How to talk to your accountant
about accepting Bitcoin

Why this conversation matters

Accepting Bitcoin creates real tax obligations. The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, which means every payment you receive is a taxable event — ordinary income at the time of receipt. If you hold the crypto and later sell it at a higher or lower price, that creates a second taxable event (a capital gain or loss).

None of this is unmanageable, but it does require your accountant to understand the basics. If they've never dealt with crypto business income before, walking in prepared makes the conversation much more productive — and helps you avoid expensive misunderstandings.

Before the meeting: get your records together

Come to your accountant with documentation rather than a vague description. This will make the conversation concrete and save billable hours. Bring:

• OrangeTill transaction history — exported as CSV. Each row should show date, dollar amount at time of receipt, cryptocurrency received, and amount of crypto. This is the core of your Bitcoin income record.
• Wallet address(es) used for your business. Your accountant may want to pull the full transaction history from a blockchain explorer as backup documentation.
• Exchange records if you've converted crypto to dollars. Any 1099 forms from Coinbase, Kraken, or other exchanges.
• Cost basis notes if you've held crypto and later sold it — the date and price you received it (from OrangeTill) versus the date and price you sold it (from your exchange).

The three things your accountant needs to understand

1. Crypto income is ordinary income

When you accept $50 in Bitcoin for a sale, that's $50 of ordinary business income — taxed the same as a $50 cash sale. The IRS is clear on this. Your accountant doesn't need to do anything exotic: record it as income at the fair market value in dollars at the time of receipt. OrangeTill records the dollar value automatically.

2. Holding creates a second tax event

If you receive Bitcoin and hold it before converting to dollars, you now have an investment asset with a cost basis. If Bitcoin's price goes up before you sell, you owe capital gains tax on the difference. If it goes down, you have a capital loss (which may be deductible). This is the complication that stops many accountants cold — the solution is simple: convert to dollars immediately using auto-convert, and there's no holding event to track.

3. Auto-convert simplifies everything

If you auto-convert each Bitcoin payment to dollars the moment it arrives, crypto taxes look almost exactly like cash taxes. $100 received = $100 income. No capital gains, no cost basis tracking, no conversion math. If your accountant is nervous about crypto, suggest auto-convert — it's the lowest-friction path to compliance.

Questions to ask your accountant

• How do you want me to categorize crypto income in my books — as revenue, other income, or separately?
• Do you use any crypto accounting software (Koinly, CoinLedger, TaxBit) that integrates with wallet exports?
• If I hold Bitcoin as a business asset, does that change how we report it on the business return?
• What records do you need from me each quarter vs. year-end?
• Are you familiar with FinCEN requirements for crypto businesses, and do any of them apply to me as a payment acceptor?

If your accountant needs to learn more

The IRS has published clear guidance on cryptocurrency taxation: Notice 2014-21 (the original guidance treating crypto as property) and Revenue Ruling 2019-24 (clarifying hard forks and airdrops). For a business specifically, IRS FAQ on Virtual Currencies on irs.gov covers the key merchant questions. These are primary sources your accountant can review directly.

For more complex situations — significant crypto holdings, multiple currencies, DeFi activity — consider a CPA or enrolled agent who specializes in crypto taxation. The major crypto tax software platforms (Koinly, CoinLedger) also maintain directories of crypto-savvy tax professionals.