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2023-09-06

How Investing vs Trading impacts tax

In most cases of buying and selling cryptocurrency as a retail investor, you are participating in investing rather than trading. The two are treated differently for tax purposes.

  • Investing is subject to capital gains tax or income tax, depending on the nature of the transaction.
  • Trading in this case refers to self-employment which is subject to income tax and National Insurance Contributions.

The key difference between investing and trading – along with the different tax treatments, is how losses generated in the crypto-activity can be used.

In their guidance, HMRC have explicitly stated that they would expect it to be exceedingly rare that any crypto-activity constituting buying & selling crypto would be classified as “trading”.

If you are uncertain, speak to a tax advisor as there are always exceptions, including but not limited to, developing tokens and large scale mining.

How is crypto tax calculated in the United States?

You can be liable for both capital gains and income tax depending on the type of cryptocurrency transaction, and your individual circumstances. For example, you might need to pay capital gains on profits from buying and selling cryptocurrency, or pay income tax on interest earned when holding crypto.

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blog
06
 
Sep
 
2023
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10
min read

Security Alert

We have become aware that cyber-criminals may be planning a sophisticated phishing scam targeting some Summ (formerly Crypto Tax Calculator) users. This requires your immediate and urgent attention.

Key takeaways
This tax guide is regularly updated: Last Update  
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We have become aware that cyber-criminals may be planning a sophisticated phishing scam targeting some Summ (formerly Crypto Tax Calculator) users. This requires your immediate and urgent attention.

We are taking this matter extremely seriously. We remind all users that Summ would never ask you to directly authenticate your wallet or provide private keys in our platform or in any correspondence. Through this potential phishing scam, cyber-criminals may seek to impersonate Summ in an attempt to access a user’s personal and financial information, which may include credentials to your respective cryptocurrency wallet or exchange.

At this stage, Summ has no information to suggest any users have fallen victim to this scam. However, if this were to occur, it may lead to the cyber-criminals being able to access users’ funds from their cryptocurrency wallets or exchanges.

To avoid this, users should be aware and immediately follow the below steps:

  • Make sure you do not share private keys or write-access API keys with unknown third parties. As a reminder, Summ or affiliated sites will never ask you for private keys to your wallet, write-access exchange API keys, or to sign a wallet transaction which allows for transfer of funds.
  • Check all web addresses to ensure it is the website that you are intending to visit.
  • Remain vigilant and validate all communications from Summ. For any suspicious or unauthorised activity, report this to [email protected] and we will promptly review it.

Summ was able to identify this potential risk after it became aware of illegal activity seeking to compromise the systems of one of our third party providers. Summ immediately initiated its cyber response strategy and is acting with urgency to investigate this issue.

Data security is of the utmost priority to Summ. We have appointed a leading Australian cyber security firm to work with us as we further investigate this incident and to ensure we are taking all necessary steps to protect the information of our users and system security. We took immediate action to reinforce the integrity of our systems and no further illegal activity has been detected. The Summ platform remains safe, secure and accessible for its users. As a reminder, please remain vigilant and make sure you do not share private credentials with third parties.

Summ sincerely apologises to all users for any concern or inconvenience this may cause. We are committed to the highest standards of security and data integrity.

We will continue to provide updates as our investigation into these matters continue. In the interim, it is essential that all users adhere to the steps outlined above to preserve data security.

Regards,

Summ Security Team

The information provided on this website is general in nature and is not tax, accounting or legal advice. It has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs and seek professional advice. Summ (formerly Crypto Tax Calculator) disclaims all and any guarantees, undertakings and warranties, expressed or implied, and is not liable for any loss or damage whatsoever (including human or computer error, negligent or otherwise, or incidental or Consequential Loss or damage) arising out of, or in connection with, any use or reliance on the information or advice in this website. The user must accept sole responsibility associated with the use of the material on this site, irrespective of the purpose for which such use or results are applied. The information in this website is no substitute for specialist advice.

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