Cryptocurrencies « Taxable Talk

Archive for the ‘Cryptocurrencies’ Category

Form 8300, Cryptocurrency, and Gambling

Wednesday, August 9th, 2023

A Twitter/X post from John Reed Stark reminded me about an issue that may soon impact you if you are a professional gambler playing on one of the current US-facing sites such as Ignition or America’s Card Room (ACR). FINCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) Form 8300 requires anyone in business–this includes individuals (sole proprietors), partnerships, LLCs, and corporations–to report cash transactions of more than $10,000. This law isn’t new, and like almost anything related to money laundering/FINCEN there are draconian penalties for not complying. What is new is that cryptocurrency is considered “cash” for this purpose under Section 6050I of the Infrastructure Act (which passed in November 2021). This section of the law takes effect on January 1, 2024.

Form 8300 requires you to inform FINCEN (or the IRS if you’re not subject to electronic filing rules) within 15 days of any transaction of more than $10,000:

Who must file. Each person engaged in a trade or business who, in the course of that trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in two or more related transactions, must file Form 8300. Any transactions conducted between a payer (or its agent) and the recipient in a 24-hour period are related transactions. Transactions are considered related even if they occur over a period of more than 24 hours if the recipient knows, or has reason to know, that each transaction is one of a series of connected transactions.

This would include deposits onto gambling websites and withdrawals. It would include two $5,500 transactions if you deliberately split your withdrawal into two transactions or if the gambling website splits the transaction into two. (If you are outside of the United States when the entirety of the transaction occurs you are generally exempt.)

Today’s form doesn’t have a place for cryptocurrency, but I would expect that to be remedied by the end of the year (the last version of the form is dated August of 2014). Form 8300 can be paper-filed or electronically filed on the BSA efile system. (NOTE: Beginning January 1, 2024, if you are required to efile other information returns such as W-2s or 1099s, you will be required to efile Form 8300.)

While efforts exist in Congress to repeal the new Section 6050I, it’s highly unlikely these efforts will come to fruition. Indeed, very little of substance has come out of this Congress; given the political divide in the country, expect this law to be in force in five months. If you’re a professional gambler doing large cryptocurrency transactions (or, for that matter any business that accepts cryptocurrency) you will have more work ahead of you in the new year.

Posted in Cryptocurrencies, Gambling | Comments Closed

Unshocking News from the IRS: Staking Income Is Taxable

Tuesday, August 1st, 2023

In what shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, the IRS announced yesterday in Revenue Ruling 2023-14 that staking income, when received, is taxable income based on the fair market value when constructively received. This should be a surprise to no one–if you receive something with a value it’s an accession to wealth and that’s the definition of income. For myself and our clients, this has been how we’ve treated staking income because the answer of whether or not this was taxable was so obvious.

Posted in Cryptocurrencies | Comments Closed

Online Gambling and Cryptocurrency Addresses for 2023

Wednesday, February 1st, 2023

If you have one or more foreign financial accounts and you have $10,000 aggregate in those account(s) at any time during 2022, you must file the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (the “FBAR”). This is Form 114 from FINCEN. (The IRS and FINCEN now allege that foreign online poker accounts are “casino” accounts that must be reported as foreign financial accounts. The rule of thumb, when in doubt report, applies—especially given the extreme penalties.) You also should consider filing an FBAR if you have $10,000 or more in a non-US Cryptocurrency Exchange.

There’s a problem, though. Most of these entities don’t broadcast their addresses. Some individuals sent email inquiries to one of these gambling sites and received politely worded responses (or not so politely worded) that said that it’s none of your business.

Well, not fully completing the Form 114 can subject you to a substantial penalty. I’ve been compiling a list of the addresses of the online gambling sites. It’s presented below.

FINCEN does not want dba’s; however, they’re required for Form 8938. One would think that two different agencies of the Department of the Treasury would speak the same language…but one would be wrong.

You will see the entries do include the dba’s. Let’s say you’re reporting an account on PokerStars. On the FBAR, you would enter the address as follows:

Rational Intellectual Properties Limited
Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Rd
Onchan, IM31DZ Isle of Man

Here’s how you would enter it for Form 8938:

Rational Intellectual Properties Limited dba PokerStars
Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Rd
Onchan, IM3 1DZ Isle of Man

You will also see that on the FBAR spaces in a postal code are removed; they’re entered on Form 8938. You can’t make this stuff up….

Finally, I no longer have an address for Bodog. If anyone has a current mailing address, please leave it in the comments or email me with it.

Foreign cryptocurrency exchanges with just cryptocurrency do not have to be reported on the FBAR. However, if the account holds anything else (such as ‘fiat’ currency like US dollars, Euros, etc.) the account is reportable.

There is no dispute, though, about reporting foreign cryptocurrency exchanges on Form 8938: They must be reported on Form 8938 (if you have a Form 8938 filing requirement).

Note: This list is presented for informational purposes only. It is believed accurate as of February 1, 2023. However, I do not take responsibility for your use of this list or for the accuracy of any of the addresses presented on the list.

The list is in the cut text below.

The list is in alphabetical order by the common name (not the legal name) of the gambling site. An entry is:

Common Name
Legal Name
Address
City, State/Territory, Postal Code, Country

Note that not all entities have states/territories or postal codes.

IMPORTANT: When reporting on Form 114, the dba’s are not included. When reporting on Form 8938, the dba’s are included.

10Bet
Ocean Star Limited dba 10bet.com
Dragonara Business Center, 5th Flr, Dragonara Rd
St. Julians, STJ3141, Malta

12Bet (except U.K.)
Pacific Sea Marketing International Ltd. dba 12bet.com
MillMall, Ste 6, Wickhams Cay 1, PO Box 3085
Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

12Bet (U.K.)
TGP Europe Limited dba 12bet.uk
22A Castle St
Douglas, IM1 2EZ, Isle of Man

188Bet
Cube Limited dba 188bet
Ground Floor, St. George’s Court, Upper Church St
Douglas, IM1 1EE, Isle of Man

5dimes
5Dimes Casino and Sportsbook
Edificio Equus
San Jose, Costa Rica

888poker (except U.K.)
Virtual Digital Services Limited dba 888 Poker
Level G, Quantum House; 75, Abate Rigord St
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1120, Malta

888poker (U.K.)
888 UK Limited dba 888 Poker
Ste 601-701, Europort
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

AA Poker
Memoriki Limited dba AA Poker
18/F, Star Centre, 35 Hung To Rd, Kwun Tong, Kowloon
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

America’s Cardroom
BMX Entertainment S.A. dba America’s Cardroom
Sabana Sur, Edificio La Colmena Contigo a Grupo Sama
San Jose, Costa Rica

Asianconnect88
Asianconnect N.V. dba Asianconnect88
E-Zone Beheer van Engelen N.V., Van Engelenweg 21A
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)

BestPoker
Best Global N.V. dba Best Poker
BS Building, Level 1, Triq Il-Mosta,
Lija, LJA 9012, Malta

Bet365
Bet365
Hillside, Festival Way, Stoke-on-Trent
Staffordshire, ST1 5SH, United Kingdom

Betanysports Casino and Sportsbook
Betanysports Casino and Sportsbook
Edificio Equus
San Jose, Costa Rica

Betclic
Managas Gaming Malta Limited dba Betclic
Level 3, Tagliaferro Business Center; High St c/w Gaiety Ln
Sliema, SLM1551, Malta

Betcoin.ag
Global Limiting Holding EOOD dbaBetcoin.ag
Nikola Vaptsarov Blvd
Sofia, Bulgaria

BetCris
TV Global Enterprises Ltd dba BetCris
Villa Seminia, 8 Sir Temi Zammit Ave
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1011 Malta

BETDAQ
LC International Limited dba BETDAQ
Ste 6, Atlantic Suites
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

BETDSI
Diamond Sportsbook International dba BETDSI
Santa Ana
San Jose, Costa Rica

Betfair
PBB Counterparty Services Limited dba Betfair
Triq il-Kappillan Mifsud
St. Venera, SVR1851, Malta

Betfred
Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited
5/2 Waterfront Place
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Betmost Poker
WHG (International) Limited dba Betmost Poker
6/1 Waterfront Place
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Betnow.eu
Betnow.eu
14 Garrick St
London, WC2E 9SB, United Kingdom

Betonline
BLS International dba Betonline.ag
cs@betonline.ag
Panama City, Panama

BetPhoenix
International Radical Investment S.A. dba BetPhoenix
San Jose Paseo Colon, Condomino 6-30, Torre A, Apartamento 1201
San Jose, Costa Rica

Betsafe
BML Group Ltd Limited dba Betsafe Poker
Betsson Experience Center, Ta’Xbiex Seafront
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1027, Malta

Bettson
BML Group Ltd dba Bettson
Betsson Experience Center, Ta’Xbiex Seafront
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1027, Malta

BetUS
Firepower Trading Ltd dba BetUS
Anthinodorou, 3 Dasoupoll, Strovolos
Nicosia, 2025, Cyprus

betusa.ag
Online Management Services dba betusa.ag
Jasmine Ct, Ste 17, Friar’s Hill Rd
St. Johns, Antigua

BetVictor
Victor Chandler International Ltd dba BetVictor
Ste 23, Portland House, Glacis Rd
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Binance
Binance Marketing Services Limited
C85602 Melita Ct, Level 3, Triq Giusseppe Cali
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1420, Malta

Bitfinex (non-US users)
BFXNA Inc dba Bitfinex
Ste 13/F, 1308 Bank of America Tower, 12 Harcourt Rd, Central
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Bitfinex (US users)
Finex Inc. dba Bitfinex
Chaucer Group Limited, 10 Lower Thames
London, E3R 6E14, United Kingdom

BitMax.io
BitMax.io
114 Lavender St, #09-88, Ct Hub 2
Singapore, 338729, Singapore

BitMex
100x Grouop dba BitMex
Second Flr, Capital City, Independence Ave, PO Box 1008
Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles

Bitrue
Bitrue Singapore Pte. Ltd.
73 Upper Paya Lebar Rd, #06-01C, Centro Bianco
Singapore, 534818, Singapore

Bitstamp
Bitstamp Ltd.
5 New Street Square
London, EC4A 3TW, United Kingdom

Black Chip Poker
BMX Entertianment S.A.
Sabana Sur, Edificio La Colmena Contigo a Grupo Sama
San Jose, Costa Rica

Blockchain
Blockchain.info
Rue de Merl, 741, Rue Phillipell
Luxembourg, 2340, Luxembourg

Bluetrade.com
Bleu Digital Enterprises Ltd
527, St. Paul’s St
St. Paul’s Bay, Malta

Bodog
Bodog
service@bodog.eu
Manila, Philippines

Bookmaker.eu
Costa Rica International Sports dba Bookmaker.eu
Edificio La Colmena; 75m W Contraloria de la Sabana Sur
San Jose, Costa Rica

Bovada
Lynton Limited Ltd dba Bovada
Craig Plaza, 51-55, Fountain St
Belfast, BT1 5EB, United Kingdom

Boylesports
Boylesports Ltd
Finnabair Industrial Estate, Dundalk
County Louth, Ireland

Bwin
ElectraWorks Limited dba BWIN
Ste 6, Atlantic Suites, Europort Ave
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Cafe Casino
Lynton Limited dba Cafe Casino
Craig Plaza, 51-55 Fountain St
Belfast, BT1 5EB United Kingdom

Carbon Poker
PDC Global Collections Ltd dba Carbon Poker
19/21 Circular Rd
Douglas, Isle of Man

CaribSports
Carib International Entertainment Ltd dba CaribSports
35 New Rd
Belize City, Belize

Cashpoint
Cashpoint (Malta) Ltd.
Level 1, Salvu Psaila St
Birkirkara, BKR9077, Malta

Casino77
Mandarin Gaming NV dba Casino 77
Soho Office 3A, Edge Water Complex, Elia Zammit St
St. Julians, Malta

Celeb Poker
Wizplay OS (Cyprus) Limited dba Celeb Poker
Flat 22, 6 Tassou Papadopolou St
Agios Dometios, Nicosia, 2372, Cyprus

Celsius Network Limited
Celsius Network Limited
The Harley Bldg, 77-79 New Cavendish St
London, W1W 6XB, United Kingdom

CEX
CEX.io Ltd
24th Flr, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf
London, E14 5AB, United Kingdom

Click and Buy
Click and Buy International Ltd
6-9 Cynthia St
London, N1 9JF United Kingdom

Cloudbet
Halcyon Super Holdings BV dba Cloudbet
Pareraweg 45
Willemstad, Curacao

CoinEgg Ltd
CoinEgg Ltd
38 Hunstanton Ave
Birmingham, B17 8TA, United Kingdom

CoinLoan
CoinLoan
Lastekodu 25-38
Tallinn, Estonia

Coinmate
Confirmo Ltd. dba Coinmate
The Shard Floor 24/25, 26 London Bridge St
London, SE1 95G, United Kingdom

ComeOn! Poker
Co-Gaming Limited dba ComeOn! Poker
3rd Flr, Spinola Park, Tirq Mikiel Ang Borg
St. Julians, SPK1000, Malta

Coral Poker
Gala Interactive (Gibraltar) Ltd dba Coral Poker
Ste 6, Atlantic Suites
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Crypto.com
Foris DAX Asia Pte. Ltd. dba crypto.com
#25-01, 1 Raffles Quay, North Tower
Singapore, 048583, Singapore

Crypto.games
MuchGaming B.V. dba crypto.games
Fransche Bloemweg 4
Willemstad, Curacao

CryptoPay
CryptoPay
WeWork Bldg, 12 Hammersmith Grove
London, W6 7AP, United Kingdom

CurrencyFair
CurrencyFair Ltd
Colm House, 91 Pembroke Rd
Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland

Dafabet
Bayvieew Technologies Ltd dba Dafabet
RCBC Plaza, Makati
Cagayan Valley, Philippines

Diamond Sportsbook
Diamond Sportsbook International dba BETDSI
Santa Ana
San Jose, Costa Rica

DuckDice.io
Sabant B.V dba DuckDice
Heelsumstraat 51, E-Commercepark Unit 102
Willemstad, Curacao

ecoPayz
PSI-Pay Ltd dba ecoPayz
Afon House, Worthing Rd
Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1TL, United Kingdom

Electrum [Bitcoin Wallet]
Electrum
63-65 Blvd Massena
Paris, 75013, France

Entropay
Ixaris Systems (Malta) Ltd. dba Entropay
2 Stephen St
London, W1T 1AN, United Kingdom

Expekt Sportsbook
Mangas Gaming Malta Limited dba Expekt Sportsbook
Level 3, Tagliaferro Business Center, High St c/w Gaiety Ln
Sliema, SLM1551, Malta

EveryGame Sportsbook/Casino
CitoPedia N.V. dba EveryGame Sportsbook/Casino
Heelsumstraat 51
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)

Fabulous Poker
Investments Manager, S.A. dba Fabulouspoker.com
Sabana Sur
San Jose, 10000, Costa Rica

Fairlay
Fairlay LLC
200 Meters norte de la Cruz Roja de Santa Ana, 8vo Piso
San Jose, San Rafael, Costa Rica

Foxbit
Foxbit
Av. Eng. Luis Carlos Berrini, 550; Cidade Moncoes
Sao Paulo, Brazil

FTX
FTX Trading Ltd.
Lower Factory Road, PO Box 990
St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda

Gala Poker
LC International Limited dba Gala Poker
Ste 6, Atlantic Suites
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Gate.io
Gate.io
PO Box 31119, Grand Pavilion, Hibiscus Way; 802 W Bay Rd
Grand Cayman KY1-1205, Cayman Islands

Gatehub
GateHub Limited
Level 3, 207 Regent St
London, W1B 3HH, United Kingdom

gbets
Dynamex (Pty) Ltd dba G-bets
PO Box 7383, Westgate
Roodeport, 1734, South Africa

GGPoker
GG International Limited dba GGPoker
8 Upper Dukes Rd
Douglas, IM2 4BA, Isle of Man

Global Poker
VGW GP Limited dba Global Poker
5-7 Matilda Ct, Giuseppe Cali St
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1423, Malta

Goalwin Poker
Merkur Interactive Italia SpA dba Goalwin Poker
Via dei Lavorsatirn 136/138 20092
Cinisello Balsamo, Italy

GTBets
gtbets.eu dba GTBets
support@gtbets.eu
Willemstad, Curacao

Heritage Sports
Heritage Sports
customerservice@heritagesports.com
San Jose, Costa Rica

HitBTC
Hit Tech Solutions Development Ltd dba HitBTC
Ste 15, Oliaji Trade Centre, Francis Rachel St
Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles

Hodlnaut
Hodlnaut Pte Ltd
16 Raffles Quay, #41-01 Hong Leong Bldg
Singapore, 048581, Singapore

Huobi
Huobi Technology Holdings Ltd
Rm 1404-05, 14F, Nan Fung Tower 88
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Iconomi
Iconomi Ltd
10 Orange St
London, WC2H 7DQ, United Kingdom

Ignition Casino
Lynton Limited dba Ignition Casino
Craig Plaza, 51-55 Fountain St
Belfast, BT1 5EB, United Kingdom

Intertops
International Gaming & Entertainment Ltd dba Intertops
PO Box W427, Teledome bldg, Old Parham Rd
St. John’s, Antigua & Barbuda

Interwetten
Interwetten Gaming Ltd.
2nd Flr, Global Capital Bldg, Testaferrata St
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1403, Malta

iPoker
Playtech (Cyprus) Limited dba iPoker
Ground Flr, St. George’s Ct, Upper Church St
Douglas, IM1 1EE, Isle of Man

Iron Poker
Universe Entertainment Services Malta Limited dba Iron Poker
Level 3, Valletta Buildings, South St
Valletta, VLT1103, Malta

J88 Poker
J88Ent Ltd dba J88 Poker
Unit 1101, 11th Flr, Tower 1, Enterprise Square, No. 9, Sheung Yuet Rd; Kowloon Bay
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Jazz Sports
DPT Sports Group dba jazzsports.ag
DPT Building, Pavas
San Jose, Costa Rica

Juicy Stakes Poker
Thinkquick Ltd dba Juicy Stakes Poker
3997 Armory Bldg
Basseterre, St. Kitts (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Justbet.co
Investments Manager, S.A. dba Justbet.co
Edificio La Colmena
San Jose, Costa Rica

Just Dice
Just-Dice.com
PO Box 0823-03411
Panama City, Panama

KuCoin
KuCoin Co., Limited
20 Science Park Rd
Singapore, Singapore

Ladbrokes
LC International plc
Ste 6, Atlantic Suites
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Ledn
Ledn (USA) Inc.
700-350 Bay St
Toronto, ON, M5H 2S6, Canada

Libertyslots.lv
Liberty Slots Group dba Libertyslots.lv
support@libertyslots.com
Willemstad, Curacao

Livecoin
Red Velvet Investments Ltd dba Livecoin
help@livecoin.net
Belize City, Belize

LooseLines
DPT Sports Group dba looselines.ag
DPT Building, Pavas
San Jose, Costa Rica

Lowvig
Lowvig.ag
support@lowvig.ag
San Jose, Costa Rica

Lucky99
5Dimes Casino and Sportsbook dba Lucky99.eu
Edificio Equus
San Jose, Costa Rica

Luxon Payments
Luxon Payments Ltd
Cobden Chambers, Pelham St
Nottingham, NG1 2ED, United Kingdom

MarathonBet
MarathonBet.com
Abraham de Veerstraat 9
Willemstad, Curacao

Matchbook
Triplebet Limited dba Matchbook
Inchalla, Le Val
Alderney, GY9 3UL, Channel Islands (Guernsey)

Mercatox
104363744 Ltd dba Mercatox
Mailboxes E.T.C., Peel House 30
Altincham, WA14 2PX, United Kingdom

MuchBetter
MIR Limited UK Ltd dba MuchBetter
Finance House, 20/21 Aviation Way
Southend, Essex, SS2 6UN, United Kingdom

MyBookie.ag
Duranbah Limited N.V. dba MyBookie.ag
7 Abraham de Veerstraat
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)

Natural8.com
Run Good N.V. dba Natural8.com
9 Abraham de Veerstrat
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)

NetBet
NetBet Enterprises Ltd dba NetBet
209, Marina Street
Pieta, PTA9041, Malta

Neteller
Paysafe Financial Services Ltd. dba Neteller
Compass House, Vision Park, Chivers Way
Cambridge, CB24 9BZ, United Kingdom

Nexo Financial LLC
Nexo Financial LLC
1 Canada Sq, Level 39, Canary Wharf
London, E14 5AB, United Kingdom

Nitrogen Sports
Nitrogen Sports
support@nitrogensports.eu
San Jose, Costa Rica

Nordic Bet
BML Group Ltd dba NordicBet
Betsson Experience Center, Ta’Xbiex Seafront
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1027, Malta

Noxwin
Galaxy Grouop Ltd dba Noxwin.com
Intershare Chambers
Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Oanda Europe
Oanda Europe Limited
Flr 3, 18 St. Swithin’s Ln
London, EC4N 8AD, United Kingdom

Oddsmaker Casino
OddsMaker.ag
support@oddsmaker.ag
Curacao, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)

OKEx
Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd dba OKEx
Unit 10-02, Level 10, Menara Binjai, No. 2, Jalan Binjai
Kuala Lumpur, 50450, Malaysia

OKPoker
Loto Quebec dba OKPoker
500 Sherbrooke St W
Montreal, QC H3A 3G6 Canada

Pacific Poker
Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) Limited dba Pacific Poker
Suite 601-701, Europort Ave
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

PaddyPoker
PBB Counterparty Services Limited dbaPaddyPoker
Triq il-Kappillan Mifsud
St. Venera, SVR1851, Malta

Party Poker
Electra Works dba Party Poker
Suite 6, Atlantic Suites, Europort Ave
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Pinnacle Sports
Ragnarok Corporation N.V. dba Pinnacle.com
Pletterjweg 43
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)

Piwi247.com
Asianconnect N.V. dba Piwi247.com
E-Zone Beheer van Engelen N.V., Van Engelenweg 21A
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)

Planetwin365 Poker
SKS365 Malta, dba Planetwin365 Poker
Corso Vittoria Emanuel 11, 282-284
Rome, 00188, Italy

Players Only
Gaming Ventures Ltd. dba Players Only
60 Nevis St
St. John’s, Antigua (Antigua and Barbuda)

Poker4u
Olincorp Limited dba poker4u
7, Florints St, Greg Tower, 6th Flr
Nicosia, 1065, Cyprus

Poker770
Mandarin Gaming NV dba Poker770
PO Box 4920
Curacao, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao)

Pokerhost
PH Multitech Curacao N.V. dba Pokerhost
E-Commerce Park, Vredenberg
Willemstad, Curacao, (Netherlands Antilles)

PokerKing
King Enterprises BG Ltd. dba PokerKing
Plaza P.L. Brion Unit 4
Willemstad, Curacao

PokerStars
Rational Intellectual Holdings Limited dba PokerStars
Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Rd
Onchan, IM3 1DZ Isle of Man

PokerStars.eu
Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd dba PokerStars.eu
Villa Seminia, 8, Sir Temi Zammit Ave
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1011, Malta

PokerStars.fr
REEL Malta Limited dba PokerStars.fr
Villa Seminia, 8, Sir Temi Zammit Ave
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1011, Malta

Poloniex
Polo Digital Assets, Ltd. dba Poloniex
F20, 1st Floor, Eden Plaza
Eden Island, Seychelles

PPPoker
AceKing Tech Limited dba PPPoker
OMC Offices, Babrow Bldg
The Valley, 2640, Anguilla

PredictIt
PredictIt Europe Limited
6 Agar St
London, WC2N 4HN, United Kingdom

PS3838.com
Ragnarok Corporation dba ps3838.com
Pletterjweg 43
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)

Red Kings
SkillOnNet Ltd. dba Red Kings
Office 1/5297 Level G, Quantum House, 75 Abata Rigord St
Ta’Xbiex, XBX1120, Malta

Red Stag Casino
DeckMedia.NV
Heelsumstraat 51, E-Commerce Park
Willemstad, Curacao

RedStar Poker
RSP Entertainment N.V. dba RedStar Poker
12 Georgiou Grive Digeni, Stephanie House, Office 101
Nicosia, 3101, Cyprus

Run It Once [Poker]
Run It Once Ltd.
35 Strait St
Valletta, VLT1434, Malta

Skrill (formerly Moneybookers)
Skrill Limited
Floor 27, 25 Canada Square
London, E14 5LQ, United Kingdom

Skybook Sportsbook and Casino
Azure Ventures Limited dba Skybook Sportsbook and Casino
G1, Haven Ct, 5 Library Ramp
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

slots.lv
Lynton Limited dba slots.lv
Craig Plaza, 51-55 Fountain St
Belfast, BT1 5EB, United Kingdom

Smarkets
Smarkets (Malta) Limited
The Hedge Business Center, Level 7, Triq Ir-Rampa ta’ San Giljan
St. Julians, STJ1062, Malta

Sorare
Sorare SAS
5, Avenue du General de Gaulle
a Saint Mande, 94160, France

sportbet.com
5Dimes Casino and Sportsbook dba sportbet.com
Edificio Equus
San Jose, Costa Rica

Sports Interaction
Mohawk Online dba Sports Interaction
2006 Old Malone Rd, PO Box 1539
Kahnawake, QC, J0L 1B0, Canada

Sportsbetting.ag
Blue High House S.A. dba Sportsbetting.ag
Area Bancaria, Avenida Balboa
Panama City, Panama

Sportsbook
Paddy Power Betfair dba sportsbook.eu
Belfield Office Park, Beech Hill Rd
Clonskeagh, Dublin, 4, Ireland

swcpoker
OrangeWebsite.com dba swcpoker (aka Seals With Clubs, swcpoker.eu)
Kapparstigur 7
Reykjavik, Iceland

The Greek
WS Processing Ltd. dba The Greek Sportsbook
#1 Mangrove Way, M.B.F.Z.
Freeport, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Tiger Gaming
Troy Logic Limited dba Tiger Gaming
170, Patar House, Level 1 (Ste A203), Psaila St
Birkirkara, BKR9077, Malta

Titan Poker
Universe Entertainment Services Malta Limited dba Titan Poker
Level 3, Valletta Bldgs, South St
Valletta, VLT1103, Malta

TopBet.eu
TopBet.eu
support@topbet.eu
Manila, Philippines

TransferWise
TransferWise
6th Flr, The Tea Bldg, 56 Shoreditch High St
London, E1 6JJ, United Kingdom

TryLNK.com
TryLNK.com
csd@trylnk.com
Amsterdam, Netherlands

True Poker
BMX Entertainment S.A. dba True Poker
Sabana Sur, Edificio La Colmena Contigo a Grupo Sama
San Jose, Costa Rica

Unibet
Trannel International Ltd. dba Unibet
Level 6, The Centre, Tigne, Point
Sliema, Malta

Vauld
Defi Payments Pte Ltd dba Vauld
80 Raffles Pl, #32-01 UOB Plaza
Singapore, 048624, Singapore

Vietbet
5Dimes Casino and Sportsbook dba Eurobet
Edificio Equus, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, 7mo Piso
San Jose, Costa Rica

WagerWeb
WagerWeb.ag
support@wagerweb.ag
San Jose, Costa Rica

William Hill
WHG (International) Ltd
6/1 Waterport Place
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Winamax.fr
Winamax
CS 50746, CEDEX 07
Paris, 75345, France

Winner Poker
Universe Entertainment Service Malta dba Winner Poker
Level 3, Valletta Bldgs, South St
Valletta, VLT 1103, Malta

WPTPoker.com
Electraworks Limited (bwin.party digital entertainment plc) dba WPTPoker
Ste 711, Europort
Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Yobit
Yobit.net
support@yobit.net
Moscow, Russia

Youwager.eu
Dowson Universal Technologies Limited dba Youwager.eu
20 Stuart Ct
Consett, County Durham, DH8 5GA, United Kingdom (hide)

If anyone has additions or corrections to the list feel free to email them to me.

Tags:FBAR
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, Gambling, International | Comments Closed

IRS Delays New $600 1099-K and Cryptocurrency Trading Reporting

Friday, December 23rd, 2022

Two big announcements from the IRS today will have a major impact on 2022 tax returns (returns filed in 2023). First, the IRS announced a delay in implementing the $600 reporting for third-party payment platforms (Form 1099-K). Quoting from the announcement:

“The IRS and Treasury heard a number of concerns regarding the timeline of implementation of these changes under the American Rescue Plan,” said Acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell. “To help smooth the transition and ensure clarity for taxpayers, tax professionals and industry, the IRS will delay implementation of the 1099-K changes. The additional time will help reduce confusion during the upcoming 2023 tax filing season and provide more time for taxpayers to prepare and understand the new reporting requirements.”

I’ll change the verbiage to reality: The IRS is currently in no position to handle the flood of 1099-K’s that would come in, and this transition guidance gives them a year to (hopefully) get ready and smooth out a whole bunch of wrinkles. Do note that if you have a side business, income from that business is taxable (that’s been the law and nothing has changed).

Second, the IRS announced that brokers are not required to report additional information regarding disposals of digital assets (aka cryptocurrency) until final regulations are issued. This does not impact taxpayers’ responsibility to both report all dispositions nor answer the question regarding cryptocurrency that appears at the top of Form 1040. Announcement 2023-02 notes that the IRS plans to issue regulations with a notice of proposed rulemaking.

A notice of proposed rulemaking will be published that sets forth proposed regulatory text, explains the proposed rules, solicits public comments, and announces a public hearing. This process will allow the Treasury Department and the IRS to accept comments from affected taxpayers, industries, and other interested parties and enable the public to meaningfully participate in the regulatory process. After careful consideration of all public comments received and all testimony at the public hearing, final regulations will be published.

Depending on when the notice of proposed rulemaking is issued, this could delay the new rules until either the 2024 or 2025 Tax Seasons (2023 or 2024 tax returns).

Overall, this is good news for taxpayers, tax professionals, and the IRS. The IRS still has ~12 million returns to be processed, and computer systems that are older than I am. Had the IRS received the flood of 1099-K’s and issued notices when taxpayers properly don’t include erroneous items on their returns, the IRS wouldn’t have been able to handle the volume of correspondence. Putting this off a year makes it at least possible the IRS will be ready.

Tags:1099-K
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, IRS | Comments Closed

If You Use FTX (Cryptocurrency Exchange)

Wednesday, November 9th, 2022

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX (FTX.com and FTX.us) appears to be in severe financial difficulties. Binance was going to purchase them, but that purchase isn’t going to happen. It appears that FTX could fail at any time. There are a number of issues here, but one thing anyone who uses (or used) FTX should do immediately is download their transaction history. You may need to use cryptocurrency tracking software and import it into the software via an ‘api.’ (If you use cryptocurrency tracking software, the instructions will be in the software.) This is something you should do now!

From a tax perspective, if FTX were to close and you don’t have your transactions, you have a nightmarish situation for preparing your 2022 tax returns.

I believe that nothing good will come of the FTX fiasco; it’s yet another similar occurrence in this cryptocurrency space. Many Congressmen will look at this and say, “Why don’t we just ban cryptocurrency and end this problem for good?” The odds of such a ban rose considerably this week.

Tags:FTX
Posted in Cryptocurrencies | Comments Closed

The Jarretts Win a Pyrrhic Victory

Monday, November 7th, 2022

Let’s say you really want the IRS to change how it treats an issue that impacts you. So you file a tax return including that item (as the IRS wants it done), adding $9400 of income and $2000 to your tax. Then you file an amended return (a “Claim for Refund”) removing the item. The IRS doesn’t timely process the return/refund (which is typical), so you file a claim in District Court. The IRS then issues the refund, but you don’t cash the check because you want this dispute to be heard in court. Is the matter moot?

That’s what was heard in the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in the case of Jarrett v. United States. I wrote about the case earlier this year, and noted that it was quite likely the Jarretts wouldn’t like the result. And that’s what happened last month when Judge William L Campbell, Jr. dismissed the lawsuit.

The problem for the Jarretts is simple: Once the IRS refunds the money, what are you arguing? You asked for a refund and received it! That you would like the court to decide is nice, but, “The Court does not provide advisory opinions.” So the Jarretts are out the money to hire attorneys, and we (taxpayers and tax professionals) don’t know with certainty how staking should be taxed.

It’s not as if the Court didn’t recognize the problem here:

Plaintiffs also argue that a decision on whether Tezos tokens created through “staking” are taxable income is of significant public importance because there are other taxpayers who engage in the same activity. The Court is not persuaded that the existence of an unanswered tax question, which is unquestionably of interest to the group of taxpayers who create Tezos tokens, provides an exception to mootness in this case…The Supreme Court has long recognized the problems presented by Congress’ decision to require taxpayers to challenge adverse tax decisions on a backward-looking basis, i.e. after taxes have been paid or assessed.

Unfortunately, the issue is moot for the 2019 tax year (the year in question) but not for 2020, 2021, or 2022:

The Court finds no reasonable expectation that Plaintiffs will be subject to the same action again. As stated above, the instant controversy was limited to whether Plaintiffs were entitled to a refund of taxes paid for the 2019 tax year. This particular issue is not capable of repetition as any subsequent claim for refund would necessarily apply to a different tax year (“The tax amounts in dispute and the nature of the claim for a refund are specific to each individual tax year.” Moreover, as this is the Jarretts’ first suit to seek a refund after paying income tax on Tezos tokens, it is premature to speculate the Jarretts’ tax refund claims will repeatedly evade review. [citation omitted]

Eventually, there are likely to be one or more court cases that are precedential impacting cryptocurrency (which would be a good thing), but this is not going to be such a case: “Plaintiffs’ claim for relief is MOOT.”

Tags:Jarrett v United States
Posted in Cryptocurrencies | Comments Closed

Are NFTs Subject to Sales and Other State and Local Taxes?

Wednesday, August 31st, 2022

Let’s say you’re Ralph, and you create a series of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). You begin selling these NFTs, and each sells for the equivalent of $100,000. Of course, that income is subject to income tax (it’s an accession to wealth, and clearly income to Ralph). Is it subject to sales tax?

Some states’ sales taxes cover digital (electronic) items; other states’ sales taxes do not. There are even some states, such as Oregon, that do not have sales tax and other states, such as Florida, that exempt sales of digital items from sales tax. But let’s say Ralph resides in Pennsylvania and he sells an NFT to Linda; she also resides in Pennsylvania. Let’s further assume that Ralph is in the business of selling NFTs. Does he (a) need to register with Pennsylvania as a retailer for sales tax purposes, and (b) does he need to collect sales tax?

The answer is yes, he does. The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue released a new sales tax booklet that addressed this issue. Under Pennsylvania law, “…[S]ales and use tax applies to any transfer of a digital product where the purchaser pays a consideration, unless that transfer is otherwise exempt.” NFTs are specifically noted as taxable. That means that Ralph must register as a retailer and collect and remit sales tax. This income is, because Ralph is in business, also subject to local Earned Income Tax.

Let’s change the facts slightly. Ralph resides in Oregon, a state without sales tax, and sells an NFT to Linda, a Pennsylvania resident. Believe it or not, Ralph may still have to register for sales tax in Pennsylvania. Under the Wayfair Supreme Court decision, out-of-state sellers are, in some circumstances, required to register for sales tax in other states (if they meet minimum threshold requirements). Let’s further assume that Ralph doesn’t meet that threshold. In that case, Linda owes use tax (the equivalent of sales tax when sales tax isn’t charged) to Pennsylvania and must include it on her individual tax return.

Pennsylvania isn’t alone in releasing guidance. Washington state released interim guidance noting that NFTs would be subject to both sales tax and the state’s Business & Occupations Tax. I strongly suspect NFTs are subject to sales tax in other states, too.

If you’re selling or purchasing NFTs, or you are a company facilitating the sales of NFTs, you should speak with your tax professional regarding handling sales and use tax issues.

Tags:NFTs
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, Sales Tax | Comments Closed

Square Pegs and Round Holes: Tornado Cash, Anti-Money Laundering, and Crypto

Wednesday, August 17th, 2022

On August 8th, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) went after virtual currency “mixer” Tornado Cash. Tornado Cash was sanctioned, and as the Treasury’s press release notes,

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the entity above, Tornado Cash, that is in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons is blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. All transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt. These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Before I get into the meat of this post, let me explain what a mixer is. The idea of a mixing service is to literally mix “good” cryptocurrency with “bad” cryptocurrency so that no one knows if you have bad cryptocurrency. Tornado Cash allegedly took in Ethereum (ETH) from people who just wanted to anonymize their transactions (which is not illegal) and from others who were criminals or state actors such as North Korea, mixed it all together, and it became very difficult (if not impossible) to tell good crypto from bad crypto.

What is the legal basis of Treasury’s sanctions? Anti-money laundering laws. Let’s go back to the days of the mafia. Assume you have $500 million of tainted cash you’d love to invest (and have turned into “good” cash). In John Grisham’s The Firm the mafia used a tax law firm to money launder the funds in the Caribbean (with about 25% of each ‘shipment’ lost to bribes and corruption). Today, moving such cash around to be legal is tougher than ever as most countries exchange information with each other. The laws that prohibit this date from this time (and are part of the Bank Secrecy Act and the later Patriot Act).

That takes us to cryptocurrency. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) ruled that cryptocurrency is a type of currency and is subject to the anti-money laundering laws. This means firms anywhere in the world who deal with Americans must have anti-money laundering law practices for cryptocurrency. Similar laws exist in most of the world.

But isn’t cryptocurrency anonymous? No, it’s pseudonymous. The blockchain is permanent, so if you can figure out someone’s address you can trace people.

Not only was Tornado Cash sanctioned, a developer of the software was arrested in the Netherlands. Now, I am not an attorney (and I am not in the Netherlands), but I was told by an individual who is familiar with the Netherlands’ anti-money laundering laws that they are similar to those of the US, only tougher. But how can writing software (or ‘code’) be illegal?

I suspect the issue isn’t the writing of the software; rather, it’s allowing the software to be used and being active in the website allowing the mixing. Let’s say I write software to allow Bitcoin to be mixed. I post the software on an open-source forum. That’s probably not illegal. But what if I now actively market this product, don’t do anything to comply with anti-money laundering laws even though I don’t take any profits from the mixing: Have I committed a crime? Almost certainly I have (probably multiple felonies).

That’s the problem cryptocurrency advocates face: the real world is intruding, and anti-money laundering laws are part of the real world. Here, cryptocurrency is a square peg and the round holes are the anti-money laundering laws. While I do see headlines stating, “Coin Center prepares legal challenge to Treasury’s Tornado Cash sanctions,” I highly doubt any such challenges will be successful. FINCEN’s pronouncement that cryptocurrency is a currency for anti-money laundering law purposes seems reasonable (and almost certain to pass Chevron muster), and there’s nothing unconstitutional with the anti-money laundering laws.

But, Russ, won’t that will lead to cryptocurrency being centralized? Won’t this just defeat the purpose of cryptocurrency and it will just become (more or less) another form of currency–just digital and online? Yes, that’s the likely result. This may not please the Libertarian cryptocurrency advocates but I don’t see anti-money laundering laws being overturned during my lifetime. It appears the freewheeling age of cryptocurrency is ending sooner rather than later.

Tags:AML
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, FINCEN | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #3: Ignore Cryptocurrency!

Wednesday, April 13th, 2022

Right underneath your name and address (and your spouse’s name) on Form 1040 is this question:

“At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?”

All taxpayers must answer this question. The IRS is basically telling everyone, thou shalt report your cryptocurrency gains and losses.

It’s clear the IRS means business. Over the last few years the IRS has successfully enforced summonses against several US-based cryptocurrency exchanges. To date, most IRS enforcement efforts in cryptocurrency have been going toward the low-hanging fruit: individuals who have not reported their cryptocurrency. I do expect the IRS to start looking at auditing large users of crypto. Given Commissioner Rettig’s remarks on the Tax Gap, IRS management clearly believes that there’s a lot of tax dollars to be found in cryptocurrency.

There is one truism, though: If you don’t report your cryptocurrency gains (and losses), you’re violating the law. So if you need to take some time to figure it out before filing your 2021 returns, make an estimate of your gains (or losses) and file an extension. Or you can choose the Bozo behavior of ignoring your cryptocurrency.

Tags:BozoTaxTips
Posted in Cryptocurrencies | Comments Closed

Online Gambling and Cryptocurrency Addresses for 2022

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022

[This listing has been replaced by the 2023 listing.]

If you have one or more foreign financial accounts and you have $10,000 aggregate in those account(s) at any time during 2019, you must file the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (the “FBAR”). This is Form 114 from FINCEN. (The IRS and FINCEN now allege that foreign online poker accounts are “casino” accounts that must be reported as foreign financial accounts. The rule of thumb, when in doubt report, applies—especially given the extreme penalties.) You also should consider filing an FBAR if you have $10,000 or more in a non-US Cryptocurrency Exchange.