House releases crypto tax bill one day before CLARITY Act vote – What it entails

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee released a 114-page crypto tax bill, which is scheduled for markup on the 16th of September.

With the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, H.R. 10357, the lawmakers aim to rewrite how the U.S. tax code treats cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

Well, the bill does not aim to bring crypto closer to the tax treatment of traditional financial assets. Rather, the rules are for situations that are unique to blockchain technology—such as network fees, staking, mining, tokenized assets, and digital-asset lending.

Interestingly, the crypto tax bill is being considered just before the scheduled vote on the CLARITY Act, which still hangs in balance. This is because the bank trade groups have rejected Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s “deposit flight circuit breaker” proposal.

Why is the House committee pressing on the crypto tax bill?

Introduced in the House and referred to the Ways and Means Committee, which is the House committee responsible for tax legislation, the bill explicitly aims, 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform the tax treatment of digital assets, and for other purposes.

As a matter of course, the committee has already spent months examining digital-asset taxation. In June, it held a dedicated legislative hearing featuring witnesses from Fidelity, Coinbase, NYU’s Tax Law Center, and more. 

In fact, the base of the proposals was built on Senator Cynthia Lummis’s submissions last year. Her main goal was to address the double taxation that Bitcoin [BTC] miners and staking investors were facing. 

Changes incorporated in the crypto tax bill proposal

That being said, the changes incorporated in the U.S. crypto tax bill include a “$10 de minimis exemption” for qualifying crypto networks and transaction fees.

Additionally, simpler accounting for widely traded digital assets and clearer tax treatment for stablecoins and crypto lending are also taken care of.

Moreover, the bill would also extend wash-sale and other anti-abuse rules to digital assets. At the same time, the crypto tax bill also establishes clearer rules for mining and staking income, including how it is sourced across countries.

Importantly, it proposes a Digital Asset Voluntary Disclosure Program for taxpayers who previously failed to report crypto correctly. Although users who missed would still need to pay outstanding taxes and interest.

All in all, the bill aims to make crypto taxation more practical while also closing loopholes and increasing compliance requirements.

Final Summary

• With the crypto tax bill proposal, lawmakers aim to rewrite how the U.S. tax code treats cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
• The committee came up with the crypto tax bill just one day before the scheduled vote on the CLARITY Act.