Tax law researchers propose IRS framework for deducting crypto losses
Researchers at Indiana University and the University of Maine recently published a study examining the current state of cryptocurrency tax law in the United States. The research concludes with recommendations for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that, if adopted, would prevent taxpayers from weighing crypto losses against other capital gains.
The paper, dubbed simply “Crypto Losses,” seeks to define the various forms of loss that can be accrued by businesses and individuals invested in cryptocurrency and proposes a “new tax framework.”
Current IRS guidelines concerning cryptocurrency are somewhat nebulous. For the most part, as the researchers point out, cryptocurrency losses tend to follow the same taxation rules as other capital assets. They’re typically deductible against capital gains (but not other gains such as income), but there are some distinctions as to when and in what amounts deductions may occur.
Related: New tax rules could mean a US exodus for crypto companies
Cryptocurrency losses that accrue from specific cases defined as “sale” or “exchange,” for example, would be subject to deduction limitations. However, in other situations, such as having crypto stolen or instances where holders abandon their assets (through burning or other destructive means), taxpayers could deduct the losses in their entirety.
This is based on the information provided in IRS publication 551, as cited in topic 409:
According to the researchers, cryptocurrency losses should be regulated differently than other capital assets. The initial claim made in their research is that “the government is essentially sharing in the risk created by the investors’ activities” by offering a deductible against capital gains.
Their argument
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