Crypto transaction opinions: a written answer to a question the IRS has not answered.
Staking, liquid staking, wrapping, bridging, liquidity pools, airdrops, token grants, and token classification all raise tax questions with no direct IRS guidance. A crypto transaction opinion analyzes your facts, states our conclusion at a defined confidence level, and gives you, your preparer, and if it comes to it the IRS, something to rely on.
Transactions we cover
Staking, liquid staking, and restaking
When rewards are income, what receipt tokens are, and whether a deposit is a taxable exchange.
Wrapping, bridging, and liquidity pools
Whether you received the same asset or a different one, and how to document the position consistently across years.
Airdrops, forks, and token grants
Timing and valuation of income under the dominion and control standard, including locked and vesting tokens.
Token classification
Whether a token is likely a security under Howey, for issuers, exchanges, and investors who need the analysis in writing.
Entity and treasury questions
DAOs, foundations, and funds: how the structure is taxed and what the members report.
Lost, locked, and worthless tokens
When a loss is realized, whether it is capital or theft, and what the record has to show. Scam losses have their own letter.
What the opinion does, and does not do
An opinion states a conclusion at a defined confidence level: will, should, more likely than not, or substantial authority. More likely than not is the level a preparer generally needs to sign a return with an unusual position, and it is the level that supports removal of the accuracy-related penalty if the IRS later disagrees. The letter recites your facts, analyzes the authorities, and explains the reasoning; a letter without the analysis carries no weight.
It does not change the underlying tax and it does not bind the IRS. What it does is document that a qualified professional analyzed the position before you acted, which is what reasonable cause and good faith require, and give the person who prepares your return a basis for the position it takes.
An opinion is legal analysis at a stated confidence level, not a prediction of how the IRS will act in your case.
How the engagement works
Facts
We collect the transaction records, the protocol documentation, and what you have reported so far. Our CPAs reconstruct the on-chain history where needed, under the attorney’s engagement.
Analysis
The attorneys analyze the position under the code, the rulings, and the case law, and identify the conservative and the more assertive positions available.
The letter
You receive a signed opinion at the stated confidence level, with the facts relied on and the reasoning, to keep with the return and share with your preparer.
Questions people ask first
When the amount at stake is large enough that the accuracy penalty alone would exceed the fee, when your preparer will not sign the return without one, or when the position will recur every year and you want it settled once. For a small position, a documented memo in the file may be enough; the consultation is where we tell you which.
The IRS does not approve opinions in advance. What the opinion does is establish reasonable cause and good faith, which removes the 20 percent accuracy penalty on a position the IRS later rejects, and it frames the argument if the position is examined. A well-reasoned opinion is often the reason an examiner concedes a position.
Two to four weeks for most transactions once the records are in hand, longer where the on-chain history has to be reconstructed first.
Whatever the analysis supports. We tell you before the engagement which level is realistic for your facts; if the honest answer is that the position is unlikely to hold, you should know that before paying for a letter.
Yes, through Gordon Tax, and the same attorneys answer if the IRS writes about the year. The opinion, the return, and the defense come from one team.
Schedule a confidential consultation
Tell us the transaction and the amount involved. The attorney tells you whether an opinion is the right tool, what confidence level the facts support, and what it costs.
