Proposed changes to tax on cryptoasset exchanges in France

In the draft, the date concerns the sale or exchange of cryptoassets. The date you choose an apartment, sign a preliminary agreement or receive the keys does not replace it.

For a transaction now, check current rules. For one in 2027, recheck the final text and application date before exchanging. News of first-reading approval alone is not a sufficient basis for accelerating or delaying a property purchase.

The Article 150 VH bis regime discussed here primarily concerns individuals tax-resident in France managing private assets. A French non-resident should not automatically use the rate and formula below as their final calculation.

If relocating, prepare a timeline covering asset acquisition, change of country of residence, exchange, sale and transfer for the purchase. Tell the tax specialist both countries and the dates to determine the treatment of each transaction and any relevant treaty. Until that is clear, the after-tax budget remains provisional.

Using the proceeds for a main home does not itself create a crypto-tax exemption in amendment I-3898. If an intermediary promises such an exemption, request its precise legal basis and verify applicability before removing tax from the budget.

Check the issuer’s description, token documentation and legal classification. A reference to the dollar, euro, an asset basket or another model may lead to different categories; an exchange ticker alone is insufficient.

If the category is confirmed, assess the specific exchange pair and date. If documents are missing or contradictory, first request classification from the provider and tax specialist. This article does not assign legal status to particular commercial tokens.

For example, someone exchanges an asset that has appreciated for a currency-referenced token and continues holding it on a platform. Under the proposed regime, the absence of a bank withdrawal would no longer preserve the previous tax deferral for that exchange.

The taxable event, filing a return and paying tax are separate stages. Record the transaction value and plan a reserve in funds available to pay the tax; do not wait for the later property purchase to reconstruct the calculation.

Where deferral continues, the draft carries the acquisition cost of the asset given up over to the asset received. The exchange does not create a new cost basis equal to the received asset’s market value.

For assessment, give the specialist both sides of the transaction, any cash adjustment, fees and the date. Transfers between your own wallets without a change of owner differ from exchanges for another asset: distinguish them in the history. A platform button’s name does not determine the tax classification.

Illustrative example without fees or previous sales: the whole portfolio cost 200 000 € and is now worth 400 000 €. Assets being sold for 100 000 € cost 40 000 €. For the proposed calculation, assume that this 40 000 € cost is documented and accepted under the relevant rule.

The current formula gives a gain of 100 000 − 200 000 × 100 000 / 400 000 = 50 000 €. Under the draft: 100 000 − 40 000 = 60 000 €. The 10 000 € difference is an increase in the taxable base, not the tax amount. A different cost basis could reverse the effect.

For homogeneous assets acquired at different prices, the draft provides for weighted-average cost: two units bought for 20 000 € and 40 000 €, for example, average 30 000 € per unit. Documented acquisition expenses increase the cost basis; disposal expenses reduce the relevant proceeds. The same expense cannot be deducted twice.

Before calculating, export the history of all purchases, exchanges, earlier taxable sales and fees. The portfolio’s remaining acquisition cost after earlier sales is not necessarily the total money ever contributed.

For cryptoassets received as gifts or inheritance, the draft uses the value accepted for gift or inheritance tax, or, if none, the actual value when received. Documents of receipt and valuation are needed; no personal purchase payment does not automatically mean a zero cost basis. Tax on the gift or inheritance itself is a separate matter.

Allocation does not erase all accumulated gains by rebasing to market value. If the portfolio’s remaining acquisition cost is 100 000 € and asset A represents 60% of its market value on 31 December, A receives 60 000 € of allocated cost, not its full market price.

Keep platform histories, wallet transfers, previous returns, and portfolio composition and valuations for the specified date. If some records are lost, the alternative method still needs proof of overall acquisition cost and portfolio composition; it does not remove all evidence requirements.

For gifted or inherited assets, the draft refers to the value used for gift or inheritance tax, or, if none, their actual value when received. A zero cost basis should not be assigned automatically.

Before the first relevant return, compare both methods across the entire portfolio and check the final rule. Do not assume the more favourable method can be freely selected separately for each token.

Keep balances and histories from all platforms and your own wallets, the prices and exchange rates used, purchase documents and previous calculations. Reconcile transfers between your own accounts so they are not counted as additional acquisitions.

If the records reconcile, retain the original exports and an understandable calculation. If there are discrepancies, resolve them before the first relevant return. Do not present an unverified estimate as an established base. Private keys, passwords and access codes must not be shared as evidence.

Illustration: tokens are received in a taxable exchange at 100 000 € and later sold for 100 000 €. With the same basis and no expenses, the new difference is zero. Selling for 102 000 € gives a new gain of 2 000 €; selling for 98 000 € gives a 2 000 € loss. Its offset against annual gains requires separate checking.

A stable dollar token price does not mean an unchanged euro value. Keep euro valuations for both transactions and fee documents. Before a later exchange for another cryptoasset, establish whether that exchange itself is taxable: the cost carryover rule depends on its classification.

Continuing the illustrative example: proceeds of 100 000 € and a current taxable base of 50 000 € give 15 700 € at 31.4%: 6 400 € income tax and 9 300 € social payments. That leaves 84 300 € before other expenses.

If the proposed method produces a 60 000 € base and the same 31.4% rate applies, the arithmetic reserve would be 18 840 €, leaving 81 160 €. This assumes the rate remains unchanged; it is not an enacted tax amount for 2027.

The example excludes other gains and losses in the year, the progressive income-tax option, possible additional household-specific payments, social-regime exceptions, provider fees, banking costs and property-purchase expenses. Include these in your own budget. This check uses the relevant tax-authority page updated on 17 July 2026; older summaries quoting 30% are not used for this example.

An asset merely losing value in a wallet is not yet a substantiated loss from a taxable transaction. Disposal at an eligible offsettable loss in the same year may affect the overall annual result. If the sale occurs later, the same-year restriction applies.

Keep documents for both transactions and clarify the category of assets received. Until the offset is confirmed, do not spend the reserved amount on a deposit or the remaining property price. Proposal I-3898 does not guarantee that a future market loss will refund earlier tax.

Current instructions require the annual result in annex 2086, carried over to box 3AN or 3BN. Losses offset gains of the same category in the same year and are not carried forward. Foreign accounts held by a resident to whom the rules apply have a separate reporting requirement; a self-held wallet should not automatically be equated with a platform account.

Export the transaction log, retain euro valuations and establish with the tax specialist the reporting year, applicable form and deadline from the official calendar or tax notice. The arrival of euros in a bank account does not set the date of the original exchange.

Prepare the chain: initial money source → asset acquisition → exchanges and transfers between your own wallets → sale or conversion → bank receipt. Statements, transaction histories, evidence of wallet ownership and earlier returns may help; the transaction participants determine the exact documents required.

If there is a gap in the chain, reconstruct the evidence before committing to a fixed payment deadline. If the bank or notary will not accept the proposed route, agree another and recalculate the timetable. Send personal financial documents through an agreed secure channel.

Match the name, official domain and authorised services against the French financial regulator’s AMF register and the relevant European authorisation or notification. Separately request terms for accepting your token, fees, document checks, transfer recipient and available timelines.

A provider’s authorisation does not automatically establish the origin of your specific funds or mean the chosen bank has approved their receipt. If the legal entity, service or payment details differ, resolve the discrepancy first; the tax amendment does not correct it.

Separate document checks, conversion, bank transfer and receipt into stages. Ask each participant for their timing and establish its starting event: application submission, completion of checks or transaction execution.

If the receipt date is unconfirmed, agree a different timetable or a verified supplementary source of funds before committing. If the purchase is already under way, compare the updated schedule with the signed agreement; a promise of a fast blockchain transaction does not replace readiness of the whole chain.

Prepare a staged schedule: deposit and final-payment amounts, source of each amount, conversion date, check and receipt deadlines, and applicable tax regime. Crossing 1 January alone does not prove the rules have changed: a final law in force is needed first.

If there is no separate reserve for an early payment, future conversion of the main sum does not fill that gap. Before signing, agree a workable timetable or another substantiated source of funds; after signing, check the contract and the permitted procedure for changing deadlines.

Ask for a review of the contract’s dates, payment method, financing condition and evidence required to satisfy it. If a special condition is needed, the parties must agree its wording and consequences before signing.

Where funds are ready, choose a workable schedule. If receipt depends on checks still outstanding, the conditions and risks must reflect that dependency. Do not describe the purchase as cash-funded merely because an equivalent value appears in tokens.

For a non-professional residential buyer, Service Public specifies 10 calendar days from the day after the first presentation of the registered letter notifying the preliminary agreement. Withdrawal must be communicated to the seller in time by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. Check with the notary the notification method used in your transaction, evidence of its date and the exact final day: do not automatically count only from signing.

If that period remains open and the right applies, lawful withdrawal from the purchase can be considered, not merely a payment extension. Do not automatically extend this right to professional buyers, every company or non-residential property.

After the statutory period, separately examine the contractual financing condition or a specifically agreed conversion condition. If it covers the situation, comply with its evidence, deadlines and notification procedure. If not, discuss a written timetable amendment, verified alternative payment or the legal consequences of non-performance. You cannot unilaterally deem the deadline extended.

The cryptoasset owner’s tax result and the seller’s contractual claim are separate obligations. The provider is responsible under its own service agreement; its delay does not automatically release the buyer from obligations to the seller.

For the current private-asset regime, the tax authority permits losses to offset only crypto gains in the same year; a later loss cannot automatically be applied against earlier tax. Proposal I-3898 does not make an exchange’s taxability conditional on completing a property purchase.

Keep the property cancellation documents separate from documents showing execution or cancellation of the crypto transaction itself. If the exchange itself is cancelled, rather than just the apartment purchase, its tax treatment depends on actual entries and evidence. Return of a property deposit is not itself a refund of crypto tax. A reverse exchange after abandoning the property must also be distinguished from cancellation of the original exchange: it may be a new, separate transaction.

Current guidance includes exchanging a digital asset for other property or a service among taxable transactions. Before choosing that route, establish the transaction’s classification, the value of the property received and an agreed settlement process.

Ask the notary, seller and provider who receives the cryptoasset, who converts it into euros and how related expenses are paid. Until the entire route is confirmed, direct payment is not a ready replacement for the agreed bank payment.

Prepare a timeline of actual residence, family and work, the anticipated tax-residence change, and asset acquisition, exchange and sale. Give the specialist both countries so their criteria and the relevant treaty can be checked.

If residence and treatment on each date are established, calculate the relevant transactions. If both countries assert taxing rights or status is unclear, resolve that issue first, then choose the funding timetable. Amendment I-3898 introduces no general tax relief for people relocating.

Tell the notary who owned the assets, who exchanged them, who will transfer the money and in whose name the property will be bought. Own funds, a loan, a gift and joint acquisition have different consequences and require documents.

The tax specialist identifies whose transaction it is and which rules apply; the notary checks the documentation of the transfer and purchase. Amendment I-3898 provides no universal family-funding arrangement and does not remove the separate assessment of gifts or loans.

Check the legal form, tax regime, nature of transactions and basis on which company money becomes the buyer’s funds. Transferring from a company account for a personal purchase does not become tax-neutral merely through conversion into euros.

Mining, staking, business activity and complex transactions need their own income-classification analysis. This article’s private-investor example does not provide a calculation for them. Prepare the history and activity description, then determine the regime before assessing the net purchase budget.