Quote from: mgio on December 12, 2013, 09:43:07 PM

Quote from: Nebulous on December 12, 2013, 09:36:44 PM

Umm, the answer to your question may depend on your jurisdiction, in any case:

Sold 10 BTC on Jan 1, 2013 at $100/BTC, you realized a capital gain of 10 x $100 = $1,000.

This capital gain needs to be declared in your income for the taxation year 2013.

However, Dec 31, 2013 you buy 100 BTC at $10/BTC = $1,000, so you lost $1,000. Depending on your jurisdiction you may deduct this against your capital gains for the year.

Therefore for the taxation year 2013 you made $1,000 by selling 10 BTC, and then lost $1,000 by buying 10 BTC.

This is definitely NOT true in the US. I can't speak for other countries.

Buying an commodity like bitcoin is NOT a loss as the bitcoin has value. Namely the value is what you bought it at! You can only realize a loss when you sell it for an amount less than what you paid. Or you realize a gain when you sell it for more you paid for it. The price you buy the bitcoin at is used as the basis for calculating your future gains (or losses).

You're right, I'm wrong, I think I need to brush up my tax law