Top Strategies On How To Profit From Bitcoin
If you’re looking to make money with Bitcoin, you may need to develop a strategy to get started. This digital currency is highly volatile – making it very appealing for many investors who are looking to grow their savings over time.
While it may sound daunting, creating an investment plan is easy and doesn’t have to be overwhelming when considering all of your options. We’ve put together our top 12 strategies to profit from Bitcoin so that you can start on your investment journey today.
How To Pay Taxes In Canada
Cryptocurrency is popular for online payments and transfers due to its built-in encryption and security methods, as a result, it has captured the attention of many non-traditionalists and tech-minded people. Is cryptocurrency taxable in Canada as well? Yes, it has also captured the attention of the Canada Revenue Agency, who has altered existing tax codes to help address profits and transactions associated with virtual currencies.
The tax code considers transactions with virtual currency as barter and trade transactions. It means that Canadians must declare any income received or expenses paid, regardless of whether any actual cash was tied to the transaction.
For example, if you run a business and receive BTC in exchange for your services, you are still required to report these transactions on your income taxes. Since you cant declare Bitcoins on your tax form, you must declare the typical dollar amount that you would have otherwise claimed for those services.
If you usually charge $200 per week for your services, you must declare $200 as income on your return even if you accepted different forms of payment. Similarly, the person who provided you with the trade may declare the $200 as an expense on their income tax return.
To assign dollar amounts for these transactions, you must use the exchange rate between the virtual currency and the Canadian dollar on the day of the transaction.
Most Taxpayers Are Not Following The Rules
The IRS recently revealed in a court filing that only 802 taxpayers reported transactions likely involving Bitcoin in 2015. This find undoubtedly represented only a tiny fraction of all the people who used Bitcoin that year. So, it’s clear that most people who use Bitcoin are not following the tax rules described above. The IRS has begun an investigation into tax evasion involving Bitcoin. Last year, it demanded that Coinbase, the largest Bitcoin exchange in the U.S., turn over the records of all customers who bought Bitcoin from the company from 2013 to 2015, and whose accounts engaged in transactions worth $20,000 or higher. Coinbase claimed the IRS’s demands were illegally broad and refused to comply. The IRS has filed a federal lawsuit to enforce the summons.
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Record Keeping And Reporting Is Required
The taxation of cryptocurrency is complicated and requires diligent recordkeeping when buying, selling or exchanging. The responsibility to properly report this is on the crypto owner. There are numerous cryptocurrency-tracking applications that have been created to help cryptocurrency investors, users and traders properly track and report their taxes. CryptoTrader.tax and Cointracker.io are lading providers to investigate. There are around 10 companies that have an application to assist in tracking your crypto for tax purposes.
The IRS requires the reporting of cryptocurrency gains and losses on form 8949. Form 8949 is filed with your personal 1040 tax return. The major providers of crypto in the U.S. report crypto transactions and trading to the IRS. This includes Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, Cash App, PayPal and Binance.us. Whether the exchange you used reports to the IRS or not, you still have a reporting obligation.
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How To Minimize Crypto Taxes
Now that you know a bit more about crypto taxes, which is really just another way of saying capital gains taxes, you will want a set of strategies to minimize how much you pay to the IRS. Here are some useful tips to reduce your tax bill.
1. Hold Until Your Short-Term Gains Turn Into Long-Term Gains
As just noted, different capital gains rates will apply depending on how long you own cryptocurrency. If you want to lower your tax bill, hold your cryptocurrency long enough to turn your short-term gains into long-term gains. It may not be an easy task, but if you have the patience and fortitude to keep your crypto for at least a year before selling, then youll likely pay a reduced tax rate on any capital gain.
Heres an example: Mary, a single taxpayer, earns $70,000 in wages for 2021. She also has $5,000 in capital gains from the sale of cryptocurrency. If the gain is short-term gain, shell have $75,000 of ordinary income. After claiming the standard deduction, that leaves her with $62,450 of taxable income, which puts her in the 22% tax bracket and results in a tax bill of $9,488. However, if the gain is long-term gain, the $70,000 of ordinary income, minus the standard deduction, is still taxed in the 22% bracket, but the $5,000 of capital gain income is only taxed at 15%. That means an overall tax of $9,138 and a savings of $350.
2. Offset Capital Gains with Capital Losses
3. Sell In a Low-Income Year
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Do I Have To Pay Tax If I Buy Bitcoins With My Usd
Theoretical question:
If I make $1000, which gets deposited into my bank account, and then I deposit that $1000 into a bitcoin wallet the next day, and just sit on it for one tax year, do I have to pay income tax on that $1000? Can the gov’t track me down and get me to pay tax?
Thanks.
According to the guidelines currently provided by the IRS, you are only required to pay taxes if you sell those bitcoin and have made a profit on them. If you are holding, or made nothing, or lost money, you are not required to pay taxes on them. If you lost money, you may claim those losses when you file your taxes, if you wish. It is not practical for the IRS to track the bitcoin of every US citizen who owns some, and becoming increasingly difficult to do so, given the continuing advancement in bitcoin privacy enhancements. It is one of those categories where the IRS relies mostly on self-reporting. However, if you have been moving a ton of bitcoin and not paying taxes on it, then you get audited, this is something that could come up in a detailed investigation into your finances.
The Importance Of Working With A Boston Tax Lawyer Who Can Provide Cryptocurrency Tax Assistance
With these types of issues in mind and understanding the potentially-substantial tax, interest and penalty obligations that come with failing to timely report cryptocurrency transactions most cryptocurrency investors will benefit greatly from the assistance of an experienced tax lawyer. This is true with regard to prospectively addressing tax reporting issues, retrospectively amending incomplete tax returns, responding to IRS warning letters, and defending against audits and investigations.
An experienced tax lawyer will be able to help you with cryptocurrency-related tax compliance in numerous respects, including:
- Determining which of your cryptocurrency transactions qualify as taxable events that need to be reported to the IRS
- Determining whether you have any local, state or international tax obligations related to your cryptocurrency investments
- Assessing your potential exposure and executing an effective strategy with regard to disclosing previously-unreported cryptocurrency transactions
- Filing all necessary new and amended tax returns
- Representing you in direct communications with the IRS and other tax authorities, including during tax audits and criminal tax investigations
- Negotiating offers in compromise and deferred prosecution agreements
- Developing tax strategies for avoiding future issues at the state, federal and international levels
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Introduction To Bitcoin In Canada
Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum are attracting more attention from the media and from Canadian taxpayers. Due to their nature Bitcoins are in use throughout various jurisdictions, however, not all countries treat Bitcoins in the same way when it comes to income taxation. If you have concerns about how you should be reporting income you have earned in Bitcoins, or how to report profits on the sale of Bitcoins, you should seek the advice of one of our experienced Canadian Tax Lawyers to avoid future problems with the Canada Revenue Agency .
Selling Stuff For Bitcoin
If you sell goods or merchandise for Bitcoin, your gain or loss is the fair market value of the Bitcoin received less the adjusted basis of your property given up. Your basis in the Bitcoin is their fair market value at the time of receipt. Example: Arnie sells an antique rug for Bitcoin valued at $1,000 on the date of the sale. He paid $500 for the carpet, so he has a $500 capital gain. His basis in the Bitcoin is $1,000.
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Do You Have To Pay Taxes On Cryptocurrency Profits
Cryptocurrencies have been in the headlines recently as Bitcoin prices reached all-time highs in 2021. They’re also beginning to be a bigger part of the financial portfolios of consumers, investors and large companies alike. And, more merchants may be willing to accept your cryptocurrencies as payment for goods and services in the coming years.
Before you dive into cryptocurrencies feet first, however, you want to understand the tax implications of buying, selling and using them. Even if you don’t receive any tax forms, the IRS requires you to report your cryptocurrency gains or losses.
Once You Know How Cryptocurrency Is Taxed You Can Focus On Strategies To Minimize How Much Crypto Tax Youll Have To Pay The Irs
Cryptocurrency is one of the hottest topics in the financial news right now. Although it’s a volatile market, statistics show that crypto investors have turned significant profits in the technology’s early innings. Over the past few years, weve certainly seen a lot of people make a lot of money by buying and selling virtual currencies.
Perhaps you’ve already bought some cryptocurrency yourself. If so, you’ll eventually need to find the right time to cash out on the cryptocurrency bonanza. But before you reach that point, you should think about how youre going to deal with crypto taxes. That’s right if you sell for a gain, Uncle Sam will most assuredly want his cut. So, while the virtual currencies might not actually exist, the tax payments you’ll need to make most certainly do.
Naturally, you want to minimize your crypto taxes so you can keep more of your money and maximize your gains. To do this, you first need a basic understanding of how cryptocurrency gains are taxed. Then you can start thinking about ways to reduce or eliminate your tax bill. Hopefully, the information and tips below will help you keep a lid on crypto taxes and let you get ahead financially.
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Bitcoin And Other Cryptocurrencies Are Property
In 2014, the IRS issued a notice declaring that for tax purposes, cryptocurrency is property, not currency. That may sound like a trivial distinction, but in this case its the basis for when the IRS decides whether individuals owe taxes.
These bitcoin tax consequences revolve around what the government agency calls a realization event. Here’s how it boils down:
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If you acquired a bitcoin from mining, that value is taxable immediately no need to sell the currency to create a tax liability.
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If you disposed of or used bitcoin by cashing it on an exchange or buying goods and services, you will owe taxes if the realized value is greater than the price at which you acquired the bitcoin. You may have a capital gain thats taxable at either short-term or long-term rates.
Many people think that theres no tax consequences when they sell an object its for personal use and theyre expecting to lose money on it anyway, whether it be a car, an appliance or another piece of property, says Brian R. Harris, a tax attorney at law firm Akerman LLP in Tampa, Florida. Many people arent in the mind-set of holding tangible objects for investment and then recognizing gains when they ultimately sell them.
But if theres been a gain from the bitcoin owners cost basis, theres a tax liability, he says.
When Youll Owe Taxes On Cryptocurrency
Because the IRS considers virtual currencies property, their taxable value is based on capital gains or losses basically, how much value your holdings gained or lost in a given period.
When you trade cryptocurrencies or when you spend cryptocurrency to buy something, those transactions are subject to capital gains taxes, because youre spending a capital asset to get something or get another asset, says Shehan Chandrasekera, CPA, head of tax strategy at CoinTracker.io, a crypto tax software company.
The difference between the amount you spent when you bought or received the crypto and the amount you earn for its sale is the capital gain or capital loss what youll report on your tax return. Broadly speaking, if you bought $100 worth of Bitcoin and sold it for $500, youd see a capital gain of $400. If your Bitcoin lost value in that time, youd instead face a capital loss. If your losses exceed your gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 from your taxable income .
The amount of time you owned the crypto plays a part, too. If you held onto a unit of Bitcoin for more than a year, it would generally qualify as a long-term capital gain. But if you bought and sold it within a year, its a short-term gain. These differences can affect which tax rate is applied. The tax rate also varies based on your overall taxable income, and there are limits to how much you may deduct in capital losses if your crypto asset loses value.
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Example : Capital Gain Or Loss
Tim found a deal on a living room set at an online vendor that accepts Bitcoin. Tim acquired $3,500 worth of Bitcoin to buy the furniture with. By the time he bought the furniture and converted his remaining Bitcoin back into dollars, the value of Tims Bitcoin had increased by $500. The gain realized by Tim was on account of capital, so Tim has to report a $500 capital gain on his income tax return. However, only 50% of that capital gain is taxable.
What Is A Bitcoin
Bitcoins are a type of virtual currency known as cryptocurrency and originally created by an anonymous computer programmer in 2009. Because Bitcoins are designed to allow for anonymous exchanges, they have become a cause for concern for income tax and other authorities the world over due to the potential for money laundering and other illegal activities.Since the creation of the Bitcoin currency its value has fluctuated dramatically. So far there have been two recorded crashes in the value of Bitcoins, in 2011 & 2013, and during the latter crash, Bitcoins lost over 50% of their value in a single day.
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Get Into Crypto Business
- Difficulty: Hard
- Speed: Slow
- Possible Earnings: Unlimited
The last way to make money with Bitcoin is to start a business that deals with cryptocurrencies. This can be something like running an exchange, beginning a Bitcoin ATM business, or creating tools that helps others on their journey to acquire or sell Bitcoin.
It’s essential that you have a good understanding of how cryptocurrency works from a technical standpoint or that you have someone on your team who does. In addition, if you want to start a business in the space, you’ll likely need a lawyer and an accountant to ensure everything is legal and secure.
Pros
- Make money by doing something you enjoy
- Ability to work from anywhere, as long as you’re online
Cons
Crypto Miners May Be Treated Differently From Others
Do you mine cryptocurrency as a business? Then you might be able to deduct your expenses, as a typical business would. Your revenue is the value of what you produce.
If you mine cryptocurrency, you realize income at the fair market value, so thats your basis in the cryptocurrency, says Harris. If this is a trade or business, your expenses may be deductible.
But that last bit is the key point: You have to be running a trade or business to qualify. You cant operate your mining rig as a hobby and enjoy the same deductions as an actual business.
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How To Avoid Irs Penalties
When it comes to cryptocurrency taxes, keep things as honest and transparent as possible. The IRS views cryptocurrency as property, and so any capital gains acquired from the sale or transfer of said property must be reported as income, the same as the sale or transfer of any other asset. You are also allowed to report losses if sales or transfers resulted in a capital loss. Then, you can write off up to $3,000.
To avoid IRS penalties, always report your earnings accurately. You should accurately calculate losses or gains to ensure your figures are correct. To determine your capital loss/gain, take the purchase price of your position, including fees, and subtract it from the selling price. If the number is negative, you took a loss. If its positive, you profited. Accurate recordkeeping is absolutely essential, even for crypto traders.
