Cryptocurrencies (also called altcoins or virtual currency) have seen some wild fluctuations in the recent past. For example, the value of a single full Bitcoin went from $10,000 to nearly $70,000 and then back down to $20,000, all within the span of two years.

Some people have realized huge profits and others have lost thousands (or more), but not everyone has considered the tax ramifications of those sales. The Internal Revenue Service considers cryptocurrencies to be property. That means a variety of taxes likely apply to your altcoin transactions, whether you sell your virtual currencies or use them to pay for goods or services.

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