The IRS is tightening its grip on crypto activity, and now the agency’s reporting net is expanding both inside and outside the United States. A new White House review signals that offshore transactions may soon fall under direct U.S. surveillance.
IRS Sets 2025 Start Date for Digital-Asset Reporting
The IRS has finalized its digital-asset reporting rules, marking the first major overhaul of crypto tax compliance in years. U.S. brokers must begin reporting all sales, swaps and redemptions of digital assets on the new Form 1099-DA for transactions occurring on or after Jan. 1, 2025. The forms will go out to taxpayers in 2026, creating the first standardized nationwide record of crypto disposals.
Form 1099 DA 2025. Source: IRS
This shift places crypto assets, including Bitcoin, stablecoins and NFTs — under the same information-reporting structure long used for stocks and bonds. The agency says uniform reporting will reduce errors, close tax gaps and limit “under-reported” crypto activity that has grown alongside digital-asset adoption. The policy also ends years of uncertainty over how platforms should report crypto transactions to the government.
Officials note that the framework applies to centralized exchanges, wallet providers with brokerage-like functions, and digital-asset payment processors. The IRS views these intermediaries as “brokers” for federal reporting purposes, meaning they must track cost basis, proceeds and customer identity details beginning next year.
Transition Relief Gives Firms Time to Adjust Systems
Although the rules take effect in 2025, the IRS is offering transition relief during the first year. The agency will relax penalties tied to information reporting and backup withholding as platforms update their compliance systems. This relief window aims to prevent disruptions for both exchanges and users while the industry restructures its reporting pipelines.
However, firms are still expected to demonstrate “good-faith efforts” to upgrade their infrastructure. The IRS says platforms should already be preparing for full enforcement by 2026, when Form 1099-DA data starts feeding into taxpayer filings. The transition period also gives brokers time to build cost-basis tracking tools—an area that crypto platforms have struggled with due to the complexity of on-chain transfers.
Despite the relaxed penalties, the IRS emphasizes that the rules are not optional. Agencies warn that “voluntary compliance” will not shield companies from future audits once enforcement fully ramps up.
U.S. Targets Offshore Crypto Activity Through New Rule Review
A new development adds an international dimension to the reporting effort. The White House is reviewing a proposed Treasury rule that would extend IRS visibility to crypto transactions conducted abroad. The plan would require foreign exchanges, custodians and digital-asset intermediaries dealing with U.S. taxpayers to send transaction data to the IRS through expanded third-party reporting.
Trump IRS Foreign Crypto Accounts. Source: WatcherGuru on X
The proposal mirrors existing frameworks for foreign bank accounts, strengthening U.S. efforts to track income routed through offshore platforms. Treasury officials argue that cross-border reporting is essential because digital assets move fluidly across jurisdictions, making it easy for taxpayers to hide gains unless data sharing is mandatory.
If finalized after White House review, the measure would broaden the IRS’s surveillance reach to offshore crypto hubs, increasing global compliance pressure. Analysts say the rule could reshape how foreign platforms handle U.S. users, forcing tighter onboarding standards and new data-collection requirements.
As U.S. regulators move toward a fully integrated reporting regime, the IRS’s message is clear: digital-asset income is taxable, traceable and soon subject to worldwide oversight.
