Cryptocurrency and Taxes Review: The Book Every Crypto Filer Actually Needs

Crypto tax is its own discipline now

Ten years ago, IRS Notice 2014-21 treated crypto as property and called it done. In 2025, you need to understand staking rewards (ordinary income at receipt, capital treatment on later sale), DeFi lending (interest-like income), NFT collectibles (28% rate possible), wash-sale applicability (ongoing legislative ambiguity), and the new Form 1099-DA reporting that begins for 2025 tax year transactions.

Michael Meyer EA's book is one of the more practical guides to navigating all of the above.

What's covered

• Basic mechanics — cost basis, FIFO/LIFO/specific-ID election, Form 8949, Schedule D
• Holding-period math — short-term vs. long-term, and why "like-kind exchange" does NOT apply to crypto post-2018
• Staking and validator rewards — IRS Revenue Ruling 2023-14 treatment (income at receipt, not at disposition)
• DeFi protocols — interest-bearing, liquidity pools, impermanent-loss accounting
• NFTs — 28% collectible rate potential, and when it actually applies
• Mining income — Schedule C or hobby income; cost-of-goods-sold for serious miners
• Gifts, donations, airdrops, hard forks — taxable events and their FMV timing
• Losses — capital-loss limitations ($3,000/yr), carryforwards, and why theft losses mostly don't qualify since TCJA

What makes this better than a blog post

Meyer is an Enrolled Agent — federally licensed to represent taxpayers before the IRS. The book's structure follows how the IRS audits crypto: starting with exchange-by-exchange reconciliation, moving to wallet-level flows, then DeFi transactions. If you've ever opened CoinTracker or Koinly and not understood why your gain/loss report looked wrong, this book explains what those tools are actually doing.

Limits

• Moves fast. The 2025 Form 1099-DA coverage may be outdated by the time you read this — the IRS delayed some portions. Always cross-check current IRS guidance.
• Assumes software. Meyer walks through reporting but doesn't tutorial any specific crypto-tax tool.
• US-only. No cross-border or non-resident coverage.

Who should buy

• Anyone who bought, sold, staked, or received crypto in 2024
• Active DeFi users preparing their first "real" return
• NFT creators and traders
• Mining hobbyists considering Schedule C election

Who shouldn't

• Pure buy-and-hold investors with one exchange account — your exchange's 1099 + TurboTax handles it

The verdict

If your crypto activity is anything beyond "bought on Coinbase, held" — this $20 book pays for itself on the first correctly-classified staking reward.