We are pleased to announce that Evan J. Davis and Philipp Behrendt recently spoke at the Federal Bar Association’s webinar on The Cryptocurrency Reckoning of 2027: Cost Basis Reporting, IRS Enforcement, and Defending Clients When the First 1099-DA Mismatch Arrives that took place on October 28, 2026.
For more than a decade, the IRS pursued cryptocurrency noncompliance through John Doe summonses, blockchain analytics, and the Form 1040 digital-asset question. What it lacked was standardized broker reporting of cost basis. That changes with the 2027 filing season. Brokers reported gross proceeds on Form 1099-DA for sales effected in 2025. For 2026 sales of covered digital assets, they must report basis and acquisition information too.
Sell cryptocurrency transferred in from another exchange or self-custody, and the form may show proceeds with no basis. Miss the wallet-by-wallet rules of Treas. Reg. § 1.1012-1(j), and FIFO fills the gap. Skip the Rev. Proc. 2024-28 safe harbor, and pre-2025 lot allocations are lost. A mismatch draws automated matching, CP2000 notices, and correspondence examinations. Add badges of fraud, and United States v. Ahlgren shows where it can end.
Attendees walked out with methods for reconstructing and substantiating basis from exchange records, wallet records, and blockchain data; a decision framework for qualified amended returns, Form 14457 voluntary disclosure, or defending the filed return; protocols for Kovel arrangements and privilege; and the fraud indicators that mark an eggshell audit.
The program will be available for viewing through the FBA’s portal.
Click Here for More Information
Evan J. Davis has been a principal at Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. since November 2016. He spent 7.5 years as a DOJ Tax civil litigator and then 11 years as a criminal AUSA in the Office of the U.S. Attorney (C.D. Cal), including 3 years handling civil and criminal tax cases and 8 years as a white-collar prosecutor handling tax and other fraud cases from investigation through jury trial and appeal. As an AUSA, he served as the Bankruptcy Fraud coordinator, Financial Institution Fraud coordinator, and Securities Fraud coordinator. Mr. Davis handles federal and state criminal and civil tax investigations/exams, white-collar defense, cryptocurrency clients, and civil and criminal appellate matters including having litigated the In re Grand Jury attorney-client privilege matter before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023.
For more information, please contact Evan J. Davis at davis@taxlitigator.com.
Philipp Behrendt is a Principal at Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C., licensed in California as well as in Germany and assists in advising clients in civil and criminal tax controversies as well as international money laundering investigations stemming from tax avoidance structures. He also focuses on the technical aspects involved in advising voluntary disclosures in connection with DeFis, NFTs, and other crypto assets. Philipp is a Liaison to the Young Lawyer Committee for the ABA Tax Section’s Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties Committee and served on the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Barristers Board of Governors from 2022 to 2023. Philipp is the Chair of the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Tax Section, a Liaison.
For more information, please contact Philipp Behrendt at behrendt@taxlitigator.com.
Leave a Reply