U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are encouraging the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to propose and implement guidance addressing cryptocurrency broker tax reporting.
The lawmakers cited in November 2021 Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) directing Treasury and IRS to implement new rules requiring third-party crypto brokers to report relevant information on sales, gains and losses to the IRS. Congress directed the Treasury Department to implement the new rules in time for the 2024 tax filing season.
“Nearly two years have passed since the law was enacted, and the implementation deadline is less than six months away – but Treasury has yet to publish proposed rules,” the legislators wrote in letters to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel.
“Without quick action, your agencies are at risk of failing to meet their congressionally-mandated deadlines for implementation of a final rule.”
The IIJA directed the Treasury Department to require third-party brokers to facilitate crypto transactions to report to the IRS and to crypto users themselves – relevant information about that user’s crypto sales, the gains or losses they have incurred and certain large transactions.
The new rules were designed to ensure that all Americans pay their fair share and ensure crypto users can more easily file their taxes. It also enables the IRS to use its resources to go after large-scale violators and close the crypto tax gap and raise revenue.