Monday, April 14, 2014

Bitcoin Miners to Owe Self Employment, Social Security & Medicare Taxes

The IRS made a very important ruling recently regarding the status of bitcoins in the eyes of the government. According to the IRS, bitcoin is not a currency. The IRS views bitcoin as a taxable property. Any capital gains from spending bitcoins or converting them into real currency is also taxable. This ruling has been applied to all past and future transactions and mining efforts involving bitcoins. For the early adapters who have been in the bitcoin business from the start will need to go back and report all their bitcoin activity applicable to the IRS.

It has also been determined that Bitcoin minors are self-employed individuals. That means they will need to report all Bitcoin earnings both past and present when filing their taxes. They will have to pay self-employment taxes, which include social security and Medicare withholding.

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