Overseas Crypto Sales Deduction Imperiled by GOP Tax Law Change

December 31, 2025, 9:45 AM UTC

A small change made by the $3.4 trillion Republican tax-and-spending law is putting a lucrative tax deduction at risk for certain kinds of digital assets sold overseas, and tax professionals are looking to the IRS for answers.

At issue is how cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are characterized under the federal tax code. If they are characterized as intangible property, it would preclude corporate owners from claiming a foreign-earned income deduction when they sell the assets overseas.

The current tax code isn’t explicit about what kind of property crypto is, tax practitioners ...

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