IRS to Ask Taxpayers about Virtual Currency Transactions

The IRS proposed an amended draft of the 2019 Form 1040 that includes a question about taxpayer virtual currency transactions.

As previously covered, the IRS provided updated guidance in the form of a revenue ruling and an FAQ on the tax treatment of virtual currency transactions. The FAQ addressed (i) when a cryptocurrency on a distributed ledger undergoes a protocol change that permanently divides the legacy from the existing distributed ledger (i.e., a “hard fork”) and (ii) when units of a cryptocurrency are delivered to the distributed ledger addresses of multiple taxpayers (i.e., an “airdrop”), typically following a hard fork.

The IRS proposed adding the following question to the 2019 Form 1040: “At any time during 2019, did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency?”

Comments on the revised draft must be submitted to the IRS within 30 days after October 11, 2019.