Background to Bitcoin
Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin. These are some of the most prominent cryptocurrencies on the market today. Bitcoin is by far the best-known cryptocurrency due to the substantial increase in the price that was experienced in the past couple of years.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency – a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to control its creation and management, rather than relying on central authorities. Bitcoin was developed by an anonymous creator – Satoshi Nakamoto – to enable society to operate with a digital cash system, without the need for third-party intermediaries which are traditionally required for digital monetary transfers.
Should you wish to read the original paper used to introduce bitcoin to the word, please follow this link: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf.
Tax consequences of cryptocurrencies
For the most part, South Africans have only been able to enter the crypto market locally for a short while, which has drawn the attention of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to cryptocurrencies.
SARS released a statement on the 6th of April 2018, declaring its stance regarding the taxation of cryptocurrencies. The following is an extract from the statement:
“The South African Revenue Service (SARS) will continue to apply normal income tax rules to cryptocurrencies and will expect affected taxpayers to declare cryptocurrency gains or losses as part of their taxable income.”
The statement further indicates that for purposes of the Income Tax Act, SARS does not deem cryptocurrencies to be a currency (due to the fact that wide adoption has not been reached in South Africa and crypto can’t be used on a daily basis to transact), but rather defines cryptocurrencies as assets of an intangible nature.
The definition has the effect that cryptocurrencies will be treated as any other investment for tax purposes. The onus lies on the taxpayer to declare all cryptocurrency-related taxable income in the tax year which the taxpayer received or accrued.
Should a taxpayer thus trade in bitcoin, the trades will be deemed to be income in nature and the profit and loss on the trades should be included in the taxpayer’s taxable income. However, if the taxpayer holds the bitcoin as a long-term investment (the same way some investors hold a share portfolio for long-term investing), the income derived from the disposal of the bitcoin will be deemed to be capital in nature, resulting in capital gains tax needing to be declared on the disposal.
Conclusion
Whether you are for or against cryptocurrencies, it is evident that cryptocurrencies have formed a part of the modern era and will likely remain relevant. This new form of currency/investment has caused quite a stir at SARS and taxpayers are advised to familiarise themselves with the tax treatment of these currencies to prevent any unexpected tax consequences.
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied upon as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your financial adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)