From Fortune:

It’s no secret that a lot of people are stressed out by tax season, but Gen Z takes the stress to a new level. 1 in 4 Gen Z taxpayers are planning to seek out therapy to deal with the stress of filing season, and over half of them have said tax stress has brought them to tears. Many face financial burdens such as student loan debt that only add to their anxiety about filing taxes. Despite their financial challenges, they are eager to take financial risks in ways that require more attention in reporting. Many have invested in the stock market and own at least one investment, with cryptocurrency being the most common form. As wage slowdowns in day jobs force some Gen Z members to turn to the gig economy to make ends meet, they are also causing headaches for themselves by working several jobs and managing an investment portfolio that includes crypto.

Regarding their investments in crypto, Gen Z are preferring to invest and trade with cryprocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum and other such meme coins. But misunderstood tax implications are starting to catch up. It’s common for everyday traders to have anything from 10,000 to 20,000 transactions a year, making such trades difficult to trace and record come tax season. Furthermore, traders also have the misconception that they don’t owe taxes until they cash out after long-term capital gains. That’s not the case. Anytime there’s a cryptocurrency transaction, the trader owes a tax. So far, the IRS has issued a 1099-DA for 2025 for crypto traders to explicitly report digital assets, in an aim to simplify the tax filing process in the future.



Read more: Gen Z tax stress: 25% say it could drive them to therapy