Summary
- The House will discuss the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act on Wednesday.
- This legislation addresses transaction fees, stablecoins, staking, mining, and wash sales.
- Proposed tax exemptions for minor fees and simplified accounting would start in 2028.
The House Ways and Means Committee is set to review a significant bill on Wednesday that aims to exempt certain cryptocurrency transaction fees from capital gains calculations while instituting new federal tax regulations for stablecoins, staking, mining, and digital asset trading.
Committee Chair Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri, has put forward the 114-page Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, also known as H.R. 10357. The committee has planned its markup session for 10 a.m. Eastern on September 16.
Myriad: Will Congress pass the Clarity Act? Click to make your prediction.During this markup, committee members will deliberate on the bill, propose amendments, and determine whether to forward it to the entire House for further consideration.
This proposed legislation includes a “de minimis” exemption for eligible network or transaction fees amounting to $10 or less. The term de minimis indicates an amount that is too minor to necessitate regular tax treatment.
Utilizing cryptocurrency to pay a blockchain fee can trigger a taxable event, as the IRS classifies digital assets as property. The proposed exemption would enable taxpayers to overlook any gains or losses associated with qualifying fees.
In a previous hearing on digital asset taxation held in June, lawmakers evaluated small-transaction exemptions alongside six other cryptocurrency tax proposals.
The bill suggests using the redemption value of qualifying dollar-pegged stablecoins as their tax basis when acquired at that value, taxing mining and staking rewards as ordinary income, and permitting certain investment trusts to stake assets without risk to their tax status.
While an earlier proposal endorsed by crypto industry advocates aimed to postpone income recognition for some newly generated mining and staking rewards, this provision has been omitted from H.R. 10357.
The legislation would also extend wash-sale rules to digital assets, exempt qualifying crypto loans from being classified as sales, and establish a Treasury program that would allow eligible taxpayers to amend prior returns and settle unpaid taxes, interests, and penalties.
For the bill to become law, it must pass through the committee, gain approval from the House, the Senate, and receive the President's signature.