Cryptocurrency Tax Georgia

When you buy, sell, or earn cryptocurrency, a digital asset that can be traded, spent, or held as investment. Also known as crypto, it's treated as property by the IRS, not currency. That rule applies in Georgia too. Whether you swapped Bitcoin for Ethereum, earned staking rewards, or sold Solana for cash, you triggered a taxable event. Georgia doesn’t have its own crypto-specific tax law, but it follows federal rules — which means the IRS’s guidance is your law.

Many Georgians assume if they didn’t cash out to fiat, they don’t owe anything. That’s a myth. Trading one crypto for another? Taxable. Getting paid in crypto for freelance work? Taxable. Even receiving airdrops or mining rewards counts as income at fair market value the day you got them. The state doesn’t track these transactions for you — the IRS does through exchange reports and on-chain analysis tools. If you sold $5,000 worth of Ethereum last year and bought a new car with it, you owe capital gains tax on the profit. No receipt? No problem. The IRS doesn’t need one — your wallet history is enough.

Georgia residents who use crypto for business — like accepting it as payment for services — must report it as income. If you’re a freelancer in Atlanta and got paid $1,200 in USDC, that’s $1,200 in taxable income. If you later spent that USDC on groceries when its value dropped to $1,100, you still owe tax on the full $1,200. The loss doesn’t offset the income. But here’s the good part: you can use tax loss harvesting, a legal strategy to sell losing crypto positions to reduce your overall tax bill. Also known as crypto tax offset, it’s how smart traders lower their annual liability. You can also deduct fees paid to exchanges or wallet services as investment expenses. Keep records — not just screenshots, but dates, amounts, and USD values at time of each transaction. Tools like Koinly or CoinTracker help, but manual logs work if you’re consistent.

What about crypto mining? If you’re running a rig in your Atlanta basement and earning Bitcoin, the value of that Bitcoin on the day you received it is ordinary income. Later, when you sell it, you pay capital gains on the increase. Same goes for staking rewards on Ethereum or other proof-of-stake chains. Georgia doesn’t offer any crypto tax breaks, but it also doesn’t add extra layers. That’s simpler than states like California or New York, where local rules can get messy.

And yes — if you didn’t file crypto taxes last year, you’re not alone. Thousands of Georgians didn’t realize they owed. But the IRS is catching up fast. Form 1099-Bs are now sent by major exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken. If your name shows up on one and you didn’t report it, you’re asking for an audit. Don’t wait for a notice. File an amended return if needed. The IRS’s Voluntary Disclosure Program lets you come clean with reduced penalties.

Below, you’ll find real cases from Georgians who got hit with crypto tax bills — and how they fixed them. You’ll see which exchanges report to Georgia, what the IRS is watching for in 2025, and how to avoid the traps most beginners miss. No fluff. Just what you need to pay what’s fair — and keep your money.