IRS approach presents both taxpayer risk and opportunity. In 2014 the IRS issued Notice 2014-21 that rules virtual currencies (Cryptocurrency Transactions) are to be taxed as property. This establishes a reporting ...