On Oct. 9, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 2019-24 and a series of frequently asked questions, identifying rules governing U.S. taxation of digital currencies. Taxation in the U.S. is unbelievably complex, but the new IRS guidance takes a step-by-step approach to address some of the most common issues facing holders of digital currency.

The basics are as follows: If you hold digital currency and you sell or exchange it, you are subject to U.S. tax. If you are granted digital currency in the form of salary or as a result of a hard fork, you have taxable income. If you receive digital currency as a result of a gift, there is no immediate tax.

U.S. taxation of digital currency is limited to U.S. persons. Who is a U.S. person? U.S. citizens, U.S. green card holders and individuals who spend more than 183 days in the country (measured using a formulaic three-year lookback). If that is you, a tax obligation may exist.

How do you measure your gain or loss from a sale or exchange of currency? It’s the difference between your digital currency cost basis and the fair market value of the property you received in exchange. How do you know what your cost basis is? The FAQs provide detailed guidance, but essentially, the IRS allows two methods for identifying your basis:

1) You can specifically identify the exact currency sold, traced to the ledger, and use the cost of that specific currency to determine your gain or loss.

2) Or you can use the “first in, first out” method, meaning your basis is computed based on the cost of the oldest currency acquisition in your wallet, moving forward in time as you continue to sell currencies.

Related: New IRS Guidance: How to Report Crypto Assets Accurately

What about digital currency provided as compensation for services? That type of distribution is treated as ordinary income, not a capital gain, similar to cash paid in the form of salary and wages.

What about cryptocurrency forks? The Revenue Ruling holds that when a taxpayer does not receive units of a new cryptocurrency as a result of a hard fork, the taxpayer also does not have gross income. That is the good news.

However, when units of new cryptocurrency are distributed (either as a complete currency replacement or split with the new currency being issued but old currency still valid), the Revenue Ruling holds that the taxpayer has accession to wealth and therefore has ordinary income. The amount included in gross income is equal to the fair market value of the new cryptocurrency measured as of the date that the distribution (usually via airdrop) is recorded on the distributed ledger.

While the IRS materials provide much-needed guidance, there are some concerns about unexpected hard forks. Many times you find out about a hard fork after the fact. Nevertheless, the IRS takes the position that taxpayers must track and account for hard fork transactions. Thus, it places the burden on individuals to watch their wallet and trace activity throughout the year.

Also, there is no “de minimis” exclusion. Meaning, every transaction involving digital currency must be reported. What about a purchase of a cup of coffee with crypto cash? This payment gives rise to a taxable exchange. The value of the coffee you just bought less the basis in your currency you provided must be computed and reported to the IRS as a gain or loss.

Compliance efforts

Letter campaign

When did you have to start complying with these basis rules and coffee purchases? Forever. In July 2019, the IRS announced through a news release that it had begun sending “educational” letters to taxpayers with digital currency transactions that have either potentially failed to report income or did not accurately report their transactions. By the end of August, over 10,000 taxpayers had received these letters. There are three letter versions: Letter 6173, Letter 6174 and Letter 6174‑A.

Letter 6173 informs the taxpayer that the IRS has “information that you have or had one or more accounts containing virtual currency and may not have met your U.S. tax filing and reporting requirements for transactions involving virtual currency.” This letter requires the taxpayer to provide a direct response by taking one of three possible actions:

1) File delinquent returns, reporting any digital currency transactions.

2) Amend returns to properly report any digital currency transactions.

3) Provide a statement that explains why the taxpayer believes it is in full compliance, signed under penalties of perjury.

Letters 6174 and 6174-A inform the taxpayer that the IRS has “information that you have or had one or more accounts containing virtual currency.” Though neither of the two letters requires a direct response from the taxpayer, Letter 6174-A expressly warns the taxpayer that the IRS may pursue further enforcement activity in the future.

The three versions of the letters show that the IRS is mining the information it has in its possession and forming views about which digital currency holders it believes are noncompliant, and to what degree. Although the IRS stated in its announcement that “all three versions of the letters strive to help taxpayers understand their tax and filing obligations and how to correct past errors,” Letter 6173 seems to presume that the taxpayer in question already understands the digital currency reporting requirements and has chosen not to comply with them. Letter 6174-A is a step down from Letter 6173, but it still assumes a higher level of knowledge on the part of the taxpayer than Letter 6174 does.

John Doe summons

The letters followed the IRS’s issuance of a “John Doe” summons to Coinbase, one of the largest platforms for exchanging Bitcoin and other forms of digital currency. Through the John Doe summons, the IRS sought information regarding all Coinbase customers who conducted transactions on the Coinbase platform between 2013 and 2015. Coinbase resisted the summons and sought to narrow its scope.

In late 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered Coinbase to produce the taxpayer identification number, name, birthdate, address, records of account activity, and all periodic statements of account or invoices. Ultimately, Coinbase produced documents for approximately 13,000 customers. While it is widely speculated that the IRS identified the initial group of more than 10,000 taxpayers to receive compliance letters using the data provided by the Coinbase subpoena, any taxpayer with dealings in digital currency should anticipate increased IRS scrutiny.

Revised draft Form 1040

Following the issuance of the October Revenue Ruling and FAQs, the IRS also released a draft Form 1040, Schedule 1 — which, if adopted, will require taxpayers to answer whether at any time during the year the taxpayer sold, sent, exchanged or otherwise acquired any financial interest in digital currency. The change in Form 1040 would place taxpayers in the position of having to think about their digital currency holdings and inquire whether there have been taxable events that need to be reported and taxed.

Methods of coming into compliance

In light of increased enforcement and compliance efforts on the part of the IRS, it is especially important for taxpayers who have held digital currency in the years preceding 2019 to seek advice from a competent tax professional to determine if there have been any taxable transactions associated with the acquisition or disposition of digital currencies. If there was a reportable transaction left off an income tax return, the IRS could impose significant penalties and interest charges. The IRS is also reviewing income tax returns to determine if the noncompliance was due to willful conduct. Such review can result in criminal referrals and prosecutions for filing false tax returns.

There is good news in the face of the potential enforcement of noncompliance. Most taxpayers can take advantage of the IRS’s voluntary disclosure policy, which mitigates penalties. And for those taxpayers who received letters directly from the IRS, options for taking affirmative action are outlined in the letter. The bottom line is this: If you have held digital currency at any time, you should contact a qualified tax professional to assist you in evaluating your tax situation.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

James N. Mastracchio is a partner resident in New York and Washington, D.C. and heads Eversheds Sutherland's federal tax controversy and criminal tax practices.

Sarah Paul is a partner at Eversheds Sutherland who practices in the firm’s litigation, federal tax controversy and criminal tax groups. Prior to joining Eversheds Sutherland, Sarah was an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York, where she supervised all of the district’s criminal tax cases.