The IRS has published a Revenue Ruling and FAQs clarifying some long-standing virtual currency questions.

By Brian C. McManus, Elena Romanova, Stephen P. Wink, Sam (Seung Hyun) Yang, and Deric Behar

On October 9, 2019, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued its first guidance on the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies in at least five years. The guidance includes Revenue Ruling 2019-24 (Ruling) and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) for taxpayers who transact in virtual currencies and hold them as investment. The guidance supplements Notice 2014-21, which explains that virtual currency is treated as property for federal income tax purposes. The Ruling addresses whether a taxpayer holding a cryptocurrency has taxable income as a result of a “hard fork” with and without an “airdrop.” The FAQs provide guidance on the calculation of value and of tax basis of virtual currencies in various situations.