In an early draft of the 2022 Internal Revenue Service's tax form, cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and non-fungible tokens are categorized under a new 'Digital Asset' category.
The Internal Revenue Service's draft bill includes a well-defined Digital Assets section that defines whether and how taxpayers would report for the usage of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and NFTs.
Digital Assets are defined on page 16 of the draft as "any digital representations of the value recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any equivalent technology." The tax form for 2021 required taxpayers to declare whether they had received, sold, or traded 'virtual currency,' with this term changing in the yet-to-be-released 1040 tax form for 2022.
Taxpayers must report whether or not they have engaged in digital asset transactions during the tax year in the Digital Assets section of their income tax return.
A number of situations will necessitate American taxpayers to answer yes to the Digital Assets question on Form 1040 or 1040-SR. In 2022, this includes receiving a digital asset as a reward, award, or payment for property or services, as well as selling, exchanging, gifting, or disposing of a digital asset.
This would include situations in which an individual got digital assets as payment for property or services rendered, or as a prize or recognition. This category includes receiving new digital assets through mining or staking, as well as transacting digital assets in return for products or services and exchanging or trading digital assets.
The draft tax form specifically addresses holding cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, NFTs, or staking tokens:
“You have a financial interest in a digital asset if you are the owner of record of a digital asset, have an ownership position in an account that contains one or more digital assets, including the rights and duties to acquire a financial interest, or possess a wallet that stores digital assets.”
The Digital Assets explainer also outlined conditions under which taxpayers are not required to check Yes on their tax forms. If an individual holds a digital asset in a wallet or account, transfers digital assets from one wallet or account to another, or acquires digital assets using US dollars or other fiat currencies via electronic platforms such as PayPal.
Digital asset transactions can be properly classified in the 2022 tax return's capital gains or income sections.
If an individual disposes any digital asset held as a capital asset throughout the year, they must calculate their capital gain or loss and disclose it on Schedule D of their tax return.
Lastly, individuals who received digital assets as payment for services or sold digital assets to clients in a trade or company must declare this income in the appropriate category.
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