Reporting your crypto-asset income as an individual carrying on a business
Crypto-assets are digital assets that exist on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger. There are many types of crypto-assets, the most common being cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether. Transactions related to crypto-assets often have tax implications and must be reported on your income tax return.
If you’re a crypto-asset user, knowing whether your transactions resulted in a capital gain (or loss) or in business income (or loss) is important because it may affect your taxes.
Reporting your capital gains as a crypto-asset user
Crypto-assets are digital assets that exist on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger. There are many types of crypto-assets, the most common being cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether. Transactions related to crypto-assets often have tax implications and must be reported on your income tax return.
Reporting your capital gains as a crypto-asset user
Crypto-assets are digital assets that exist on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger. There are many types of crypto-assets, the most common being cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether. Transactions related to crypto-assets often have tax implications and must be reported on your income tax return.
Reporting your crypto-asset income as an individual carrying on a business
Crypto-assets are digital assets that exist on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger. There are many types of crypto-assets, the most common being cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether. Transactions related to crypto-assets often have tax implications and must be reported on your income tax return.
Crypto-asset exchanges: your records, obligations and responsibilities
When filing your taxes, you have to report any income or capital gains from crypto-asset activities on your income tax return. To meet your obligations for proper record keeping, it is strongly recommended that you download and keep any information related to transactions involving your exchange accounts.
It is important to download this information at regular intervals while you still have access to your account. Failure to do so may result in you being unable to access this information if an exchange stops its operations. If you are unable to access your exchange information, it will be difficult to determine your income from crypto-asset activities, or to support amounts filed should the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) conduct an audit.
Investing in cryptocurrency
What is cryptocurrency?
A cryptocurrency is a type of virtual asset that is protected using cryptography. It typically uses a system called a blockchain to record and keep a history of transactions. Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ether, are independent, meaning they do not rely on governments, central banks, or other central authorities for backing. You can obtain cryptocurrency in many ways, and new methods are being developed all the time. You can use cryptocurrencies for a wide range of activities, such as buying goods, paying bills, or investing. Transactions involving cryptocurrencies often have tax implications.
Eight things to remember before you file your 2021 income tax and benefit return
Getting ready to file your income tax and benefit return? We have a few tips that could help you prepare, save time and ensure you receive all the benefits and credits that you are entitled to:
1. File your return on time
2. File your return online
3. Claim all your benefits, credits, and deductions
4. Enter all your income and COVID-19 benefit payment amounts
5. Make the right claims
6. Simplify your life with My Account
7. Pay on time
8. Keep receipts and documents
Keeping records of your cryptocurrency transaction
It is important to keep proper financial records of all your activities relating to your cryptocurrency. You should keep records when you purchase, dispose, or mine cryptocurrency to ensure you have accurate information of your activities. This information is important for your own records and for filing your tax returns.
When you trade, sell or mine cryptocurrency, you have to report any income or capital gains from those activities on your tax return. However, you may also be able to report your expenses and losses. If you exchange taxable goods or services for cryptocurrency, you may have to report goods and services tax / harmonized sales tax (GST/HST).
Valuing your cryptocurrency
How you value your cryptocurrencies depends on whether they are considered capital property or inventory. When cryptocurrencies are held as capital property, you must record and track the cost when you acquired them, so that you can accurately report any capital gains when you sell them.
If the cryptocurrencies are considered to be inventory, you can generally value it based on:
the cost of each item in the inventory when it was acquired; or
its fair market value at the end of the year.
Mining cryptocurrency
Mining is a process that uses computers or specialized hardware to confirm cryptocurrency transactions. A miner will group valid transactions into blocks and if these blocks are accepted by the corresponding cryptocurrency’s network, they become part of a public ledger on the blockchain.
At this point, the miner usually receives two types of payments in cryptocurrency. The first is income for the creation of a new cryptocurrency, and the second is a payment for the successful validation by the miner. Those who perform the mining processes are paid in the cryptocurrency that they are validating.
Mining may have tax implications. The income tax treatment for cryptocurrency miners is different depending on whether your mining activities are a personal activity (a hobby) or a business activity. This is decided on a case-by-case basis.
Investing in cryptocurrency.
A cryptocurrency is a type of virtual asset that is protected using cryptography. It typically uses a system called a blockchain to record and keep a history of transactions. Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ether, are independent, meaning they do not rely on governments, central banks, or other central authorities for backing. You can obtain cryptocurrency in many ways, and new methods are being developed all the time. You can use cryptocurrencies for a wide range of activities, such as buying goods, paying bills, or investing. Transactions involving cryptocurrencies often have tax implications.
What is cryptocurrency?
A cryptocurrency is a type of virtual asset that is protected using cryptography. It typically uses a system called a blockchain to record and keep a history of transactions. Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ether, are independent, meaning they do not rely on governments, central banks, or other central authorities for backing. You can obtain cryptocurrency in many ways, and new methods are being developed all the time. You can use cryptocurrencies for a wide range of activities, such as buying goods, paying bills, or investing. Transactions involving cryptocurrencies often have tax implications.