French lawmakers have approved several amendments to include cryptocurrencies converted into stablecoins within the scope of taxation, and allow investors to carry forward trading losses for up to 10 years, as part of the country's proposed 2027 budget.

• French lawmakers have approved a committee proposal to impose taxes on the conversion of cryptocurrencies into eligible stablecoins starting from January 1, 2027.
• The Finance Committee supports another amendment that allows eligible losses from crypto transactions to be deducted from earnings for up to 10 years in the future.
• Another proposal aims to impose a departure tax on certain unrealized crypto gains of eligible holders when they move their tax residency out of France.
• Before these three amendments become law, they still need further approval from parliament.

According to records of the French National Assembly, the Finance Committee passed an amendment to tax stablecoins on October 7th. At the same time, another measure was also adopted, which proposes to adjust the method by which losses from digital asset transactions can be deducted from future earnings.

These two proposals are currently still in the committee stage and must undergo further legislative review before they can become law. The members also deliberated on several other tax amendments related to cryptocurrencies, including a proposal to impose an exit tax on wealthy investors who move their tax residency out of France.

French stablecoin tax proposal aims to end existing exemptions

According to Amendment No. I-CF1826 submitted by议员 N regarding the issuance of las and Sansu tokens, starting from January 1, 2027, the conversion of cryptocurrencies into eligible electronic currency tokens will be considered a taxable transaction.

French current tax regulations generally allow individuals to exchange one cryptocurrency for another without immediately recognizing taxable capital gains, provided that the transaction complies with the applicable deferral provisions.

Converting Bitcoin or Ethereum into eligible stablecoins can also result in the same benefits, even if those tokens are pegged to traditional currencies such as the US dollar or euro.

The proposal Sansu will cancel this exemption: as long as investors receive electronic currency tokens defined by the European Union's 'Regulation on the Supervision of Markets for Crypto Assets' ( MiCA ), such exchanges will no longer be exempt from this regulation.

The explanation for this amendment states that current rules allow investors to convert appreciated cryptocurrencies into fiat-backed stablecoins without incurring tax liabilities; however, if they sell the same assets directly for traditional currencies, it would result in taxable obligations.

It is also noted that although stablecoins are considered digital assets under the existing tax framework, they can still be used for payments as well as for purchasing other cryptocurrencies.

The proposal requires that the profit or loss from relevant transactions be calculated as the difference between the disposal value of the sold assets and the acquisition cost.

When determining the disposal value, deductible transaction fees that are well-documented can be subtracted.

For cryptocurrencies purchased before January 1, 2027, investors will have two methods to determine their acquisition cost.

They can use the documented purchase prices of individual assets, or as of December 31, 2026, allocate the total acquisition cost of the portfolio based on the value of each asset held on that day.

Taxpayers who choose the portfolio allocation method need to make an irrevocable choice when conducting taxable disposition transactions that occur after the proposed implementation date of their first declaration.

The Finance Committee passed the amendment on October 7th. However, this measure has not yet received final approval from parliament, and the proposed implementation date of January still depends on subsequent legislative procedures.

Encrypted loss deductions can be carried forward for 10 years.

Along with the stablecoin proposal, the Finance Committee also approved Amendment I-CF798 submitted by Daniel Labaronne, which aims to change the tax treatment for losses incurred in cryptocurrency transactions.

This amendment will allow eligible digital asset disposal capital losses to be carried forward for 10 years, and during this period, they can be deducted against eligible realized gains.

According to the current framework, losses incurred from the disposal of individual encrypted assets that meet the criteria can typically only be deducted against earnings generated within the same tax year. Unutilized losses cannot be carried forward to subsequent years for deduction against earnings.

The proposal of Labaronne will give investors more time to use these losses when calculating taxable cryptocurrency profits.

For example, if an investor records eligible losses in a certain tax year but does not have sufficient income in that year to offset them, then, provided that the final legislation is passed, they may be able to use these unused losses to offset eligible income in subsequent years.

The amendment relates to the pre-tax deduction of realized losses and does not imply direct compensation for investors who have experienced a decline in the value of their cryptocurrency holdings.

French lawmakers have been considering adjusting the crypto tax regime, while regulatory authorities are preparing to receive more detailed transaction information from exchanges and other service providers.

In September this year, crypto.news reported on the latest developments in French crypto taxation. At that time, Chainalysis estimated that France generated $9.4 billion in potentially taxable digital asset business activities in 2025.

This estimate includes $1.7 billion in crypto revenue, $2.5 billion in realized gains, and $5.2 billion in payment activities across the six blockchain networks under consideration.

Chainalysis reminds that these numbers represent "potentially taxable" activities and do not equate to unpaid taxes or government tax revenue.

French taxpayers declared 368 million euros in capital gains from cryptocurrencies for 2024 through approximately 24,000 tax returns. However, the declared amounts cover different time periods, and the corresponding types of transactions are also more limited.

France considers imposing a tax on wealthy holders leaving the country with cryptocurrencies

Another proposal discussed during the budget review period is to impose an exit tax on certain cryptocurrency holdings when taxpayers move their tax residency overseas.

On October 8th, the Finance Committee approved Amendment No. I-CF1822 submitted by N Token Issuance las Sansu.

This proposal is aimed at eligible crypto assets that have not yet realized a profit and whose corresponding position size exceeds 800,000 euros. The specific applicable conditions shall be subject to the text of the amendment.

France currently has a set of departure tax regulations that apply to certain financial assets held by eligible taxpayers when they move their tax residency out of France.

The proposed amendment aims to include eligible cryptocurrency holdings within the scope of relevant tax treatments.

Unlike traditional sales, which involve the disposition of assets, the proposed departure tax is aimed at unrealized gains when the relevant residency and asset conditions are met.

The approval of the committee does not mean that the tax has taken effect. Its final scope of application and method of enforcement will still depend on the legislation ultimately passed by parliament.

At the same time, France is also implementing new cryptocurrency reporting requirements in accordance with EU DAC8 directives.

These regulations came into effect across the European Union on January 1, 2026, requiring covered cryptocurrency service providers to collect customer identification information and transaction data, and to report this information to the tax authorities.

The EU's DAC8 reporting framework covers exchanges between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, transactions between cryptocurrencies, as well as certain transfers involving external wallet addresses.

The information collected by declaration service providers may include customer names, tax IDs, tax residency status, and details of eligible transactions.

According to the reporting schedule, information covering the calendar year 2026 is planned to be exchanged among the participating tax authorities in 2027.

This directive establishes the reporting obligations of service providers, and it does not imply that every reported cryptocurrency transfer will automatically constitute a taxable event.

French crypto tax declaration rules face legal challenges

The implementation of DAC8 in France has encountered opposition from some encryption companies, which are concerned about the collection and storage of customer information.

On September 17th, France's highest administrative court—the Council of State—dismissed the emergency challenges filed by Bull Bitcoin and Paymium against the French decree implementing this declaration rule.

These two companies are attempting to suspend the implementation of the decree for the time being, while they pursue another legal challenge that seeks to revoke the decree.

According to Bull Bitcoin, collecting and centrally storing detailed information of cryptocurrency users may expose customers to security risks, especially in the context of cases where criminals have targeted holders of digital assets.

The State Council determined that the applicant failed to demonstrate the required urgency, and therefore rejected the emergency request for a suspension of execution.

This decision did not resolve another separate lawsuit targeting the decree itself; at that time, that case was still under consideration.

The obligation to file tax returns in France is part of the EU framework, but each national government is still responsible for implementing this directive and enforcing the applicable requirements.

Other European countries are also further clarifying how their reporting obligations apply to cryptocurrency holdings.

In September this year, the Spanish tax authorities confirmed the treatment of self-hosted wallets under Form 721, stating that assets held in wallets directly controlled by taxpayers are not subject to the requirements for reporting overseas holdings.

Spanish guidelines distinguish between wallets that are under the direct control of their owners and cryptocurrencies held through third-party custodians overseas.

However, when transactions related to self-hosted wallets pass through covered service providers, it is still possible for reporting records to be generated under the DAC8 framework.

For France, the latest tax amendment regarding cryptocurrencies passed by the Fiscal Committee is still part of the 2027 budget review process. Before the proposed provisions come into effect, they will still need to undergo further deliberation by parliament.