For instance, "just because in one year an entity that paid you doesn't report that payment, a year from now when the entity gets audited and issues late 1099 forms, the IRS will expect you to have reported what you earned," Hauer said. The IRS has put crypto front and center for this tax-filing season. High up on the first page of your tax return, a yes or no question is posed: "At any time during 2020, did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency?" In other words, no matter how it came into your possession, you are expected to tell the IRS about it.