Should Self-Employed Crypto Miners Pay Themselves as Employees? - Supply Chain Game Changer™ (2024)


In the cryptocurrency sector, paying or getting paid with virtual coins is the norm. While the benefits and advantages of paying with a decentralized currency are getting thinner, there are still reasons why the self-employed Crypto miners should pay themselves as employees.

Let’s take a look.

Self-Employed vs. Business Entity

While self-employed individuals can own a business, they can’t “pay themselves as employees.” Sole-proprietors and single-member LLCs aren’t treated as corporations but as individuals. This means that they’re still regarded as self-employed taxpayers by the IRS.

Although self-employed taxpayers aren’t employees, they can pay themselves as such. However, the cryptocurrency crackdown will treat all virtual currency as property, meaning they’re taxed in a similar way as real estate or stocks, requiring you to pay capital gains tax.

Self-Employed Tax vs. Cryptocurrency Tax

All self-employed individuals must pay self-employment tax and file a 1040 if their net earnings from employment reach $400 or more. After the cryptocurrency crackdown, you’ll either have to claim transactions more than $10,000 and/or earned crypto past $600 every tax year.

President Joe Biden’s cryptocurrency proposal could raise the top tax rate for capital gains from 23.8% to 43.4%. While mining cryptocurrency is considered self-employment in the eyes of the IRS, crypto miners may pay 10%-37% on mining proceeds, not the typical tax rate of 15.3%.

Whether you use a paystub generator or a ledger to pay yourself, it isn’t a great idea to use cryptocurrency to do it. It’s likely cheaper, in the long run, to do your payroll in USD.

Paying Yourself With Cryptocurrency Anyway

If you choose to pay yourself with cryptocurrency, despite the potential tax shortfall, then you need to understand how to do so properly. Here’s how to avoid audits from the IRS.

Previous Tax Years

The IRS is constantly changing how to declare your cryptocurrency earnings. If you declared your cryptocurrency earning is 2019, you had to use a Schedule 1. In 2020 and 2021, you’ll only need Form 1040. If you haven’t declared your crypto income tax at all, the IRS may contact you.

Remember that the self-employed don’t have to separate their personal or business income if they don’t want to. The IRS will ask you to file your business income as self-employed.

How The IRS Tracks Cryptocurrency Tax

If you take out cryptocurrency to pay yourself, you’ll need to have an accurate balance sheet of what each cryptocurrency cost the moment you bought it. You also need to know what your profits were after you sold it, so the IRS can precisely calculate your capital gains tax.

The IRS now tracks who has a crypto wallet, but they aren’t too accurate with the amount you traded. Still, it isn’t a good idea to defraud the IRS. As their technology gets stronger, they’ll be able to know precisely what you owe them, and they won’t have sympathy for “tax dodgers.”

Keep in mind that the IRS will be tracking all the way back to 2013, according to Letter 6173.

Current and Subsequent Tax Years

The beauty of holding a cryptocurrency wallet was how difficult it was to track transactions, but it’s looking like that’ll be a thing of the past. For current and subsequent tax years, you’ll need to pay close attention to the different laws and measures the IRS will take to “get their money.”

Self-employed individuals can still pay themselves via bitcoin wallet apps by transferring cryptocurrency into another wallet or USD currency. You can even ask your clients to pay you with virtual currency, but there aren’t too many businesses that have crypto wallets.

You can find legal jobs that pay in cryptocurrency on crypto job sites, like Crypto Job List, Blocklancer, and PeoplePerHour. These sites specifically market to freelancers.

Self-employed Crypto miners article and permission to publish here provided by Cristina Par. Originally written for Supply Chain Game Changer and published on February 15, 2022.

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Should Self-Employed Crypto Miners Pay Themselves as Employees? - Supply Chain Game Changer™ (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to pay self-employment tax on crypto mining? ›

If you received coins from mining, you need to disclose whether you received them as a business or as a hobby. If you're running a crypto mining business, you may owe self-employment taxes if your income exceeds your expenses for the year. Schedule D.

How are crypto miners compensated? ›

If a miner is able to successfully add a block to the blockchain, they will receive 6.25 bitcoins as a reward. The reward amount is cut in half roughly every four years, or every 210,000 blocks. As of March 2023, Bitcoin traded at around $24,300, making 6.25 bitcoins worth $152,000.

Who pays crypto miners? ›

Bitcoin pays out a mining reward each time a new “block” is entered into the permanent record of transactions. The reward shrinks every few years, but for now, it is 6.25 BTC, which in December 2022 was worth roughly $105,000 as Bitcoin hovered below $17,000.

Why do crypto miners get paid? ›

Bitcoin miners earn rewards, paid in bitcoin, for verifying a new block of bitcoin transactions. Miners who successfully validate a block earn a reward of 6.25 bitcoins, which, depending on its market value, could be a lot.

Is it legal to pay employees in crypto? ›

State Labor Laws and Cryptocurrency Payments

California law prohibits employers from paying wages that aren't “payable in cash, on-demand, without discount.” Big fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are common, so crypto-compensation could lead to violating state law.

How do you avoid taxes on crypto mining? ›

Invest Using an IRA

Another popular strategy for how to avoid capital gains tax on crypto is to invest using a tax-efficient product like an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). An IRA is a type of savings account designed to help individuals save for retirement.

Is crypto mining active income? ›

In some cases, one transaction can be considered a business activity. If you are still setting up or preparing to go into business, such as in cryptocurrency mining, you might not be considered to have started a business. You usually have to undertake significant activity that is part of your income-earning process.

How is crypto taxed for miners? ›

The excise tax will be phased in over three years.

The Biden administration wants to impose a 30 percent tax on the electricity used by cryptocurrency mining operations, and it has included the proposal in its budget for the fiscal year of 2024.

Do crypto miners still make money? ›

Cryptocurrency mining is still profitable in 2023, but it may not be as rewarding as in the past. That's accurate for a variety of factors, including the fact that cryptocurrency prices were significantly lower than their peaks for the majority of 2022 and into early 2023.

What is the average income for crypto mining? ›

Bitcoin Mining Corporation pays an average salary of $851,142 and salaries range from a low of $743,944 to a high of $978,423.

What type of income is crypto mining? ›

Income received from mining is taxed as ordinary income based on the fair market value of your coins on the day you received them. For example, if you successfully mined 0.25 BTC on March 15, 2022, you will pay income tax based on the price of Bitcoin in dollar terms on that date.

How do ethereum miners get paid? ›

The primary goal for mining Ethereum is to make money. It turns the act of securing the network into a relatively complex, but profitable business. Miners receive a certain amount as a reward for mining each block of the Ethereum Blockchain Network, including the transaction fees paid by the users.

Why are crypto miners bad? ›

Computer chips used to mine cryptocurrency are made with toxic chemicals and precious metals that require literal mining to produce, ravaging the Earth's landscapes and depleting finite resources.

Why are crypto mining fees so high? ›

Because most Bitcoin blocks are only 1MB-1.5MB, each block processes a limited number of transactions, leading to long waiting periods and, sometimes, higher fees.

Are crypto miners harmful? ›

Cryptocurrency mining is an extremely energy-intensive process that threatens the ability of governments across the globe to reduce our dependence on climate-warming fossil fuels.

What platform to pay employees in crypto? ›

Partnering with Via for crypto payroll

If you're interested in paying part of your employees' salary in crypto, you can partner with Via to pay full-time workers and contractors around the world in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or USDT.

Do you pay taxes on crypto salary? ›

The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, meaning that when you buy, sell or exchange it, this counts as a taxable event and typically results in either a capital gain or loss. When you earn income from cryptocurrency activities, this is taxed as ordinary income.

Can federal employees own crypto? ›

According to the advisory, federal employees are still allowed to buy stocks and other “publicly traded securities” that deal with cryptocurrencies. They may also own mutual funds that involve cryptocurrencies worth less than $50,000.

Is crypto mining reported to IRS? ›

You need to report your crypto mining income to the IRS as part of your annual tax return. You report your income from mining on Form Schedule 1 (1040), or Form Schedule C (1040) if you're self-employed or running a mining business.

What happens if you don't report crypto on taxes? ›

Taxpayers are required to report all cryptocurrency transactions, including buying, selling, and trading, on their tax returns. Failure to report these transactions can result in penalties and interest.

Do I have to report crypto on taxes if I lost money? ›

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are treated as property by the IRS, and they are subject to capital gains and losses rules. This means that when you realize losses after trading, selling, or otherwise disposing of your crypto, your losses offset your capital gains and up to $3,000 of personal income.

How does the IRS view cryptocurrency? ›

IRS Guidance

For federal tax purposes, virtual currency is treated as property. General tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency.

Is crypto mining considered passive income? ›

Another popular form of cryptocurrency passive income is liquidity mining, in which users provide liquidity to cryptocurrency swap pools on DEXs.

Can I write off my crypto losses? ›

Yes, cryptocurrency losses can be used to offset taxes on gains from the sale of any capital asset, including stocks, real estate and even other cryptocurrency sold at a profit.

What is the depreciation life of crypto mining? ›

Generally, miners use straight-line depreciation over five years to account for purchases of mining hardware.

Can crypto be a business expense? ›

If a business receives and holds crypto and then uses that crypto to pay business expenses, the payment is treated as a taxable event (as if the business had sold the crypto for cash and then used the cash to pay the expenses).

How are Bitcoin miners depreciated? ›

Equipment: Crypto miners may deduct the cost of their mining equipment. If the equipment cost exceeds $1 million, you need to use the modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) to determine how to depreciate the equipment over time for tax purposes, although accelerated depreciation may apply.

Are crypto miners worth it? ›

Bitcoin mining began as a well paid hobby for early adopters who had the chance to earn 50 BTC every 10 minutes, mining from their bedrooms. Successfully mining just one Bitcoin block, and holding onto it since 2010 would mean you have around $1.3 million US dollars worth of bitcoin in your wallet in 2023.

What is the cheapest crypto to mine? ›

If you are looking for the cheapest crypto to mine, Monero and Ravencoin will be a good choice. Monero, for instance, can be mined on CPUs with normal computer hardware resources. Nevertheless, Bitcoin and Ethereum should be your top choice if looking for the most profitable cryptocurrencies to mine.

Which coin is best for mining? ›

Best Crypto To Mine
  • Bitcoin. Despite the rise of altcoins and various other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has retained its value as the star of the crypto market. ...
  • Ethereum. Sitting just behind Bitcoin in the total market cap is Ethereum. ...
  • Ravencoin. ...
  • LiteCoin. ...
  • ECOS. ...
  • Vertcoin. ...
  • ZCash.
Mar 2, 2023

How much do crypto miners make a day? ›

Most Bitcoin mining rigs make at least 2000 USD every day on average. Some can make up to as high as 5000 USD daily. We recommend buying more efficient and robust mining equipment to maximize your daily income from Bitcoin mining.

How much does it cost to run a crypto mining rig? ›

Monthly Price Per kW to Price Per Mining Rig

Typically, prices range from $80-$140 per kW per month. This includes the space, power, internet, cooling and security. You will want to get your cost per kW per month.

How much money can you make mining crypto in one day? ›

Technically, you could mine as much as 900 Bitcoins per day taking into account the cryptocurrency's current inflation rate. Bitcoin's inflation rates halves every four year in a process known as the halving.

How do I cash out crypto without paying taxes USA? ›

Take out a cryptocurrency loan

Instead of cashing out your cryptocurrency, consider taking out a cryptocurrency loan. In general, loans are considered tax-free. If you need liquidity immediately, you should consider using your cryptocurrency as collateral to take a loan through a decentralized protocol.

How much money can you make a month crypto mining? ›

Crypto Mining Salary
Annual SalaryMonthly Pay
Top Earners$100,500$8,375
75th Percentile$77,500$6,458
Average$64,161$5,346
25th Percentile$48,000$4,000

How many Ethereum are left? ›

Ethereum Supply is at a current level of 120.26M, down from 120.26M yesterday and up from 119.17M one year ago. This is a change of -0.00% from yesterday and 0.91% from one year ago.

Do Ethereum miners get gas? ›

Gas fees are used to compensate Ethereum miners for their work in verifying transactions and securing the network. Gas fees also help keep the network from becoming bogged down by malicious users spamming the network with transactions.

What are the pitfalls of crypto mining? ›

Crypto mining consumes a lot of energy and resources, which can have a negative impact on the environment. According to some estimates, Bitcoin mining alone accounts for more than 0.5% of global electricity consumption and emits more carbon dioxide than some countries.

Is there a downside to mining crypto? ›

Hefty electricity bills will follow when your computer would be mining for long hours. This, in turn, will be adding to your cost. The process of crypto mining is required GPUs at their maximum potential to keep the mining software up and running. This decreases the overall lifespan of your graphic cards.

Why is ethereum bad for the environment? ›

Prior to the merge, ethereum was doing up to 900 billion calculations per second that are now not needed anymore. According to his calculations, ethereum was responsible for about 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

What is the average ethereum miner fee? ›

Ethereum Average Transaction Fee is at a current level of 0.0009, up from 0.0007 yesterday and up from 0.0004 one year ago. This is a change of 28.57% from yesterday and 125.0% from one year ago.

Why is Coinbase miner fee so high? ›

Why are Coinbase Wallet Miner Fees so High? The main reason bitcoin mining fees are high is supply and demand. The bitcoin block size is 1MB, meaning that miners can only confirm 1MB of transactions per block (one block every ten minutes).

Why are miner gas fees so high? ›

The price of gas can vary depending on network congestion and demand. Since miners are driven by higher gas prices to include transactions with higher gas costs in the blocks they mine, higher gas prices usually result in faster transaction processing times.

Is crypto mining ethical? ›

The ethical case in favor of crypto falls apart. None of the positive claims can be sustained. It does not promote financial inclusion, but exposes the most vulnerable groups to greater risk and higher cost. It does not guarantee privacy or anonymity.

What do crypto miners actually mine? ›

Bitcoin mining refers to the process of validating and recording transactions on the Bitcoin network. The primary purpose of Bitcoin mining is twofold: validating transactions to prevent fraud and adding new blocks to the blockchain, thereby creating new Bitcoins in a decentralized manner.

Are NFTs damaging to the environment? ›

NFTs aren't environmentally friendly. Most NFTs trade on the Ethereum network. This means that each transaction uses a mining process to confirm the trade and transaction. The energy used in mining concerns many who feel that it can add to carbon emissions if non-clean energy sources are used.

Does crypto trading count as self employment? ›

If you earned income, either in cryptocurrency or any other form of payment, by working for a company where you aren't an employee, then you are likely self-employed. You can use Schedule C, Profit and Loss From Business, to report your income and expenses and determine your net profit or loss from the activity.

Do miners have to do taxes? ›

Earnings from Crypto Mining

In some cases, your mining transactions may be reported to the IRS on Form 1099-NEC. However, even if your earnings are not reported separately, you must report them and pay taxes on them.

Is Bitcoin mining active or passive income? ›

Once your bitcoin mining hardware is up and running, there isn't much active work involved. Successful miners earn passive income as long as their hardware is running.

How does the IRS know if you have cryptocurrency? ›

The IRS can track cryptocurrency transactions through several methods, including the use of subpoenas, blockchain analysis, and third-party reporting by cryptocurrency exchanges.

How do I report crypto mining income? ›

Income received from mining is taxed as ordinary income based on the fair market value of your coins on the day you received them. For example, if you successfully mined 0.25 BTC on March 15, 2022, you will pay income tax based on the price of Bitcoin in dollar terms on that date.

What can miners claim? ›

Mining Tax Deductions: General Expenses
  • Conference and seminar fees.
  • Reference books.
  • Subscriptions to professional journals and magazines.
  • Self-education.
  • Telephone and internet fees (for the work related portion only)
  • Home office costs.
  • Tax agent fees.
  • Donations to registered charities.

Do I report crypto to taxes if I never sold? ›

Do you need to report taxes on crypto you don't sell? If you buy crypto, there's nothing to report until you sell. If you earned crypto through staking, a hard fork, an airdrop or via any method other than buying it, you'll likely need to report it, even if you haven't sold it.

Will the IRS know if I don't report my crypto? ›

If, after the deadline to report and any extensions have passed, you still have not properly reported your crypto gains on Form 8938, you can face additional fines and penalties. After an initial failure to file, the IRS will notify any taxpayer who hasn't completed their annual return or reports.

Will the IRS find out if I don't report crypto? ›

Investors must report crypto gains, losses and income in their annual tax return on Form 8940 & Schedule D. Evading crypto taxes is a federal offence. Penalties for tax evasion are up to 75% of the tax due (maximum $100,000) and 5 years in jail. The IRS knows about your crypto already.

Can I write off crypto mining equipment? ›

If your crypto tax professional does not find a Section 179 depreciation deduction appropriate for a mining-related purchase, the cost of that equipment may be deducted over several years (typically 3 to 5) using the modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS).

Can you make passive income with crypto? ›

Crypto investors can earn passive income through validator nodes, which store a copy of a blockchain's history and verify new transactions. Top cryptos for this include Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Avalanche, and Polkadot.

How much can you make per month mining crypto? ›

Crypto Mining Salary
Annual SalaryMonthly Pay
Top Earners$100,500$8,375
75th Percentile$77,500$6,458
Average$64,161$5,346
25th Percentile$48,000$4,000

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