Ernst & Young Introduces Tax Tool for Reporting Cryptocurrencies

Big Four auditing and professional services firm Ernst & Young EY) has launched a tool for accounting and preparing taxes on cryptocurrency holdings, according to a press release published on Mar. 4.

The new tool called EY Crypto-Asset Accounting and Tax (CAAT) is designed to improve accounting and tax calculations for digital currency transactions by both institutional customers that have cryptocurrency on their balance sheets and individuals who trade crypto assets on a smaller scale. The service will be available for those who use EY TaxChat and to EY Private Client Services clients.

The EY CAAT can reportedly get information about cryptocurrency transactions from “virtually all” major exchanges, consolidate data from various sources, and automatically produce reports, including cryptocurrency-related Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax returns. EY says that it has registered a substantial growth in the number of customers that own crypto assets.

Last month, United States tax preparation software TurboTax Online reportedly partnered with CoinsTax, LLC to add cryptocurrency tax calculation to its services. The service will allow users to import trading data directly from major exchanges. Once calculated, capitals gains and income reports can be downloaded or uploaded directly into Form 1040 Schedule D.

In January, major American cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service Coinbase added resources for customers in the U. S. to claim crypto trades on their taxes through an integration with TurboTax. Users of Coinbase.com and Coinbase Pro will purportedly be able to automatically import transactions into a new, crypto-specific section of TurboTax Premier software.

Meanwhile, the U.S. state of Ohio became the first to allow businesses to pay taxes using the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC). Businesses are allowed to pay 23 different taxes using BTC through an online portal that has been set up by the state treasury office.