How To Manage And Avoid Crypto Taxes (Legally): Guide To Crypto Taxes

How To Manage And Avoid Crypto Taxes Legally: News about crypto taxation is always around the corner with new regulations being developed and implemented. This is due to the explosion of popularity of cryptocurrencies as a decentralized market without the need for intermediaries like banks. Blockchain technology is also revolutionizing many industries on top of finance.

As well as the growing mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies by businesses like Tesla, Square and PayPal has contributed to the legitimacy and popularity of cryptocurrencies.

However, people must now be aware of the tax repercussions of purchasing, selling, and keeping cryptocurrencies due to their increasing popularity. Cryptocurrencies are regarded as property for tax purposes in many nations, including the US, therefore capital gains and losses must be recorded on tax returns.

Many investors and traders are concerned about their crypto tax liabilities. They are looking for ways to minimize the amount of taxes they need to pay or even to avoid them legally. In this article, we’ll look at strategies for managing and avoiding crypto taxes (legally), from structuring your investments in a tax-efficient manner to utilizing the latest crypto tax tools.

What Is Crypto Tax

Crypto taxes are levied on transactions involving digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. This means that you can be liable for capital gains taxes on the difference between the price you paid and the price at which you sold the cryptocurrency whether you buy or sell it. For instance, you would have a taxable capital gain of $50,000 if you purchased one Bitcoin for $10,000 and then sold it for $60,000. 

Also, the fair market value of the cryptocurrency at the time of receipt. If you get payment in cryptocurrency for products or services. This can be recognized as income and needs to be declared on your tax return. If you mine cryptocurrencies for a living, you must include the value of the coins you receive in your income.

Cryptocurrencies are treated as property for tax purposes in several nations, including the United States. However, the tax regulations governing cryptocurrencies differ by nation. Cryptocurrency is regarded as property by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States, which necessitates the filing of tax returns for gains and losses. You can track your cryptocurrency transactions and determine your capital gains and losses for tax reasons with the use of crypto tax software or calculators.

Your income tax bracket and the length of time you owned the bitcoin will both affect the crypto tax rate. It’s crucial to remember that you might have to pay taxes on any bitcoin gains at the federal and state levels.

How Is Crypto Taxed

In many countries, any profits made from the sale of cryptocurrency must be reported as income and taxed accordingly. This means that they are subject to capital gains tax, just like stocks or real estate. A capital gain occurs when the sale price is higher than the purchase price, and a capital loss occurs when the sale price is lower than the purchase price.

The cost basis (the initial purchase price) is subtracted from the sale price to determine the capital gain or loss. The gain or loss is regarded as short-term if you held the cryptocurrency for less than a year before selling it, in which case the tax rate is the same as your regular income tax rate. The gain or loss is regarded as long-term if you kept the cryptocurrency for more than a year, and the tax rate is determined by your income level.

Crypto taxes can be complex and time-consuming to calculate, especially if you have multiple transactions. In that case, you should use a crypto tax calculator to determine the tax liability. Crypto tax calculators provide an easy way to calculate taxes owed on profits from cryptocurrency trades, including capital gains taxes.

How To Report Crypto On Tax Returns

It’s crucial to realize that all bitcoin transactions must be reported to the IRS, regardless of whether you made money or lost money. You risk fines and legal repercussions if you don’t declare your cryptocurrencies on your tax return. To record your capital gains or losses from cryptocurrency trading, you must complete Form 8949, Cryptocurrency Tax.

You can use a crypto taxes calculator or crypto tax software to assist you in figuring out how much you owe in order to simplify the procedure. You can integrate your bitcoin transactions into Turbotax as well, but it’s crucial to confirm that all transactions are correctly reflected.

The IRS requires all transactions, regardless of value, to be reported, despite the temptation to forgo doing so for bitcoin transactions that fall below a specific threshold. However, omitting to disclose significant transactions or profits could lead to audits or other legal problems.

It’s crucial to remember that not all cryptocurrency exchanges file IRS reports. Yet, there are additional ways for the IRS to find out about your transactions, including data mining and subpoenas. One of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase, is renowned for following IRS rules and disclosing user data.

How To Minimize Crypto Taxes

Sending crypto from one wallet to another is not a taxable event. NFTs’ tax status is still not entirely clear, but some people have been taking advantage of a loophole that enables them to donate an NFT to charity and yet claim a tax deduction for the NFT’s fair market value. However, this tactic needs to be used with prudence and under the direction of a tax expert.

It is not advised to use stablecoins like USDC and Tether to evade taxes. Both the conversion of BTC to USDC and the interest received on stablecoins are typically seen as taxable events. When it comes to trading cryptocurrencies, each transaction may result in a taxable event, therefore it’s crucial to maintain proper records and get advice from a tax expert.

Here are Some ways to minimize tax on crypto gains:

• One strategy is to save your cryptocurrency for over a year before selling it. Long-term capital gains tax rates, which are often lower than short-term capital gains tax rates, are available if you keep them for more than a year.
• The use of tax-loss harvesting is another tactic. To balance out profits from other investments, this entails selling cryptocurrency at a loss. For instance, if you lose money selling some Bitcoin, you can utilize that loss to pay less tax on gains from equities or mutual funds.
• Consider using cryptocurrency to make charitable contributions as well. You may be able to claim a tax deduction for the fair market value of your cryptocurrency donation if you give it to an approved charity. This can lessen your tax liability by offsetting your taxable income.

How To Avoid Tax On Cryptocurrency Legally (On Capital Gains)

There are a few techniques you can be employed in order to avoid or reduce taxes on capital gains from cryptocurrencies.

• Using the tax-loss harvesting approach when trading cryptocurrencies. This tactic entails liquidating failing positions and using the proceeds to offset any profits from subsequent deals. Investors can use this to lower the amount of taxes they pay on their overall cryptocurrency gains.  for instance, if you bought 1 Bitcoin for $8,000 and sold it for $9,000 for a profit of $1,000. Nevertheless, if you had also sold a second Bitcoin for $7,000 at a $1,000 loss, you might have used the loss to cancel out the gain and avoided paying taxes.

Depending on the objectives of the investor, tax-loss harvesting may be carried out over a single tax year or over a number of years. The incurred losses must be disclosed on the investor’s tax return and may be applied to reduce any capital gains taxes that may be owed. Although this tactic is allowed, it should not be utilized excessively as the IRS may identify it as a form of tax evasion.

• Utilizing a tax-advantaged account. It is a sort of investment instrument that provides investors with particular tax benefits. These accounts can take the shape of retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s, as well as 529 college savings plans, health savings accounts (HSAs), and other types of accounts.

The main benefit of these accounts is that they give investors the option to defer paying taxes on their bitcoin profits until they withdraw funds. Due to the erratic nature of bitcoin’s value, taxes on gains may now be less than they were when the investment was first made. Additionally, some tax-advantaged accounts provide other benefits, such as allowing investors to make tax-free withdrawals or reducing the amount of income reported on tax returns. 

For instance, donations to traditional IRAs are tax deductible, but the maximum contribution for people under 50 is $6,000 per year. Similar to 401(k) donations, 401(k) contributions are similarly tax deductible; however, for individuals under 50, the contribution cap is substantially greater at $19,500.

In both situations, you won’t have to record any investment income on your tax returns until you take money out of the tax-advantaged account. As a result, you are able to put off paying taxes on any gains derived from your bitcoin investments until a later time.

• Use a crypto exchange that doesn’t report to the IRS, Some cryptocurrency exchanges, like Binance, Coinbase Pro and KuCoin do not report user activity to the IRS. Binance does not provide any services or goods headquartered in the US but does allow users to trade anonymously. Customers can trade using Coinbase Pro without disclosing their personal information or filing tax returns.

Additionally, certain nations, including Malta, Switzerland, and the Cayman Islands, provide tax-free or tax-friendly environments for bitcoin investments. To be sure you are abiding by all the laws and regulations, you should conduct your own study and speak with a tax expert.

Risks Of Avoiding Crypto Taxes

Tax Evasion vs Tax Avoidance:

Tax evasion using cryptocurrencies refers to the deliberate under- or non-reporting of your crypto transactions. For instance, it would be deemed crypto tax evasion if you sold your cryptocurrency for a big profit but failed to disclose it on your tax return. Another illustration is avoiding reporting your cryptocurrency trades to tax authorities by using offshore exchanges.

On the other hand, bitcoin tax avoidance refers to the use of lawful methods to lower your tax burden on cryptocurrency transactions. For instance, by keeping your cryptocurrency investments for more than a year before selling them, you can lessen your tax burden because the long-term capital gains tax rate is often lower than the short-term capital gains tax rate. Another illustration is balancing capital gains from one investment with losses from another.

Legal and financial repercussions may occur from avoiding cryptocurrency tax unlawfully. Penalties, fines and even criminal charges may result from it. Those who purposefully avoid paying taxes risk facing harsh punishment from the government. Tax evasion can also result in audits, investigations, and legal action.

There have been several high-profile instances of cryptocurrency tax avoidance, and the IRS is actively prosecuting crypto taxation in the US. Use a Crypto tax calculator and get expert assistance if you’re having issues with your cryptocurrency taxes to appropriately declare your gains and losses.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency taxes must be paid, but they don’t have to be a burdensome process. You can legally lower your taxable crypto gains and lower your overall tax burden by understanding the tax laws and using legal techniques such as utilizing tax-advantaged accounts, tax-loss harvesting and crypto exchanges that don’t report to the IRS. Managing your crypto taxes can make submitting your annual tax returns considerably simpler with proper planning and attention to detail.