The Nexairi Dispatch · Monday, June 8, 2026 · Issue #24
Crypto basis errors: IRS already flagging mismatches
Brokers filed 1099-DAs with zero cost basis for transferred crypto. Here's what CPAs need to do now.
Good morning, friends. Crypto 1099 forms are showing up with wrong cost basis, and the IRS will find the error before your client does. Accounting shed 5,400 jobs in May while AI was cited for 40% of all U.S. cuts. A new CFO survey says the best AI results are going to the skeptics.
📊 TAX COMPLIANCE — Crypto 1099s have wrong basis. Fix it before IRS does.
What happened: Brokers are filing 1099-DAs with zero or missing cost basis for crypto that moved between wallets before the new rules kicked in. The IRS checks the gains reported on Form 8949 against that 1099-DA. No basis means the system treats the entire sale price as gain. Average overstated gain per trader: $4,500.
Why it matters: CPAs who fix the cost basis now save clients from overpaying taxes and getting an IRS notice. The client did not cause this problem. Exchanges did not track cost basis for crypto that moved before the new rules kicked in. The IRS flags the taxpayer anyway. The fix is a Form 8949 reconciliation and records showing when the client first bought the crypto.
What to watch: March 15 is the deadline for amended returns. Run the cost basis check now, not after the IRS notice arrives.
Outside Nexairi
AI job cuts hit 40% of all U.S. layoffs in May — CFO Dive
AI was the stated reason for 38,579 U.S. layoffs in May. Third month in a row at number one. Through May, AI-linked cuts total 87,714, already 60% above all of last year, per Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Accounting shed 5,400 jobs in May while overall hiring held — Accounting Today
The U.S. added 172,000 jobs in May. Accounting, tax prep, bookkeeping and payroll lost 5,400 of them. Leisure, healthcare and government drove the gains.
Skeptical CFOs are beating the AI arms race — CFO Dive
A CFO Dive survey found 65% of finance leaders are putting 10% or more of their 2026 budgets into AI. But 59% worry it might be a bubble. The firms getting the best returns tie each AI purchase to a specific outcome before signing off.
Advisory skills gap is now a BLS data problem for accounting — CPA Practice Advisor
BLS data shows automation is squeezing margins on compliance-only work. Firms without advisory services are losing ground, and the ones gaining are building that capacity now.
Wolters Kluwer and OpenAI expand their enterprise AI partnership — CPA Practice Advisor
Wolters Kluwer and OpenAI are expanding their AI partnership for accounting and legal work. The goal is AI that pulls answers from verified accounting and legal sources, not from general training data.
Tool Worth Knowing: Veltrix AI (veltrix.ai)
Veltrix tracks cash flow, margins and growth in one place using AI. It launched this week and is built for small finance teams that want real CFO-level reporting without the salary.
Deeper Read
Are AI Chatbots Making Us Lose Control of Our Brains? — MIT Technology Review
Gloria Mark's research, published in MIT Technology Review, shows attention spans fell from 2.5 minutes in 2003 to 47 seconds by 2020. The piece looks at what happens to your judgment when you let AI do the thinking for you.
How Courts Are Coping With a Flood of AI-Generated Lawsuits — MIT Technology Review
Self-represented court filings more than doubled since 2023, judges now spot AI-written briefs on sight, and cleaner documents have not helped anyone win. Read it before anyone tells you AI replaces expertise.