The tax deadline in the USA has been extended due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and this concerns crypto as well.
The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued guidance extending the tax deadline 2020 for all individual and other non-corporate tax filers with up to USD 1 million in owed federal income tax (self-employment tax included), from April 15 to July 15, without penalties or interest, says the press release. Corporate taxpayers get a similar deferment of up to USD 10 million of tax payments. However, "Americans should file their tax returns by April 15," said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, as people will be able to get their refunds sooner.
The extension follows Donald Trump’s Covid-19 emergency declaration. Mnuchin adds that "Treasury and IRS are ensuring that hardworking Americans and businesses have additional liquidity for the next several months," as this guidance is expected to "result in about USD 300 billion of additional liquidity in the economy in the near term," claims the announcement.
Laura Walter, a certified public accountant and cryptocurrency tax specialist, a.k.a. Crypto Tax Girl, explained on Twitter that the filing date remains the same, but the payment date can be extended, meaning that any penalties and interest will bot being accruing until July 15, adding that there is a form that'll provide an automatic six-month extension to October 15.
As to what the Cryptoverse needs to concern themselves with regarding taxes, Walter lists taxable crypto events in her earlier post.
Other important things to keep track of for tax purposes:
- Forks
- Airdrops
- Mining
- Gifts you give
- Gifts you receive
- ICOs
- Crypto received as payment
- Crypto sent as payment
- Hacked/stolen/lost coins
- Tips receieved
- Crypto donations to charity
— Crypto Tax Girl (@CryptoTaxGirl) July 11, 2018
As reported in February, a blockchain trade group, the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance, asked the IRS to exempt small crypto payments, that is, to provide a de minis exemption for cryptocurrency transactions below a certain value, claiming that the IRS' decision to tax virtual currencies as properties doesn't benefit users and merchants.
The U.S. is not the only one to provide an extension to its taxpayers. Other countries that have made a similar move, such as value-added tax (VAT) cuts, filing and payment delays, accelerated refunds, tax boosts, penalty deferment and waiver, etc., include much of Europe, the U.K., the European Union, Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, China, Costa Rica, Colombia, and others.
____
Learn more:
IRS Says No Taxes on Gaming Cash, Crypto Regulation Remains Hazy
Britain’s Tax Agency Cracking Down on Crypto Tax Evasion
Spanish Tax Agency to Step up Bitcoin and Altcoins Monitoring Efforts
