French lawmakers have approved a comprehensive proposal requiring individuals holding at least €100,000 in self-custody cryptocurrencies to declare their assets to tax authorities or face fines of up to €10,000. According to amendment I-CF821 adopted by the Finance Committee on Friday, the measure would cover digital assets held outside regulated crypto service providers, including cryptocurrencies stored in personal wallets. The proposal, introduced by Charles de Courson, Jean-Pierre Bataille and Michel Castellani from the Liberties, Independents, Overseas and Territories parliamentary group, would require eligible holders to report asset values as of December 31 each year. The measure addresses significant tax evasion concerns, as a parliamentary inquiry found that cryptocurrency capital gains reached €3.5 billion in 2021, while taxpayers declared only €400 million in cryptocurrency holdings to French authorities during the same period. The amendment uses the value recorded on December 31 as the reference point for reporting, with failure to submit declarations resulting in penalties reaching €10,000.
French lawmakers have approved amendments to tax cryptocurrency conversions into stablecoins and allow investors to carry forward trading losses for 10 years as part of the country's proposed 2027 budget. According to French National Assembly records, the Finance Committee adopted amendment I-CF1826 on October 7, which would make conversions from cryptocurrencies into qualifying electronic money tokens taxable transactions starting January 1, 2027. The proposal, submitted by lawmaker Nicolas Sansu, would remove the existing exemption for exchanges in which investors receive electronic money tokens as defined under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. Under the new framework, gains or losses from covered transactions would be calculated using the difference between disposal value and acquisition cost, with documented transaction expenses deductible when determining disposal value. The tax would be imposed at the point of conversion into a stablecoin even if the assets are not cashed out into euros or dollars. Investors holding cryptocurrencies acquired before January 1, 2027, would have options for calculating their acquisition costs, including using documented purchase prices or an allocation based on portfolio values at the end of 2026.
The Finance Committee also approved amendment I-CF798, submitted by Daniel Labaronne, to extend the treatment of losses from cryptocurrency transactions. The proposal would allow qualifying capital losses from digital asset disposals to be carried forward for 10 years and offset against eligible gains realized during that period. Under the existing framework, losses on qualifying private crypto disposals generally offset gains arising during the same tax year, with unused losses not available for deduction against gains in subsequent years. The amendment concerns tax deductions for realized losses and does not provide direct compensation for investors whose cryptocurrency holdings lose value. The adopted changes would supplement the current system, which only nets gains and losses within the same year, and is intended to reduce the tax burden for investors who post losses and recover profits in later years. France currently has a separate framework for deducting eligible crypto losses, and the proposed change would give investors a longer period to use those losses against taxable gains.
Another proposal under consideration would introduce an exit tax covering certain cryptocurrency holdings when taxpayers move their tax residence abroad. The Finance Committee adopted amendment I-CF1822 on October 8, submitted by Nicolas Sansu, which targets unrealized gains associated with qualifying crypto holdings exceeding €800,000. The proposal would apply to unrealized gains when applicable residence and asset conditions are met, similar to France's existing exit tax framework for financial assets. The measure would tax unrealized gains on crypto holdings when a taxpayer moves their tax residence from France to another country, applying to people who were tax residents in France for at least six of the past 10 years and whose total crypto holdings exceed 800,000 euros. The tax is distinct from any levy imposed when assets are withdrawn from an exchange or wallet.
Despite approving the wallet disclosure amendment and other cryptocurrency tax proposals, the National Assembly's Finance Committee subsequently rejected the revenue section of the government's proposed 2027 budget. The committee voted 31 to 3 against the revenue provisions, leaving the amendments without a committee-approved budget text to advance. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin debating the revenue section in the National Assembly on Tuesday, October 13, using the government's original draft as the starting point. The cryptocurrency amendments must be introduced again during parliamentary proceedings and secure the necessary votes before they can be included in the final legislation. French technology publication Clubic reported that the committee's earlier approval would not automatically carry the amendments into the budget following the rejection of its revenue section. The next stage of parliamentary debate will determine whether lawmakers resubmit the €100,000 wallet disclosure proposal and the other cryptocurrency tax measures for consideration.
