Crypto Currency

[Patrick Michael]

I recently participated in a free online CPE course on crypto currency taxation which turned out to be more a infomercial for Crypto Tax Academy than a CPE course.  They claim that crypto currency taxation is the next big thing and offer a course to become certified by the academy as a crypto tax prep pro.

The academy claims there is growing demand for tax professional that specialize in this area and you can grow your practice by at least 400%. I have never had a client that dealt in crypto and was wondering if there is much demand for such a service?

Has anyone else taken the course or something similar?

Any other thoughts?

[Catherine]

I have some clients who use cryptos, and one that dealt a little bit in it.  Considering the quality of the records I've seen, I don't want to specialize in it, for sure!

[Max W]

Taxation of cryptos may be confusing to the general public, but not to tax pros.  If it used strictly for investment, then it is treated the same as any Cap Gain/Loss transaction, such as stocks.

If it used for personal expenses, expenses being paid with the crypto, then it is a personal property transaction.  It is better to cash in the crypto and then pay in dollars.

If it is mixed use, then record keeping gets more complicated. Also, there is no IRS guidance on what constitutes an investment, or business account and a personal account.

It might be the fad of the day to call oneself a cryptocurrency specialist, but there things we deal with as tax preparers almost daily, that are far more complicated.

This article from Forbes gives more details.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2018/01/03/what-you-should-know-about-taxation-of-cryptocurrencies/#6dbb7b3a1346