IRS Set To Take Stringent Actions Against Crypto Tax Evaders

US citizens who did not report their earnings from crypto trading or under reported such earnings should be a worried lot. Bloomberg Reports that the Internal Revenue Service has unearthed that a number of taxpayers in the country under reported their income from crypto earnings or entirely did not report such income. The taxpayers who have been unearthed should now anticipate notices in the next couple of days.

To unearth the syndicate, the taxman used its document marching program which is a tool that is employed widely to discover unreported as well as under reported earnings leading to pinpointing of the affected individuals. The agency is now finalizing on the notices to be sent to the identified tax evaders.

Audit On Crypto Owners To Commence Soon

In addition, the IRS has announced that it will soon commence audits of taxpayers who own crypto audits. Mary Beth Murphy, IRS commissioner for the Small Business/Self-Employed Division, said that the authority’s exam teams are now concentrating on crypto owning taxpayers.

Murphy also explained that The Small Business/Self-Employed Division and the Large Business and International Division are collaborating to determine how the crypto related audits will proceed as these are new cases in the market.

Murphy’s remarks comes few days after IRS investigator Gary Alford issued a warning to crypto tax evaders that an imminent crackdown was on the way. The investigator explained that the tax agency was privy to technological advancements in the market and is therefore better positioned to deal with crypto tax issues that may arise.

In addition, Alford also explained that members of justice department are now more informed on how Bitcoin and other cryptos operate. this , therefore, makes the litigation of crypto tax evasion issues very easy within the judicial system.

Call For Extra Guidance

In the last couple of years, the crypto industry has exploded with unprecedented development and growth. Now, focus has been on various government agencies like IRS to come up with guidelines to drive the crypto industry. It is on this basis that the tax agency is preparing to issue extra guidance on how crypto based assets will be taxed going forward.

IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig says that the new guidance is necessitated by the fact that cryptos have evolved. The commissioner also stated that the agency is also issuing the new guidelines to create awareness and ensure taxpayers are not caught off guard when they fail to declare their crypto earnings.

A letter addressing the US Congress last month, Rettig stated that cryptos have evolved and are now being utilized as a means of exchange and as an investment. He called on Congress to come up with additional guidelines to ease taxation.

According to CCN, under the IRS regulations, anyone sending and receiving digital currency worth more than $1,000 will have to give details of the sender and the receiver, to the overseeing agency. Additionally, IRS says cryptos are properties and not currencies and, as such, taxes apply on them.

Should most of US based crypto owners be worried? Let us know in the comments section.