France’s €800K Crypto Exit Tax Faces New Budget Hurdle

• French lawmakers backed an exit tax on crypto portfolios exceeding €800,000.
• A separate amendment would make qualifying stablecoin conversions taxable from 2027.
• Both proposals need fresh votes after the finance committee rejected the budget’s revenue section.

France’s proposed cryptocurrency tax overhaul faces a fresh legislative hurdle after lawmakers rejected the revenue section of the 2027 budget, potentially delaying measures targeting wealthy crypto holders and stablecoin transactions.

On October 9, the National Assembly’s finance committee voted 31 to three, with two abstentions, against the amended revenue text. The rejection followed earlier committee approval of proposals extending France’s exit-tax regime to cryptocurrency portfolios and changing the tax treatment of stablecoin conversions.

The decision means neither amendment will automatically advance to the full Assembly. Lawmakers must reintroduce them when budget debates begin on October 13, leaving their prospects uncertain.

For French cryptocurrency investors, the stakes extend beyond potential tax increases. The proposals could change when gains become taxable, how acquisition costs are calculated and whether relocating abroad triggers a tax assessment before any assets are sold.

France Proposes Exit Tax on Crypto Holdings Above €800,000

Under amendment I-CF1822, France would extend its existing exit-tax framework to individuals transferring their tax residence abroad while holding cryptocurrency portfolios worth more than €800,000.

The measure would apply to taxpayers who had been French residents for at least six of the ten years preceding their departure.

Unlike a conventional capital gains tax triggered by selling an asset, the proposed exit tax would target unrealized gains accumulated while the individual was a French tax resident.

The distinction between portfolio value and taxable gains is important.

An investor who purchased cryptocurrency for €500,000 and held assets worth €900,000 upon departure would exceed the proposed threshold. However, the unrealized gain would amount to €400,000, rather than the portfolio’s full market value.

The amendment would cover cryptocurrency held through domestic or foreign exchanges, third-party custodians and self-managed wallets.

Moving assets to an overseas platform would therefore not automatically remove them from the proposed tax calculation.

France already applies exit-tax rules to certain securities and substantial corporate shareholdings. Nicolas Sansu, who introduced the cryptocurrency amendment, argues that excluding directly held digital assets creates inconsistent treatment between investors with economically comparable holdings.

The proposal would also incorporate mechanisms associated with the existing regime, including payment deferrals and potential relief under specified conditions.

Consequently, an exit-tax assessment would not necessarily require immediate payment of the entire liability.

The proposed effective date is January 1, 2027.

Stablecoin Swaps Could Become Taxable Transactions

A second amendment would affect investors who exchange cryptocurrency for stablecoins without converting their holdings into traditional currency.

Under France’s current framework for private investors, qualifying crypto-to-crypto transactions generally benefit from tax deferral.

This allows traders to rebalance portfolios without necessarily realizing taxable gains whenever they exchange one digital asset for another.

Amendment I-CF1826 would remove that treatment for conversions into qualifying electronic money tokens, a category defined under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

The proposal would therefore affect certain fiat-backed stablecoins, although not every token marketed as a stablecoin necessarily falls within that regulatory classification.

An investor who purchases Bitcoin for €20,000 and later exchanges it for €35,000 worth of qualifying electronic money tokens would realize a €15,000 gain under the proposed rules.

The investor would not need to withdraw the proceeds into a bank account for the conversion to become taxable.

For active traders, this could accelerate tax liabilities when moving from volatile cryptocurrencies into stablecoins during periods of market uncertainty.

Changes to Acquisition Cost Calculations

The stablecoin proposal also addresses how cryptocurrency gains and losses are measured.

It would introduce acquisition-cost calculations for individual assets, including a weighted-average purchase price for cryptocurrencies of the same type acquired at different values.

That would represent a change from the portfolio-based methodology currently applied to many private cryptocurrency disposals in France.

The amendment includes transitional provisions for assets purchased before January 1, 2027.

Investors could rely on documented historical acquisition prices or allocate their portfolio’s total acquisition cost as of December 31, 2026, among the assets held on that date.

The allocation method would distribute the cost according to each asset’s relative market value and would become irrevocable once selected through the relevant tax declaration.

For investors with transactions spread across multiple exchanges and wallets, maintaining reliable acquisition records would become increasingly important.

France’s Crypto Tax Debate Extends Beyond Capital Gains

The finance committee also considered additional proposals addressing cryptocurrency reporting and compliance.

Among them was amendment I-CF821, introduced by Charles de Courson, concerning reporting obligations for certain self-custodied cryptocurrency portfolios.

The proposal reflects a broader concern among tax authorities about identifying digital assets held outside traditional financial intermediaries.

France’s domestic proposals also coincide with the European Union’s implementation of the DAC8 tax transparency framework.

Under DAC8, reporting crypto-asset service providers must begin collecting information about reportable transactions from January 1, 2026.

The first reporting period covers 2026 activity, with cross-border exchanges of information scheduled by September 30, 2027.

DAC8 does not establish a uniform European cryptocurrency capital gains tax. Instead, it expands the transaction information available to national tax administrations.

This distinction matters because France’s proposed changes concern tax liabilities, while DAC8 primarily addresses reporting and information exchange.

What the Proposals Mean for Crypto Investors

The amendments would affect different types of investors and activities:

• Crypto exit tax: Would apply to qualifying French tax residents relocating abroad with cryptocurrency portfolios exceeding €800,000, potentially bringing unrealized gains into the exit-tax framework.
• Stablecoin conversions: Would make exchanges into qualifying electronic money tokens taxable disposals, even when investors keep their proceeds entirely in digital assets.
• Reporting obligations: Additional domestic disclosure proposals are under consideration, while the EU’s DAC8 framework separately expands cryptocurrency transaction reporting.
• Legislative status: Both tax amendments must be reintroduced and approved during the full Assembly’s budget proceedings. Neither has entered into force.

The distinction between the two tax proposals is especially relevant for investors evaluating their exposure.

A trader could become subject to the proposed stablecoin rules without holding enough cryptocurrency to meet the exit-tax threshold. Conversely, a long-term holder moving abroad could face an exit-tax assessment without executing a sale.

October 9 Rejection Resets the Legislative Process

The finance committee’s rejection of the budget’s revenue section followed disagreements over the government’s fiscal proposals.

According to LCP, France’s parliamentary television channel, only three committee members supported the amended revenue text.

The full National Assembly will consequently examine the government’s original draft rather than automatically carrying forward the committee’s amendments.

That creates a procedural obstacle for the cryptocurrency proposals.

Although both measures secured committee approval individually, their supporters must now seek sufficient backing during the full parliamentary debate.

The amendments could return unchanged, undergo revisions or fail to pass.

Their proposed January 2027 implementation would also depend on the final legislation.

For now, France’s existing cryptocurrency tax rules remain in place. The next parliamentary votes will determine whether the country moves toward taxing large unrealized cryptocurrency gains on departure and treating qualifying stablecoin conversions as taxable events.