IRS Refused to Clarify That Its Crypto Tax Guidance Isn’t Binding, US Watchdog Says

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should – but won’t – clarify how taxes are levied on cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency transactions in the U.S., the government’s top auditing institution said Wednesday.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a U.S. Congress watchdog, published a report in response to a request from Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.), evaluating the IRS’s existing approach and public guidance surrounding cryptocurrencies.

The office had three recommendations for the U.S. tax collector, as well as an additional related recommendation for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. Notably, one of its recommendations was to clarify that some of the IRS’s recent guidance is not binding or authoritative – and the agency rejected this recommendation.

“Part of the 2019 guidance is not authoritative because it was not published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB). IRS has stated that only guidance published…