A guide to paying tax on crypto

• Capital Gains vs. Income Tax

• Categorization of Taxable crypto events

• What should you do now？

Please keep in mind that this is not tax advise. For interpretation on how crypto taxation rules may apply to you, consult a trained tax accountant/professional or contact your local tax agencies.

At times, the bizarre world of cryptocurrency seems to be utterly detached from reality, with values defying gravity by continually growing. Unfortunately, the principles of regular life apply to your crypto experience, including two famous certainties: death and taxation. This essay will not discuss your life expectancy, but if you haven't expected the probability of having to pay tax on your crypto activities, you might want to take a seat.

The news isn't very awful, as many governments have taken a highly progressive approach to crypto taxation, but the method is far from simple given the industry's youth. Accounting for taxes should be on your to-do list if you have a large amount of money invested in crypto or trade on a regular basis.

Tax duties related to cryptocurrency will differ in detail from country to country - which we address below - but before we get into the nitty gritty, we'll try to cover the key difference in how cryptocurrency is seen (from a tax standpoint), which will have a big impact on any duties you may have.

The categorization of cryptocurrency by tax agencies

Any tax you owe on the sale of your cryptocurrency will be determined by how your tax authority views cryptocurrencies. Crytpo is classified as follows by some of the primary differentiators:

Currency Exchange

Despite the fact that Bitcoin and many other coins have served as currency, their speculative nature and potential for competition with national currencies means that only a few governments regard them as solely international cash - Israel and Bulgaria being two exceptions. This has far-reaching implications for bitcoin taxation.

Property

When cryptocurrency is categorized as property, which is the most usual difference, it will be subject to capital gains taxes.

It may surprise you, but many governments seek a cut of whatever profit you make when you buy a house, art, stock, or gold as an investment and then sell it. If you lose money, you can claim it as a tax deduction (more on that below).

Private Funds

Some countries, like Germany, see bitcoin as “private money,” which seems like a sound distinction. Governments have long had the prerogative of producing money, making it illegal for anybody else to do so unless they are officially allowed.

Cryptocurrency is unique in that most tax authorities were caught off guard by its rapid rise in popularity and have had to classify it retrospectively.

The Liberty Dollar in the United States is a nice example. The Liberty Dollar was created in 1998, and its creator, Bernard Van NotHaus, was convicted on numerous crimes because it look like the real dollar too closely.

Income Tax & Capital Gains

One of the reasons that crypto taxation is so hard is that you could be subject to at least two forms of taxes: capital gains and income tax.

As earlier stated, if your country of residency considers cryptocurrency to be property, you will be liable to capital gains taxes. This basically means that the taxman will demand a piece if you sell something that is considered property for more than you paid for it, subject to exemptions.

A consistent source of revenue - normally, your earnings are taxed. Any other work that is deemed a source of income may be subject to taxation; this includes crypto, which presently offers a wide range of services that pay a consistent return.

You'll need to be aware of the relevant 'taxable events' under each category - Capital Gains and Income Tax.

A taxable occasion is any work that your tax authority expects you to record, report in your annual submission, and pay the needed tax. It may sound like it has something to do with the Olympics, but it doesn't.

We'll go over the main taxable crypto events, but because there is no single approach, we'll go over them country by country below. For more information, you should consult your local tax authority or a tax accountant.

Gains on Investments

Purchasing and selling

Buying and selling cryptocurrency is the most obvious action that is subject to Capital Gains Tax; nonetheless, purchasing bitcoin is not a taxable occasion in and of itself.

You may just deduct the price you paid from the price you bought if you bought a cryptocurrency using fiat (for example, Euros) and then sold the entire amount for Euros in a single deal.

Any profit earned should be included in your Capital Gains tax return.

E.g You purchase BTC for €10,000 in August 2020.

You sell it for €20,000 in November 2020 for €20,000 - €10,000 = €10,000 in capital gains tax.

Many persons mistakenly believe that Capital Gains apply only to the Fiat > Crypto example presented above. Capital Gains will vary by country, but they will generally affect any disposal. The way your tax authority defines disposal will be the deciding element, however it may likely include:

• trading crypto for a different form of crypto

• selling crypto for fiat money

• using crypto to pay for products or services (if you have a crypto debit card)

• delivering crypto to someone else

• buying or selling an NFT with crypto

Capital gains has nothing to do with just transferring cryptocurrency between your own addresses or purchasing it in the first place.

Looking at that list of taxable events and thinking about the difficulty of the needed calculation may make you break out in a cold sweat if your crypto activity is more intricate than our extremely simplified example - which is most people's - there are standards that should assist you untangle a confusing trade history before you panic, generally referred to as'share matching' or'share pool accounting.'

The sequence of disposal of a complex history of trades is based on share pool accounting. It could include the following:

· Matching trades that occur during the same 24-hour period is known as same-day matching.

· 30 day matching - the same as above, but with a 30-day timeframe.

· ooling entails averaging the prices of all trades that aren't covered in 1 and 2.

In other situations, your tax authority may delegate the task of calculating the cost basis to you, such as in the case of Defi. In this scenario, take the strategy that you believe is the most rational, keep track of your calculations/logic, and apply it consistently. The fact that the tax authority is effectively stating “we don't know, present a reasonable suggestion” is in your favor.

Streams of Taxable Income

If you earn a regular income from a crypto asset or service, the IRS may be interested in knowing about it. Here are a few of the more obvious ones; keep in mind that these will differ by country.

Trading

If you trade to the point that it becomes a source of income, you may be needed to pay income tax. You'll need to research into what constitutes hobby trading vs. trading for a living in your area.

Mining

You may be subject to taxation if you earn money from mining. If you're a member of a Mining Pool, this should be a lot easier because you'll have access to a dashboard with exportable statistics.

If you've been doing things on your own, you'll have to perform extra legwork when it comes to deducting expenses from revenue. You'll have to account for Capital Gains if and when you sell the gains, presuming they're paid in bitcoin.

Staking/Interest

In the same way that interest gained on a typical fiat bank account is often taxed, any revenue created from staking other interest bearing services may be chargeable for tax.

This might include tokens obtained from DEFI, which could be treated as income at first but be subject to Capital Gains Tax if sold later.

Getting compensated with cryptocurrency

Any work you carried out for a cryptocurrency payment will very certainly be considered income and subject to taxation. If the payment is made in tokens that do not yet have any value, things could get difficult. There will very certainly be a category for it. It is considered'money's worth' in the United Kingdom, but this varies widely around the world.

As with Forks, use common sense when determining the value of tokens received - for example, by comparing it to the price of a similar token at listing - and stick to it.

If the tokens gain real value and you sell them, you'll very certainly be subject to capital gains tax.

Forks/Airdrops

Although Forks and Airdrops can be considered a source of income, much depends on how the organizations behind them manage the particular Forks or Airdrops.

There is some good news.

Even though your tax authority will provide guidelines, compiling your trading history across multiple wallets and exchanges would be a difficult undertaking.

The majority of exchanges should allow you to export your trade history via an API feed or manually exporting a CSV, while Wallet transactions may be identified from each relevant address, making this task easier.

If you don't want to spend long hours deciphering your trading history from a tax standpoint, there are now a growing number of crypto tax firms that will do it for you for a price.

All you have to do is connect your wallet and exchange, and they'll take care of the rest (but not necessarily all). Read more about how crypto tax services function in our blog post.

Losses in capital

Though it may be distressing to consider giving away your hard-earned riches, the good news is that your trading losses may be tax deductible. If you have taxable crypto events that result in a loss, you may be entitled to deduct them against any gains as a Capital Loss. The end outcome could be that you are due a refund - who knew that buying Dogecoin at the top would be beneficial!!

Allowances for taxes

Now, the fact that a portion of the gains you may have made from this magical online money must be paid to the government may put a damper on your day. It isn't all horrible, though.

The majority of tax systems are based on taxable allowances.

This means that tax isn't due until a particular sum is reached in each category. Crypto owned as a private investment in the UK, for example, is subject to Capital Gains Tax, but only after the first £12,500 (2020/21). So, if your crypto gains are less than £12,500 during the financial year, you won't have to file a tax return. However, there are other factors to consider, such as the number of disposals, so you should check with your local tax authority for official guidance.

Gifting

Because of the intricacies of taxation, an entire industry has sprung up to help people reduce their tax liabilities.

If you're not quite there yet, there are several simple strategies worth trying to maximize allowances, such as donating to a husband, wife, partner, or other family member.

You can practically quadruple your available allowance by gifting crypto.

Taking out a loan instead of selling

Given that selling your cryptocurrency for a profit will almost always result in a tax bill, you should think about taking a different route to unlocking its worth. There are now a slew of crypto banking firms that will provide fast loans secured by crypto assets.

The headline message is that borrowing against crypto to release value isn't taxable, according to a second knowledge base article on the subject.

It's not without danger, but it can let you get a stablecoin or fiat credit line to pay off a loan or mortgage without having to deal with the IRS or, more importantly, selling your crypto. Any rise in value can be used to pay interest, but keep in mind that if the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) falls below a specific level, your collateral will be auctioned.

What are your options now？

Take a deep breath if you're reading this and worried that you've entirely forgotten about the tax you might owe on your crypto trading and investing.

Depending on the restrictions in your area, you may not be able to do anything if:

· If there is any tax owed, it is less than the set allowances.

· Trading losses could result in a tax refund rather than a charge.

· You should not bury your head in the sand and hope that the problem will go away. It was just a matter of time until the value gains experienced by crypto hodlers drew the attention of tax officials.

At the top of Form 1040, the IRS - America's tax authorities - now asks the following question: “Did you receive, sell, send, swap, or otherwise acquire any financial stake in any virtual currency during the year 2020？”

This certainly reflects a zero-tolerance stance, and tax agencies are catching up in terms of sophistication, employing blockchain analytics internally or purchasing services such as these.

Agencies are also collaborating directly with well-known exchanges, which are providing information about customers who trade above a particular amount. (See the illustration below.)

What's the worst that could happen, right？

You may decide that the trouble of determining your prospective liability isn't worth the risk of attracting the notice of the tax agencies. That decision is yours though the next article in this part discusses how online crypto tax services work to try to automate the time-consuming chore of exactly computing your crypto tax liabilities.

Please keep in mind that nothing in this post should be considered as tax advice. Consult your local tax office or a trained taxation professional for formal advice.