US IRS Releases New Reporting Guidelines for Digital Assets
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released updated guidelines for reporting digital assets, clarifying the taxation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and stablecoins as well.
The IRS’ draft 2022 tax year guide has placed cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and NFTs into the same category of ‘digital assets’ for taxing purposes.
It stated that,
“Digital assets include [NFTs] and virtual currencies, such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. If a particular asset has the characteristics of a digital asset, it will be treated as a digital asset for federal income tax purposes.”
The latter sentence seems to allow room for any further developments in the crypto space to potentially be included in this category.
The 2021 guide, meanwhile, used only the term “virtual currency,” and it did not have specific instructions for stablecoins and NFTs.
That said, NFTs will not be taxed the same as art under this draft, as it is not defined as such. Instead, it is seen as an asset, and not a collectible. For example, when an artwork is sold, a capital gains tax needs to be paid, which in the US is generally 28%. For crypto, this ranges between 0% and 45%, depending on a variety of factors.
All taxpayers need to reply to the question on digital assets, the draft guide stated, instructing people not to leave this field blank, and saying that,
“The question must be answered by all taxpayers, not just taxpayers who engaged in a transaction involving digital assets.”
The taxpayers are to check 'yes' to the question if during 2022 they:
It is generally not required to check 'yes' for:
The text has kept the phrase "real currency" when referring to fiat in comparison with digital assets.
Meanwhile, in September, the IRS received authorization from a US
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