New crypto tax reporting rules in the USA leave crypto holders at risk of felony charges if they don't report transactions of $10k or more to the IRS within 15 days.

In late 2023, a long‑dormant provision of the U.S. tax code—26 U.S.C. §6050I—began drawing scrutiny from crypto advocates because its $10,000 cash transaction reporting rule was extended by Congress in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to cover “digital assets.” The law treats certain large crypto payments similarly to cash: any person engaged in a trade or business who receives more than $10,000 in digital assets in one transaction (or related transactions) is required to file an information report with the IRS (Form 8300 or equivalent) within 15 days of receipt, including the payer’s name, address, and other identifying details, or face potential criminal penalties for willful non‑compliance. This change is separate from, and in addition to, the newer broker reporting regime under §6045 and Form 1099‑DA, which applies to exchanges and other brokers starting with 2025 transactions. Critics, including policy groups such as Coin Center, argue that applying §6050I to decentralized, pseudonymous crypto payments is burdensome and in some situations impossible to comply with (for example, when the payee cannot reliably identify the sender), yet the statute’s penalty structure includes felony charges for willful failure to file, supply complete information, or keep required records. This has led to concern that ordinary users or businesses receiving large crypto payments could face significant legal exposure if they do not or cannot file the report within 15 days. At the same time, the IRS has been rolling out a broader digital‑asset compliance framework—requiring taxpayers to answer a digital asset question on their returns and report all crypto income, and requiring custodial brokers to file Form 1099‑DA on sales and exchanges from 2025 onward—signaling an aggressive push to close the “tax gap” attributed to underreported crypto activity. The intersection of these rules means U.S. crypto holders and businesses now face both routine income‑tax reporting obligations and, in the specific case of large inbound payments, a separate, time‑sensitive reporting duty backed by potential felony enforcement. Why this matters is that the combination of the IIJA’s expanded §6050I rule and IRS implementation of digital asset reporting has materially changed the legal risk profile for using crypto in the U.S. for larger‑value payments or business transactions. The $10,000‑plus reporting duty is not aimed at trading profits but at information reporting on large receipts, similar to anti‑money‑laundering style cash rules, and it applies even where there is no taxable gain on the transaction itself. Businesses and individuals that accept significant crypto payments now need internal processes to track when receipts exceed the threshold, collect counterparties’ identifying information where possible, and submit timely reports, in addition to meeting standard income‑tax reporting duties for digital assets.

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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• A Beginner's Guide to New U.S. Crypto Tax Rules - Coinbase (coinbase.com)
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• Congress nullifies IRS crypto reporting regulations for DeFi platforms (rsmus.com)

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