A separate voluntary disclosure system is being pursued in the U.S. Congress to allow cryptocurrency investors to correct past tax reporting errors.

On Oct. 19, blockchain outlet Cointelegraph reported that Section 502 of the Digital Asset Tax Clarity Act (HR 10357) requires the Treasury secretary to create a "digital asset voluntary disclosure program" within 12 months of the law taking effect.

If the bill is enacted, eligible taxpayers could correct past digital asset tax violations by filing amended returns and paying unpaid tax, interest and program penalties. The bill passed the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee on Sept. 16 by 38 to 5, but still requires passage in the House and Senate and the president's signature.

The key is that the bill would address past cryptocurrency reporting errors through a separate process that has been hard to handle under existing systems. Andrew Gordon (앤드루 고든), executive director of the Digital Asset Tax Action framework, said the system has not drawn attention despite being something that would help many taxpayers.

Section 502 sets different penalties depending on whether a taxpayer certifies there was no fraud or intent. If a taxpayer files an amended return within the first 12 months after the program is introduced while accepting the risk of perjury for a false certification, penalties are waived on up to $25,000 of the annual tax shortfall, and 5 percent applies to any amount above that.

If a filing is made without such certification, a 25 percent penalty applies to the first $25,000 and 40 percent to any amount above that. The rates increase after the initial application period.

Amended filings must in principle be made within 24 months after the program is introduced, and some civil penalties are included in the scope of relief. Safeguards were also 마련됐다 to protect taxpayers who did not certify non-willfulness from being referred to criminal proceedings based only on information lawfully disclosed in connection with the tax violations covered by the provision.

Still, a false certification of non-willfulness could expose a taxpayer to perjury liability. Sharon Eubank (샤론 입은), a certified public accountant, advised taxpayers to review trading histories across exchanges and wallets to identify the years that need amended filings and to confirm whether the errors truly lacked intent.

The discussion also ties into changes in the U.S. cryptocurrency tax reporting system. U.S. investors are facing the first tax filing season under the 1099-DA broker reporting rules. Even if transaction reporting becomes more systematised, it does not automatically resolve past reporting errors or omissions for trades made across multiple platforms.

The bill's focus is on handling past reporting errors through a separate process suited to the nature of cryptocurrency. If the new reporting rules improve transparency going forward, Section 502 is meaningful in that it is designed as a supplementary mechanism to clear accumulated past errors.