If you plan on selling any crypto for a loss, make sure you’re aware of how long you’ve been holding your coins—anything under the one-year mark is considered a short-term capital loss. Short-term losses will be used to offset short-term gains first, and then long-term gains (and vice versa, with long-term losses offsetting long-term gains first before being applied to short-term ones).
Need I point out that you should never let fear of paying higher rates for short-term gains make you hold onto a crypto investment for longer than you’d like? Colby Cross, an accountant in Seattle, says he had one client who had an eye-popping gain on Filecoin in less than a year, but was worried about paying more in taxes if she sold it. If you think your coin is trading at an all-time high, don’t try to save a bit on taxes, especially given how quickly crypto markets can turn, Cross warns.
Finally, some bad news: If you’ve been scammed by a crypto scheme, there’s no more tax break following changes under the 2017 tax overhaul. Prior to the law, many fraud victims were able to write off what they lost. Now, they will be saddled with those losses, without a tax write-off to soften the blow.
Alexis Leondis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering personal finance. Previously, she oversaw tax coverage for Bloomberg News.