Crypto Country GuideCrypto rules and tax, country by country

United States

Last reviewed: October 2026

On this page
  1. Legal status
    1. The GENIUS Act and stablecoins
    2. SEC and CFTC
  2. Tax for individuals
    1. Capital gains rates
    2. What is taxable
    3. Staking, mining, airdrops and forks
    4. Basis
  3. Tax for companies
  4. Reporting and filing obligations
    1. On your tax return
    2. Form 1099-DA
    3. Foreign accounts
    4. International exchange
  5. Exchanges and KYC
  6. Self-custody
  7. Sources
  • For federal tax, the IRS treats digital assets as property, not currency. Selling, swapping or spending them can create a taxable gain or loss.
  • If you held the asset for more than one year, the gain is long-term (taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%). If you held it one year or less, it is short-term and taxed as ordinary income.
  • Staking rewards, mining rewards and new tokens from an airdrop or hard fork are income when you gain control of them.
  • Your tax return asks every year whether you received or disposed of a digital asset. Brokers report your proceeds on Form 1099-DA, starting with sales in 2025.
  • Exchanges that transmit crypto must register with FinCEN as money services businesses. The GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, makes it unlawful to issue a payment stablecoin in the US unless you are a permitted issuer.

This page covers federal rules for private individuals and companies that hold, trade or accept crypto in the United States. States add their own income tax, sales tax and licensing rules, which we do not cover. It is general information, not legal or tax advice.

There is no single federal crypto law. Several agencies apply existing law: the IRS for tax, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for anti-money-laundering rules, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for securities and commodities. The IRS says digital assets are considered property, not currency, for US tax purposes. Neither the IRS nor the other sources we read prohibit holding or trading them.

The GENIUS Act and stablecoins

The GENIUS Act is Public Law 119-27, enacted on 18 July 2025. It says that it is unlawful for any person other than a permitted payment stablecoin issuer to issue a payment stablecoin in the United States. It also says that a payment stablecoin issued by a permitted issuer is not a “security”. The act takes effect on the earlier of 18 months after enactment, which is about 18 January 2027, or 120 days after the federal regulators issue final regulations.

SEC and CFTC

On 17 March 2026 the SEC published an interpretation on how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets, and the CFTC joined it. The SEC press release describes five categories (digital commodities, collectibles, tools, stablecoins and digital securities) and covers airdrops, protocol mining, protocol staking and wrapping. We could not confirm the legal weight of the interpretation or when it took effect. A bill on the structure of the crypto market was in Congress, but we could not confirm its current status from Congress’s own pages.

Tax for individuals

IRS Notice 2014-21 says that, for federal tax purposes, virtual currency is treated as property, and the general rules for property transactions apply. If the fair market value of what you receive in exchange for virtual currency is more than your adjusted basis in it, you have a taxable gain.

Capital gains rates

If you hold an asset for more than one year before you dispose of it, your capital gain or loss is long-term. If you hold it one year or less, it is short-term, and net short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income at graduated rates. Long-term gains are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%, and high earners may also owe the net investment income tax. For tax year 2025, the IRS shows the 0% rate applying to taxable income up to these amounts:

Tax year 2025, 0% long-term rate up toTaxable income
Single$48,350
Married filing jointly$96,700

The IRS publishes new thresholds for each tax year, and we could not confirm the 2026 amounts from an official page, so check the IRS before you file. If your net capital loss is larger than your gains, you can deduct the lesser of $3,000 ($1,500 if you are married filing separately) or your total net loss against other income, and carry the rest forward.

What is taxable

  • Swaps and spending. Exchanging one digital asset for another, or paying for goods or services with one, is a taxable disposal. Your gain or loss is the fair market value of what you received minus your basis.
  • Moving your own crypto. The IRS says that if you transfer digital assets from a wallet, address or account you own to another wallet that also belongs to you, the transfer is not a taxable event.
  • Gifts. If you receive digital assets as a bona fide gift, you do not recognize income until you sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of them.

Staking, mining, airdrops and forks

  • Staking. Revenue Ruling 2023-14 says that the fair market value of validation rewards is included in gross income in the tax year you gain dominion and control over them. The ruling applies to a cash-method taxpayer and also covers staking through an exchange.
  • Mining. Under Notice 2014-21, the fair market value of mined coins is gross income when you receive them. Mining as a trade or business is also subject to self-employment tax.
  • Hard forks and airdrops. According to the IRS frequently asked questions, if you receive new digital assets after a hard fork, you have taxable income in the year you receive them if you have dominion and control over them. The income is their fair market value when received.

Basis

From 2025, the IRS expects you to identify the specific units you sell, dispose of or transfer, wallet by wallet. You must identify them in your books and records no later than the date and time of the sale. The IRS gave transitional relief in Notice 2025-7.

Tax for companies

The federal corporate income tax rate is 21% of taxable income (26 U.S.C. § 11). Notice 2014-21 says that property held as inventory or primarily for sale to customers produces ordinary gain or loss, while property held as an investment produces capital gain or loss. Corporations answer the same digital asset question on Form 1120. State income tax, state sales tax and accounting rules are not covered here.

Reporting and filing obligations

On your tax return

Your income tax return asks: “At any time during the tax year, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?” The question appears on Forms 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, 709, 1041, 1065, 1120 and 1120-S. You report dispositions on Form 8949 and then Schedule D. You must report them even if you do not receive a payee statement or information return.

Form 1099-DA

Brokers use Form 1099-DA to report digital asset proceeds from broker transactions. Under the final regulations, they report gross proceeds for sales on or after 1 January 2025, and they report basis for digital assets acquired on or after 1 January 2026. The regulations apply to brokers that hold the assets for customers. They do not cover decentralized or non-custodial brokers that do not take possession of the assets. A separate rule that would have extended broker reporting to decentralized finance was repealed by Public Law 119-5 on 10 April 2025. For the first years, the IRS has said it will not impose penalties on brokers for failing to file or furnish Forms 1099-DA if they make a good faith effort (Notice 2024-56, extended by Notice 2025-33).

Foreign accounts

FinCEN requires a report of foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR) if the aggregate value of foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time in the calendar year. FinCEN’s page links to a notice on virtual currency, which we could not read, so we cannot say whether crypto accounts are covered. The IRS page for Form 8938 does not mention digital assets.

International exchange

In a joint statement of 10 November 2023, the US Treasury said it intended to work towards transposing the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework into domestic law, in time for exchanges to begin by 2027. That is an intention, not US law, and we could not confirm a current start date.

Exchanges and KYC

FinCEN’s regulation defines money transmission services as accepting currency, funds or other value that substitutes for currency from one person and transmitting it to another location or person by any means. Businesses that do this must register with FinCEN as money services businesses within 180 days after the business is established, and renew every two calendar years. FinCEN’s guidance applying this definition to convertible virtual currency was a PDF we could not read, so we do not summarize it.

Under FinCEN’s recordkeeping and travel rule regulation, the information requirements apply to transmittals of funds in the amount of $3,000 or more. Providers can also have state licenses, which differ by state and are not covered here.

Self-custody

We found no federal rule that limits, registers or verifies private wallets. The IRS’s broker regulations distinguish custodial wallets, which electronically store private keys on behalf of others, from non-custodial wallets, which store a user’s private keys for the user. Moving crypto between your own wallets is not taxable, and from 2025 you should be able to show which units you moved and sold, wallet by wallet. The IRS frequently asked questions do not address lost, stolen or worthless digital assets, so we do not describe the tax treatment of lost keys.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above before you act.