As mentioned above, cryptocurrency losses can be used to reduce taxes on cryptocurrencies. Like other capital losses, cryptocurrency losses are tax-deductible. This means that you can use cryptocurrency to offset some of your capital gains taxes by reporting those losses on your tax return. For example, if you bought bitcoins on Coinbase, transferred them to a different foreign cryptocurrency, and incurred losses on that other exchange before returning them to Coinbase to sell them for USD, then the IRS will only be able to account for that sale of BTC.
To do this, the agency could use another part of the tax code that requires transactions to have “economic substance” to be eligible for tax benefits, according to Matt Metras, an accountant from Rochester, New York, who represents taxpayers before the IRS. The IRS prevents investors from selling stocks at a loss and immediately buying them back within 30 days. Technically, the cryptocurrency retention period begins when a person buys a cryptocurrency and ends when the cryptocurrency is disposed of as a capital asset through a sale, transaction, or other transaction. You'll need to calculate the fair market value of the cryptocurrency at the time you received it and pay taxes on the resulting amount.
CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrency and blockchain startups. In this case, the agency does not have the information to know that it has a total loss of capital with cryptocurrencies. You incur a capital gain when you sell cryptocurrencies at a higher price than you originally paid for them. That means you can sell cryptocurrencies whose value has fallen since you bought them, secure the loss, and then immediately turn around and buy them again.
The Internal Revenue Service allows investors to request deductions for cryptocurrency losses that may reduce tax liabilities or even result in a tax refund. These activities include receiving, selling, sending, exchanging, or acquiring a stake in cryptocurrency. You can keep your investments or use tax loss collection to reduce the impact of any gain on your portfolio. If you have cryptocurrency in a self-directed IRA, you won't be able to enjoy the benefits of collecting tax losses.
If you qualify for “tax agent” status and make a special election, you'll recognize the gains or losses at the end of the year, without actually selling anything. By collecting tax losses on cryptocurrencies, you can identify unsold assets that have losses before the end of the fiscal year. The IRS has been increasing its efforts to locate cryptocurrency owners who haven't paid their taxes.
