“Taxpayers who transact with cryptocurrency should understand that income and gains from cryptocurrency transactions are taxable,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
“The John Doe summons remains a highly valuable enforcement tool that the U.S. government will use again and again to catch tax cheats and this is yet one more example of that,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
Because transactions in cryptocurrencies can be
difficult to trace and have an inherently pseudo-anonymous aspect, taxpayers
may be using them to hide taxable income from the IRS. In the court’s order,
United States District Court Judge Otis D. Wright found that there is a
reasonable basis for believing that individuals conducting at least $20,000 in
cryptocurrency transactions may have failed to comply with federal tax laws.
The court’s order grants the IRS permission to serve what is known as a “John Doe” summons on SFOX. There is no allegation in this suit that SFOX has engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with its digital currency business. Rather, the IRS uses John Doe summonses to obtain information about possible violations of internal revenue laws by individuals whose identities are unknown.
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The IRS has issued guidance regarding the tax
consequences on the use of virtual currencies in IRS Notice 2014-21, which
provides that virtual currencies that can be converted into traditional
currency are property for tax purposes, and a taxpayer can have a gain or loss
on the sale or exchange of a virtual currency, depending on the taxpayer’s cost
to purchase the virtual currency (that is, the taxpayer’s tax basis).
The IRS reminds taxpayers that there is a question at
the top of the 2022 Form 1040 (income tax return) asking about virtual currency transactions.
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