Cryptocurrency and Taxes, Part 2

Part 1 of our discussion about Cryptocurrency and Taxes started with the question that appeared for the first time on the 2019 tax return, which reads:  

 “At any time during the tax year, did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency.”   

A response of “yes” to this question usually means you’ve triggered a taxable event from your virtual currency transactions, which must be reported on your tax return.  

Virtual currency is a digital representation of value. You can access it digitally and spend it at a variety of places.  Virtual currency operates  like “real currency” except it does not have legal tender status in the United States.  For tax purposes, we refer to convertible virtual currencies, which means they can be converted in and out of US Dollars.  Non convertible virtual currencies such as those that are purchased to play games on your phone, computer, or gaming console can only be used within the gaming system and can’t be converted back to US dollars.  These non-convertible virtual currencies are not the subject of our discussion.  

Cryptocurrency is a type of virtual currency.  It uses cryptography to record secure transactions digitally on a distributed ledger such as blockchain.  Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple are popular types of cryptocurrencies.  The use case for crypto has expanded and evolved to an eco-system since Bitcoin first launched in 2009.

Entering the cryptocurrency eco system may feel like jumping into a game of double dutch jump rope.  As a jumper, how do you know when to jump in?  Once you’re in, how do keep jumping without stepping on and stopping the ropes from turning?   Learning about cryptocurrency is one step into the crypto journey.  

Here’s part 2, the remainder of the conversation, with John Wingate, CEO at  BankSocial™ and crypto expert. We discuss the growing popularity of decentralized finance, DeFi, and its impact on banking and financial systems as we know them.  John ends the conversation by providing tips to begin your journey into cryptocurrency.

BankSocial™ is the first and only Decentralized Banking and Finance Platform, built 100% from the ground up on the Blockchain, that pays the banks members for holding tokens to fund loans.

Website:   https://www.banksocial.io
Email:  john@banksocial.io
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/banksocial
FB:  https://bit.ly/3ffSL4K
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/banksocialio
YouTube:  https://youtube.com/BankSocial
IG:  https://www.instagram.com/banksocial.io


Thank you for listening.

As with any tax issue, contact your tax professional to help you navigate your own unique situation.


We’d love to hear from you about the show. Leave us a message. Keep it clean!

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/practicaltax)

Cryptocurrency and Taxes, Part 1

question about virtual currency

The following question appeared for the first time on the 2019 tax return: “At any time during the tax year, did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency.” Taxpayers must indicate whether or not they engaged in virtual currency transactions by responding yes or no. The tax return will not be accepted for e-filing or filing, period, if an answer to this question is omitted.

Answers to Question

Answer “Yes” to the question on the tax return if at any time during the tax year, you received, sold, sent, exchanged, or otherwise acquired any financial interest in any virtual currency, including cryptocurrency.

Answer "No" if you held virtual currency in a digital wallet or account, or transferred virtual currency between digital wallets or accounts owned or controlled by you.


The IRS defines virtual currency as “a digital representation of value, other than a representation of the U.S. dollar or a foreign currency (“real currency”), that functions as a unit of account, a store of value, and a medium of exchange.”

Cryptocurrency is a type of virtual currency. Cryptocurrency uses cryptography to record secure transactions digitally on a distributed ledger such as blockchain. Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum are popular types of cryptocurrency.

Joining the conversation today is John Wingate, a crypto expert who is freeing the world with a new economic system. John is CEO at BankSocial™. He explains how the use case for crypto has expanded and evolved to an eco-system since Bitcoin first launched in 2009.

BankSocial™ is the first and only Decentralized Banking and Finance Platform, built 100% from the ground up on the Blockchain, that pays the banks members for holding tokens to fund loans. We utilize our proprietary BLOCKSCORE™ social credit scoring system and social consensus lending pool, built with the security of smart contracts, to provide Mortgage, Auto and Micro Lending to the world. BankSocial is by the people, for the people.

Website: https://www.banksocial.io

Email: john@banksocial.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/banksocial

FB: https://bit.ly/3ffSL4K

Twitter: https://twitter.com/banksocialio

YouTube: https://youtube.com/BankSocial

IG: https://www.instagram.com/banksocial.io


Thank you for listening.

We’d love to hear from you about the show. Leave us a message. Keep it clean!

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/practicaltax)