Publications
Publications
- November–December 2023
- Journal of Accounting & Economics
Tax-Loss Harvesting with Cryptocurrencies
By: Lin William Cong, Wayne Landsman, Edward Maydew and Daniel Rabetti
Abstract
We describe the taxation landscape in the cryptocurrency markets, especially concerning U.S. taxpayers, and examine how recent increases in tax scrutiny have led to changes in crypto investors' trading behavior. We argue conceptually and then empirically document that increased tax scrutiny leads crypto investors to utilize conventional tax planning with tax-loss harvesting as an alternative to non-compliance. In particular, domestic traders increase tax-loss harvesting following the increase in tax scrutiny, and U.S. exchanges exhibit a significantly greater amount of wash trading. Additional findings suggest that broad-based and targeted changes in tax scrutiny can differentially affect crypto traders’ preference for U.S.-based exchanges. We also discuss other gray areas for tax regulation related to new crypto assets, such as Non-Fungible Tokens and Decentralized Finance protocols, that further highlight the importance of coordinating tax policy and other regulations.
Keywords
Citation
Cong, Lin William, Wayne Landsman, Edward Maydew, and Daniel Rabetti. "Tax-Loss Harvesting with Cryptocurrencies." Art. 101607. Journal of Accounting & Economics 76, nos. 2-3 (November–December 2023).