United States of America: Announced transitional guidance on reporting of digital assets transactions

On 16 January 2024, the United States Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that businesses are not required to report transactions involving digital assets in the same manner as cash transactions until further regulations are issued. This measure is in response to Section 80603(b)(3) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act) amending Section 6050I of the Internal Revenue Code, which considered digital assets to be cash and required businesses to report any cash received over USD 10'000. Announcement 2024-4 provides transitional guidance while the Treasury and IRS work on implementing the new provisions. The current regulations for cash received during business operations remain unchanged and must be reported on Form 8300 within 15 days of receipt. The Treasury and IRS intend to release proposed regulations that will provide additional information and procedures for reporting digital asset transactions and will allow for public comment and possible public hearings.