DAO Taxes: Investor's Guide 2024 | CoinLedger (2024)

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Miles Brooks

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Wondering how the IRS taxes DAOs?

In the past few years, many crypto projects have adopted the DAO structure. However, many investors simply have no idea how to report taxes on their DAO tokens.

In this guide, we’ll break down everything we currently know about how DAOs are taxed (and what taxable events individual investors need to watch out for).

What is a DAO?

DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. It’s an organizational structure that allows stakeholders to make governing decisions over a protocol without the need for any kind of centralized authority.

Instead of a small Board of Directors making decisions about the company, DAOs enable the community of tokenholders to vote on the future of the protocol.

One prominent example of a DAO is Uniswap. Holders of the UNI token can vote on issues such as how transaction fees are used and what new features the protocol can add for users.

How do I pay taxes on my DAO taxes?

For individual tokenholders, it’s reasonable to assume that DAO tokens will be taxed similar to other cryptocurrencies. That means they’ll likely be subject to both income and capital gains tax.

If you received your DAO tokens through an airdrop, you will again need to report your earnings as income based on its fair market value at the time when it was received.

DAO Taxes: Investor's Guide 2024 | CoinLedger (10)

If you sell your DAO tokens, you will incur a capital gain or a capital loss depending on how the price of your assets fluctuates since you originally received them.

DAO Taxes: Investor's Guide 2024 | CoinLedger (11)

DAOs may distribute rewards to tokenholders. In this case, your earnings should again be reported as personal income based on its fair market value at the time it was received.

How are DAOs taxed?

Just like traditional corporations, DAOs will likely be subject to taxation. Tax experts have stated that any entity that has a group of different participants working together and dividing profits can be taxed.

However, the IRS has so far released no clear guidance on exactly how DAOs will be taxed. This raises questions. Since DAOs do not have a centralized authority, they cannot file taxes the same way traditional corporations can.

It is also unclear whether DAOs will be taxed as a foreign corporation if one or more of its members is based outside of the United States.

Some speculate that DAOs may be taxed as a pass-through entity. That means that while the DAO itself won’t be taxed, individual members will pay income taxes on their share of the organization’s profits.

Looking for a stress-free way to manage your crypto taxes?

It’s not just DAO tokens — dealing with cryptocurrency taxes can be confusing and stressful. Crypto tax software can help.


More than 500,000 investors use CoinLedger to simplify the process of filing crypto taxes. In just a few minutes, you’ll be able to automatically track all your transactions from exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini.

Interested in getting started? Create a free account today.

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CRYPTO TAXES OVERVIEW

How are cryptocurrencies taxed?How do you report cryptocurrencies on your taxes?What's the tax rate for cryptocurrencies?

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Written by:

Miles Brooks

Director of Tax Strategy

Miles Brooks holds his Master's of Tax, is a Certified Public Accountant, and is the Director of Tax Strategy at CoinLedger.

About the Author

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Reviewed by:

Jordan Bass

Head of Tax Strategy

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Edited by:

CoinLedger has strict sourcing guidelines for our content. Our content is based on direct interviews with tax experts, guidance from tax agencies, and articles from reputable news outlets.

DAO Taxes: Investor's Guide 2024 | CoinLedger (2024)

FAQs

How to cash out crypto without paying taxes in the USA? ›

There is no way to legally avoid taxes when cashing out cryptocurrency. However, strategies like tax-loss harvesting can help you reduce your tax bill legally.

Do mining pools report to the IRS? ›

Yes, the IRS typically classifies crypto mining as a business activity, which means you can deduct business expenses. Here are some common deductions for those mining Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies: Mining Pool Fees: Most of our clients who mine crypto do so through a mining pool.

How is a DAO taxed? ›

How are DAO payments taxed? In some DAOs, members are paid in tokens in return for providing goods or services. In most regions they haven't yet made specific rules on how DAO payments should be taxed, but have usually determined that being paid in crypto will be viewed as ordinary income.

How is cryptocurrency taxed in the US? ›

The IRS generally treats gains on cryptocurrency the same way it treats any kind of capital gain. That is, you'll pay ordinary tax rates on short-term capital gains (up to 37 percent in 2023 and 2024, depending on your income) for assets held less than a year.

Do you have to report crypto on taxes if you don t cash out? ›

As long as you hold digital assets you purchased with fiat currency without converting them into cash or other crypto, you are not required to report or pay taxes on any potential gains to the IRS. However, when you sell your cryptocurrency, there are tax consequences.

How do I liquidate crypto without paying taxes? ›

9 Ways to Legally Avoid Paying Crypto Taxes
  1. Buy Items on BitDials.
  2. Invest Using an IRA.
  3. Have a Long-Term Investment Horizon.
  4. Gift Crypto to Family Members.
  5. Relocate to a Different Country.
  6. Donate Crypto to Charity.
  7. Offset Gains with Appropriate Losses.
  8. Sell Crypto During Low-Income Periods.
Mar 22, 2024

How does the IRS know you mined crypto? ›

1099-K & 1099-B

If you receive a Form 1099-K or Form 1099-B from a crypto exchange, without any doubt, the IRS knows that you have reportable crypto currency transactions.

Can the IRS track crypto mining? ›

The IRS can audit you if they have reason to believe that you are underreporting your taxable income from cryptocurrency. Typically, the limit for conducting an audit is three years after a taxpayer has filed their tax return.

Does crypto mining count as income? ›

In the US, receiving Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies from mining is a taxable event, subject to income taxes if you're an individual miner or corporate taxes if you're a corporation. If you're a crypto miner operating as a business, you'd need to recognize the coins from mining as income at the time of your receipt.

How to report DAO income? ›

DAOs in the US are currently taxed at the individual level, with participants reporting their share of earnings on personal income tax returns. The IRS has not clearly defined how DAO entity-level profits should be taxed, leaving this area open to speculation.

What are the disadvantages of a DAO? ›

However, a DAO carries these downsides and risks:
  • Automated smart contracts can be difficult to change when a problem is discovered.
  • Hackers can discover loopholes to legally misappropriate funds against the interests of shareholders.

What is the best legal entity for a DAO? ›

Limited Liability Companies (LLCs): LLCs are an attractive option as they limit the liability of the members for the actions and debts of the company. The LLC structure can act as a 'services company' to the DAO's members, providing an interaction interface with the real world.

How long do you have to hold crypto to avoid taxes? ›

Crypto tax rates for 2023

If you owned it for 365 days or less, you would pay short-term gains taxes, which are equal to income taxes. If you owned it for longer, you would pay long-term gains taxes. Here are the cryptocurrency tax rates on long-term gains for the 2023 tax year.

Can I write off crypto losses? ›

Yes, you can write off crypto losses on taxes even if you have no gains. If your total capital losses exceed your total capital gains, US taxpayers can deduct the difference as a loss on your tax return, up to $3,000 per year ($1,500 if married filing separately).

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

US taxpayers must report any profits or losses from trading cryptocurrency and any income earned from activities like mining or staking on tax return forms, such as Form 1040 or 8949. Not reporting can result in fines and penalties as high as $100,000 or more severe consequences, including up to five years in prison.

Can I cash out crypto in USA? ›

Use an exchange to sell crypto

One of the easiest ways to cash out your cryptocurrency or Bitcoin is to use a centralized exchange such as Coinbase. Coinbase has an easy-to-use “buy/sell” button and you can choose which cryptocurrency you want to sell and the amount.

Is crypto tax free in usa? ›

The IRS treats cryptocurrencies as property for tax purposes, which means: You pay taxes on cryptocurrency if you sell or use your crypto in a transaction, and it is worth more than it was when you purchased it. This is because you trigger capital gains or losses if its market value has changed.

How much crypto can I withdraw tax free? ›

Capital Gains UK Tax Free Allowance

HMRC cut the Capital Gains Tax Allowance from £12,300 a year to £6,000 a year for the 2023 - 2024 financial year. This halves again for the 2024 - 2025 financial year to £3,000. Let's look at how much Capital Gains Tax you'll pay on your crypto.

Do non US citizens pay crypto taxes? ›

Resident aliens are subject to tax on their worldwide income, including income generated from crypto transactions, both within and outside the US. They must report their crypto holdings, sales, and earnings on their US tax returns.

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