IRS

IRS

2026-09-30 08:58:07

IRS targets tax-driven fund trades as Treasury says certain 351 ETF conversions are taxable

The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service on Sept. 28 flagged several Wall Street tax strategies used by wealthy investors as potentially abusive, opening a broad review that spans ETF in-kind redemption structures and hedge fund-style derivatives trades. In Notice 2026-62, the agencies grouped the transactions into two buckets: ETF-related arrangements such as 351 conversions, Box Spread ETFs and certain commodity or digital-asset ETF structures, and so-called tax-oriented funds that generate ordinary losses through offsetting derivatives positions. On the same day, the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2026-20, the only item in the package that reached a firm legal conclusion, saying certain prearranged 351 ETF conversions should be treated as taxable exchanges rather than tax-deferred transfers. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X that the notice shows the department is serious about stopping transactions designed to evade tax through abuse of federal law. Market participants have until Oct. 28 to submit comments. Treasury and the IRS said later guidance could come through regulations, notices or rulings, and may apply either prospectively or to transactions completed before the guidance is issued.

230

Policy Regula

2026-09-29 08:00:31

Former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy gets 21 months in prison over crypto-linked extortion case

Former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy Eric Saavedra has been sentenced to 21 months in prison, according to ChainCatcher. The court found that Saavedra used a law enforcement database to help a cryptocurrency trader carry out an extortion scheme. In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to pay $90,984 in restitution. The matter also involved $373,146 in income that he concealed from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The case ties misuse of official law enforcement resources to a scheme involving a crypto market participant, with the court imposing both custodial punishment and financial penalties.

180

Los Angeles C

2026-09-29 07:27:10

Former Los Angeles County deputy sentenced to 21 months over extortion scheme tied to crypto trader

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy Eric Saavedra has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after using a law enforcement database to help a crypto businessman carry out an extortion scheme, according to Odaily. Separately, Saavedra was also ordered to pay $91,000 in restitution after concealing $373,100 in income from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The case links misuse of official law enforcement resources with a criminal scheme involving a crypto-related figure, while the financial penalty addresses the undisclosed income cited in the report.

140

Policy Regula

2026-09-29 07:27:34

Former Los Angeles-area deputy sentenced to 21 months in crypto-linked extortion case

A former deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Eric Saavedra, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for using law enforcement databases to help a crypto industry figure carry out an extortion scheme, according to BlockBeats. The court also ordered Saavedra to pay $90,984 in restitution. Separately, he had previously been accused of concealing $373,100 in income and failing to report that income to the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS. The case ties misuse of official law enforcement resources to criminal conduct involving a person from the crypto sector. The report did not provide more details on the extortion plan or identify the crypto industry individual involved.

150

IRS

2026-09-28 17:35:06

IRS issues notice targeting tax strategy trades that use in-kind redemptions

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice aimed at transactions that use in-kind redemptions across several tax strategies. The language in the notice is broad and covers specific structures designed to create or defer tax outcomes. Examples cited in the source include Section 351 exchanges, box spread strategies, and straddle options. The IRS said these arrangements may be used for improper tax purposes and that it will step up scrutiny of such trades. The related link points to an official IRS document. The update was flagged by @JSeyff.

180

Coinbase

2026-09-26 00:44:03

Coinbase urges inclusion of digital assets in eligible investments for U.S. "Trump Accounts"

Coinbase said it has backed the U.S. "Trump Accounts" plan from an early stage and is now pushing for digital assets to be included in the program’s eligible investment universe. Emilie Choi, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said Coinbase was among the first supporters of the initiative. Separately, Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said the company had submitted comments to the Internal Revenue Service on how the accounts should be implemented and expanded. In those comments, Coinbase recommended allowing beneficiaries to invest in widely traded digital assets directly or gain exposure through funds. The company also said the scope of eligible assets should align with the broad asset classes available in traditional Individual Retirement Accounts, or IRAs. Coinbase argued that broader, product-neutral rules would expand investor choice, support competition, and give young Americans more ways to diversify investments and build wealth.

230

Coinbase

2026-09-26 00:54:12

Coinbase backs broader digital-asset access under proposed “Trump Accounts” plan

Coinbase said it was among the earliest supporters of the proposed “Trump Accounts” plan, with President and Chief Operating Officer Emilie Choi publicly backing the initiative. The company’s chief policy officer, Faryar Shirzad, said Coinbase has submitted comments to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on how the account should be implemented and expanded. In those comments, Coinbase urged regulators to let beneficiaries invest in broadly traded digital assets directly or gain exposure through funds, arguing that the eligible investment universe should match the major asset classes already permitted in traditional Individual Retirement Accounts, or IRAs. Coinbase said a broader, product-neutral framework would expand investor choice, support competition, and give younger Americans more ways to diversify investments and build wealth. Under an earlier IRS proposal, qualified growth-stage investments were largely limited to mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track broad U.S. equity indexes, use no leverage, and charge annual fees of no more than 0.1%.

230

IRS

2026-09-25 13:30:00

IRS gets more visibility into crypto sales, but missing cost-basis data is creating filing problems

The Internal Revenue Service now has broader visibility into Americans’ crypto sales under new reporting rules, with brokers generally required to report gross proceeds from certain digital asset transactions for the 2025 tax year. What many taxpayers still do not get, however, is the cost-basis information needed to calculate actual gains and losses. That gap is turning the first filing season under Form 1099-DA into a difficult reconciliation exercise for some investors, tax professionals and active traders. An August survey of 1,000 US crypto investors by Awaken Tax found that 21% of respondents who had filed, or planned to file, an extension were still waiting on information from an exchange or crypto platform. About one in five said their 1099-DA was incomplete or that they were unsure whether it accurately reflected their transactions. Tax advisers cited mismatches between exchange-issued forms and clients’ own records, delayed delivery of forms, inconsistent statement formats and the lack of machine-readable files for software imports. Professionals interviewed by Cointelegraph Magazine said taxpayers still need complete transaction histories across exchanges, wallets and years to determine gains correctly. While brokers are generally set to begin reporting cost basis for covered digital assets from 2026, assets transferred in from other exchanges or wallets may still fall outside those requirements.

250