Case Study 9-1: Taxation of Cryptocurrency - Mining (S Corp - Tax Liability)

Index - https://steemit.com/tax/@alhofmeister/tax-blog-index

To complete my earlier examples, I've decided to calculate the tax due on each one. To identify the tax impact of the transaction, I have excluded income from other sources as well as the standard deduction/personal exemptions.

Note that I am assigning the salary to the owner arbitrarily ($125 a month). The determination of what represents reasonable compensation for people engaged in the practice of mining cryptocurrency is beyond the scope of this article. Additionally, I am treating cryptocurrency mining as an activity which would qualify for the 20% deduction for pass through entities for 2018. The activity might not qualify under IRC 199A as it might fall into the definition of dealing in commodities which will hopefully be clarified by IRS regulations this year.

Problem
Taxpayer A decides to mine Bitcoin in January. To accomplish this task, Taxpayer A acquires mining hardware for $500, purchases software for $50 and joins a mining pool that distributes earnings net of a 5% surcharge. Each month, the mining operation increases the electricity bill by $100. In addition, Taxpayer A manages the website the mining pool uses to advertise and is paid $50 a month. Taxpayer A uses a personal computer that is also used for personal reasons (40% personal/60% business). The personal computer was acquired in a prior year and converted to it's current use. The computer cost $600 when it was originally purchased but it's current fair market value is $300. Over the course of the year, Taxpayer A receives the following payouts from the mining operation:

1. In February, Taxpayer A is awarded 0.05 Bitcoins when it is valued at $13,000.
2. In April, Taxpayer A is awarded 0.08 Bitcoins when it is valued at $14,000.
3. In May, Taxpayer A is awarded 0.04 Bitcoins when it is valued at $10,000.
4. In August, Taxpayer A is awarded 0.02 Bitcoins when it is valued at $16,000.
5. In November, Taxpayer A is awarded 0.10 Bitcoins when it is valued at $12,000.

Additionally, Taxpayer A engages in the following transactions throughout the year:

1. In September, Taxpayer A sells 0.07 Bitcoins when it is valued at $16,000. Transaction fees totaled $50.
2. In December, Taxpayer A sells 0.04 Bitcoins when it is valued at $13,000. Transaction fees total $50.

Solution
2017

2018

Note that I am not considering federal & state unemployment (payroll) taxes in my calculation above.

Disclaimer
Any accounting, business or tax advice contained in this communication, including attachments and enclosures, is not intended as a thorough, in-depth analysis of specific issues, nor a substitute for a formal opinion, nor is it sufficient to avoid tax-related penalties.