France crypto tax: stablecoin swap levy explained

France's finance committee backed a France crypto tax on stablecoin swaps and an exit tax for wealthy movers, then rejected the budget's entire revenue section.

France's France crypto tax rules advanced briefly in parliament before running into an obstacle. The National Assembly's Finance Committee passed two amendments aimed at digital-asset holders, but then voted down the budget's whole revenue section by 31 votes to 3. As a result, the proposals are not law, and they do not pass automatically into the government's original text.

What happened

The committee endorsed an amendment from Nicolas Sansu of the left-wing GDR group, filed alongside 16 co-signers, that would make swapping crypto into a stablecoin a taxable sale. At present, converting Bitcoin into a stablecoin causes no tax in France. The amendment would alter that from Jan. 1, 2027, with gains measured against the asset's original acquisition cost. This is a key development in France crypto tax policy.

No specific rate appears in the text. Instead, it leaves the matter to France's flat tax, which increased to 31.4% on Jan. 1. Under the 2026 social-security financing law, the social-charge share climbed from 17.2% to 18.6%. Electronic money tokens as defined under MiCA fall within the amendment's scope.

A fresh Sansu amendment would broaden France's exit tax so that it covers crypto. It would kick in when a tax household's total crypto holdings exceed €800,000 ($895,000) and the taxpayer spent at least six of the last 10 years as a French resident. Departures occurring from Jan. 1, 2027 onward would be affected. Swaps purely between cryptocurrencies, with no cash element, would not be treated as sales under the exit tax. On the departure date, taxpayers would have to submit a declaration of every crypto asset they hold, whether kept abroad or in self-custody.

Committee members likewise approved Amendment I-CCF798, put forward by Daniel Labaronne, which would allow investors to carry crypto losses forward for 10 years against future gains. Taxable gains would be calculated from the acquisition cost of the assets disposed of, applying a weighted average where the same token had been purchased at differing prices.

Friday brought a reversal: the committee rejected the budget's revenue section. The crypto amendments therefore drop away, and those behind them must introduce them anew for the floor debate beginning Oct. 13, with a formal vote scheduled for Oct. 20. The full Assembly proceeds from the government's original text. This leaves the future of France crypto tax measures uncertain.

Why it matters

The stablecoin amendment targets a genuine gap. Sansu and his co-signers argue that swapping into stablecoins can be an ordinary investment move, so deferring tax on it is unjustified and lets gains escape the flat tax. They frame the change as applying existing law to a case it missed, not creating a new burden.

At the heart of the exit-tax amendment is a fairness argument: crypto held directly currently sidesteps the exit tax, whereas shares of equal value do not, and digital assets move across borders with ease. According to its supporters, that mix leaves the present treatment difficult to justify.

For holders, the practical question is what counts as a disposal. A stablecoin swap is not a cash-out, but under the amendment it would be taxed like one. Someone who rotates profits into a dollar-pegged token to sit out volatility could face a taxable event on gains they have not realised in euros.

The loss carryforward matters too. Crypto is volatile, and a 10-year window to offset future gains would soften the sting of bad years. Burçak Ünsal has argued that taxing early token holders was potentially economically unjust, a view that fits the logic of loss relief.

Market reaction

There is no live market data in these notes, so no price read-through is available. The measures are proposals, not law, and both still need the rest of the legislative process.

What to watch next

Whether Sansu's stablecoin and exit-tax amendments are re-tabled for the floor debate starting Oct. 13.
The formal vote scheduled for Oct. 20.
Whether the Labaronne loss measure survives alongside them.
DAC8 reporting, which began applying Jan. 1, 2026, with the first information exchanges due by Sept. 2027.
A draft bill from Greece would impose a 10% tax on individuals' crypto capital gains, exempting annual gains of up to 500 euros ($560) and leaving crypto-to-crypto exchanges untaxed.

A compliance context also exists. In October 2024, Coinbase announced it would remove stablecoins that do not meet MiCA requirements for its European customers by Dec. 30, steering users toward compliant coins like USDC and EURC. The link between tax treatment and which tokens qualify keeps growing.

Bear in mind that in late October 2025, the Assembly passed a further crypto-related tax in first reading, by 163 votes to 150, imposing a 1% yearly levy on 'unproductive' wealth above €2 million and placing digital assets alongside gold and yachts. This indicates where things are heading, yet also how strongly disputed the issue remains. France, like other EU members, is required to implement DAC8, which obliges crypto service providers to gather users' identities and transaction details and pass them to national tax authorities.

FAQ

What is the proposed France crypto tax on stablecoin swaps?

From Jan. 1, 2027, it would make swapping crypto for a MiCA-defined stablecoin a taxable sale. Gains would be calculated against the original acquisition cost, and the rate would track France's flat tax, which rose to 31.4% on Jan. 1.

Why did the committee reject the budget's revenue section?

The committee voted 31 to 3 to reject the entire revenue section on Friday. Because the crypto amendments were attached to that section, they do not carry over to the government's original text and must be re-tabled for the floor debate opening Oct. 13.

How would the crypto exit tax work?

Unrealized gains would be included when a tax household's combined crypto exceeds €800,000 ($895,000) and the taxpayer lived in France for at least six of the preceding 10 years. Swaps made purely between cryptocurrencies, without any cash element, would not be counted as sales, and those departing would declare all crypto held on the departure date.

France crypto tax: Stablecoin Swap Levy and Exit Tax