STAGE 5 · MASTERLEVEL · Advanced7 LESSONSABOUT 39 MINLAW, TAXES & THE STATE
Taxes are where bitcoin's "property" status meets real paperwork. This course covers the US framework in enough detail to keep records properly and talk to a professional intelligently. Seven lessons, about 45 minutes. Rules change yearly; verify current thresholds before filing.
BY THE END OF THIS COURSE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
- Classify any bitcoin event as taxable or not
- Compute a gain with FIFO, LIFO or HIFO and know which is allowed
- Fill the right forms from a broker statement and your own records
- Explain tax-loss harvesting and its limits
- Set up inheritance so heirs get the asset and the basis
Every lesson ends with a quiz or a challenge; the course is complete when each lesson is.
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LESSONS
01Property, not currencySince 2014 the IRS treats bitcoin as property. Disposals (selling, spending, exchanging) realise gains; receiving it as income is ordinary income; buying and holding is nothing.✓ quiz5 MIN✓02Gains, holding periods and lot methodsGain is proceeds minus basis; the rate depends on holding period. Which coins you sold is a choice between FIFO and specific identification, and it changes the number.✓ quiz⚡ challenge7 MIN✓03Forms, 1099-DA and reportingFrom 2026 brokers report sales and basis on Form 1099-DA. You list every disposal on Form 8949, total on Schedule D, and report income separately. Broker reports are often incomplete.✓ quiz6 MIN✓04Tax-loss harvestingSelling at a loss and rebuying realises a loss that offsets gains. Bitcoin is not currently subject to the wash-sale rule, which may change. The basis resets lower.✓ quiz⚡ challenge5 MIN✓05Retirement accounts, trusts and LLCsSelf-directed IRAs can hold real bitcoin with tax-advantaged growth. Trusts control inheritance and avoid probate; LLCs serve businesses. Each needs a custody plan.✓ quiz6 MIN✓06Inheritance and the stepped-up basisIn the US, inherited property gets a basis equal to its value at death, erasing the deceased's unrealised gain. Estate tax applies only above a very high exemption. Keys must still be reachable.✓ quiz5 MIN✓07Businesses, mining and records that survive an auditBusinesses holding bitcoin follow fair-value accounting since 2025; mining is income at receipt. For everyone, records that prove basis and reconcile transfers are the whole game.✓ quiz5 MIN✓