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@Catherine Better late than never? Choose "Custom" from the Categories dropdown!

I love the dope slap one! I've used it before when someone pulls a bonehead like typing 'walla' instead of voilà.

Well if my client gets into all this razzle dazzle he can find a new taxman.

We do know how to amuse ourselves, don't we?

"The Internal Revenue Service is inundated with the volume of returns yet to be processed and phone calls for assistance, and is working hard to remedy the situation. While there are many factors contributing to this, it is overwhelming to the agency, according to Stephen Mankowski, tax chair of the National Conference of CPA Practitioners, who attended a recent IRS meeting for stakeholders. “The National Taxpayer Advocate reported they are working to remedy this in multiple ways. The level of service is at its lowest historically, with more calls coming in daily than ever,” he said. “Hiring and training take time. The automated callback program has been successful, but the number of people in the queue is limited to the number of assistants available,” he said. “The number of calls coming in, particularly regarding the Child Tax Credit, are exacerbating the problem.” “Paper returns have piled up — there are 5.5 million Form 1040s and over 4 million business returns that have been opened but not processed. The goal is that by year-end, the paper returns will be processed. However, there are an additional 4 million returns anticipated by mid-October,” he said. National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins is empathetic, Mankowski commented. “She truly feels our pain. She understands the taxpayer issues that exist, and the problems getting through to the IRS. She’s dealing with a lot of calls from practitioners and taxpayers trying to get resolution on issues. It’s just a matter of not having enough bodies to do the work." It will be a miracle if the IRS can get anywhere near normal operations this coming tax season

A touch of gallows humor

Yes, as I understand it.

Follow Pacun's explanation to get a grasp on crypto. IRS regs consider crypto to be property, subject to the usual cap gain/loss rules with the exception that wash sale rules don't apply; no FBAR reporting is required either at this time. (Not sure about a Venezuela registered account though.) The FMV of the "rewards" is reported as other income, because the client got something of value for nothing (just like getting interest). I'd say the Venezuela freebie is also other income (just like banks used to offer you $20 to open an account), again because you got something for nothing. Crypto purchases are not tax reportable (just like buying stock isn't; IRS even says not to mark the box on the return if the client only bought crypto). Sales, however, are capital transactions. Conversion is selling one type of coin to buy another (just like selling GM stock to buy Ford stock), so it goes on Sch D. Using a coin to pay for something is also a sale, but hardly anyone ever does that. Moving coins from one wallet or exchange to another is not reportable, just like changing banks doesn't have any tax implications. Just think of the coins as stock. If you buy it, nothing to report. If you sell, it goes on Sch D. Tell crypto clients to get the tracking software. My clients who have it produce a filled in Sch D complete with 8949s, which I attach to the return. Coinbase statements often don't give dates and even if they did, the prices of various cryptos change by the second so there is no way to look up FMV like you could for a stock. The software may also account for things like "hard forks" and "airdrops" that I won't confuse you with because I'm confused! The basic rubric, though, is treat it like a stock transaction--that should make it simpler in your mind and eliminate most of the noise.

If you think of bitcoin as an investment similar to buying shares of a mutual fund, then you are on your way to understanding bitcoin.

Sometimes money doesn't solve the problem. Thanks for posting.