House panel weighs crypto tax bill to ease stablecoin rules

The House Ways and Means Committee will consider H.R. 10357, the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, during a markup session on Sept. 16. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the package would raise roughly $500 million in net federal revenue from fiscal 2027 through 2036 after accounting for provisions that both reduce and increase receipts.

The bill would set new tax rules for qualifying U.S. dollar stablecoins. For transactions that occur within defined bands around the $1 peg, the proposal generally would use a coin’s redemption value to determine tax basis and proceeds. The relief would exclude traders, brokers and dealers, users with more than 5,000 counted transactions, and taxpayers whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar.

H.R. 10357 would also disregard gains and losses when digital assets are used to pay network or transaction fees of $10 or less, covering items such as blockchain gas fees and certain trading or liquidity charges. That provision would apply to dispositions after Dec. 31, 2027. The JCT estimates the small-fee relief would reduce federal receipts by about $2.365 billion over the 2027–2036 window. The bill does not create a $10 exemption for ordinary purchases made with non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies; the exclusion applies only to transaction-related fees.

To offset revenue reductions, the legislation would extend the wash-sale rule to traded digital assets other than qualifying U.S. dollar stablecoins. Under current law, losses on most crypto sales can be claimed even if the investor immediately repurchases the asset because the wash-sale restriction mainly applies to securities. The new rule would bar that practice for affected digital assets and reach economically equivalent holdings, including wrapped or tokenized versions. JCT projects this change would raise about $1.707 billion through 2036.

The bill would also expand access to mark-to-market accounting for dealers and traders whose activity qualifies as a trade or business. JCT estimates that expansion would increase receipts by about $2.332 billion over the same period. Together, the wash-sale and mark-to-market provisions account for more than $4 billion in additional receipts, which the bill uses to offset the stablecoin and fee relief and other measures.

The package would apply securities-lending-style tax treatment to qualifying digital-asset loans, clarifying when a temporary transfer of crypto under a lending agreement is treated as a sale. Investment trusts could retain favorable tax status if a trustee stakes digital assets held by the vehicle. For individual miners and stakers, the bill would classify validation income as ordinary income and set sourcing rules while keeping the existing timing rule that taxes staking rewards when a taxpayer obtains control of them.

The proposal would direct Treasury to establish a Digital Asset Voluntary Disclosure Program to let eligible taxpayers correct past filings, pay unpaid tax and interest, and possibly receive relief from certain penalties.

Committee members may amend H.R. 10357 during the Sept. 16 markup. If approved by the committee, the bill would still require a House floor vote, Senate consideration and the president’s signature to become law. Changes to the stablecoin, fee or wash-sale provisions during markup could alter the JCT’s projected net revenue.

Andrew Gordon, a crypto tax lawyer, described the legislation as a major advance for investors seeking clearer tax rules.