IRS Virtual Currency Guidance : Virtual Currency Is Bitcoin documentation as Property for U. These FAQs provide basic information on the U.
United States or of any other country that is designated as legal tender, circulates, and is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of issuance — but it does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction. The notice provides that virtual currency is treated as property for U. General tax principles that apply to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency. Wages paid to employees using virtual currency are taxable to the employee, must be reported by an employer on a Form W-2, and are subject to federal income tax withholding and payroll taxes. Payments using virtual currency made to independent contractors and other service providers are taxable and self-employment tax rules generally apply.
Normally, payers must issue Form 1099. The character of gain or loss from the sale or exchange of virtual currency depends on whether the virtual currency is a capital asset in the hands of the taxpayer. A payment made using virtual currency is subject to information reporting to the same extent as any other payment made in property. Further details, including a set of 16 questions and answers, are in Notice 2014-21, posted today on IRS. Many thousands of articles have been written purporting to explain Bitcoin, the online, peer-to-peer currency.