#irs-reporting
IRS reporting requirements for cryptocurrency and investments
IRS Notice CP87A means two returns claimed the same dependent's Social Security number. It is not an audit and not a bill — if you are entitled to the claim, the IRS says do nothing. This guide covers the five qualifying-child tests, the tie-breaker ladder, why a divorce decree loses to overnight counts without a signed Form 8332, the 2025 IP PIN fix for e-file rejections, and when to amend with Form 1040-X.
Original issue discount makes you report interest income each year on bonds that pay no cash until maturity. This guide covers where OID hides — zero-coupon bonds, T-bills, TIPS, seller-financed notes — the 0.25%-per-year de minimis threshold, how to read Boxes 1, 2, 6 and 8 of Form 1099-OID, and the basis and state-tax mistakes that make investors overpay.
The IRS treats charity gaming as an unrelated business, so raffle and bingo profits can owe UBIT on Form 990-T even when every dollar funds programs. Two exceptions usually save the event — substantially-all-volunteer labor and traditional bingo (never pull-tabs) — while raffles paying $600-plus at 300 times the wager trigger Form W-2G, with 24 percent withholding above $5,000.
A superseding return is a complete second return filed before the deadline (including extensions) that legally replaces your original, unlike a Form 1040-X amendment filed after it. It preserves elections reserved for original returns and can stop interest and penalties — but when filed during an extension period it does not reset the three-year assessment or refund clocks, which run from the first valid return.
Prediction market winnings from Kalshi and Polymarket are taxable even without a 1099, but the IRS has issued no guidance on how — ordinary income, gambling income under Section 165(d) with a 90% loss-deduction cap starting in 2026, or Section 1256 60/40 treatment. Here are the forms to expect, the crypto-settlement wrinkle, and the recordkeeping that survives an audit.
Whether lawsuit settlement money is taxable depends on what the payment replaces. Compensatory damages for physical injury or sickness are tax-free under IRC Section 104(a)(2), while punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, back pay, and emotional-distress awards without physical harm are taxable. Learn how the attorney-fee gross-income trap, W-2 versus 1099-MISC reporting, and settlement-agreement allocation decide how much of the check you keep.
For payments made on or after January 1, 2026, the federal 1099-NEC/1099-MISC reporting threshold rose from $600 to $2,000 under P.L. 119-21 — but royalties ($10), attorney gross proceeds ($600), and backup withholding on any withheld amount are unchanged. Here is the vendor-onboarding and W-9 workflow that prevents penalties either way.
The IRS normally has three years from the filing date to assess additional tax under IRC 6501(a), six years if you omit more than 25% of gross income, and unlimited time if you never filed or filed fraudulently. Parallel clocks run alongside it - 10 years to collect, 3 years to claim a refund, 4 years for employment tax records, and property basis until disposition plus 3 - which is why most CPAs tell small businesses to default financial records to six years.
Schedule 1-A is the new IRS form for tax years 2025-2028 holding four below-the-line deductions — up to $25,000 for tips, $12,500/$25,000 for the FLSA overtime premium, $10,000 for new-car loan interest, and $6,000 per person age 65+. Each phases out on its own MAGI threshold, and this guide covers who qualifies, how the math works, and what records defend the claim.
Congress restored the federal 1099-K threshold to $20,000 and 200 transactions in July 2025, but nine states still require a form at $600 and four more sit between $1,000 and $2,500 — so a $650 Etsy sale produces a 1099-K in Massachusetts and nothing in Texas. Includes the state-by-state threshold tiers and how to reconcile a gross form total down to actual taxable profit.
Purchase-based cash back, points, and miles are non-taxable rebates that reduce your deductible expense — but referral bonuses, no-purchase sign-up bonuses, and bank account bonuses are taxable income reported on 1099-MISC, now only when $2,000 or more from one payer in 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
IRS Letter 6042C verifies a specific business return; Letter 5263C verifies the entity itself on file from Form SS-4, and both carry a 30-day response window that, if missed, stalls your returns, refunds, and overpayment applications. This guide explains how thieves obtain an EIN, the tax and non-tax red flags that signal fraud, exactly what to fax back in each case, when Form 8822-B is required within 60 days of a responsible-party change, and a monthly-quarterly-annual monitoring routine that catches misuse early.
