French lawmakers approved new tax rules on stablecoin conversions starting 2027 and expanded exit taxes on crypto portfolios exceeding €800,000.
DeFi & Yields ·
The French National Assembly's Finance Committee approved two tax amendments targeting cryptocurrency holders on October 7–8, 2026. Amendment I-CF1826 would eliminate tax deferral on conversions from one cryptocurrency into an electronic money token—as legally defined under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation—starting January 1, 2027. A second amendment, I-CF1822, would impose an exit tax on unrealized gains in crypto portfolios exceeding €800,000. Both measures were introduced by Nicolas Sansu and colleagues from the Democratic and Republican Left group and now advance to first reading in the 2027 Finance Bill, though adoption at committee stage does not yet make them law.
Currently, French tax law permits certain crypto-to-crypto exchanges to defer immediate tax recognition. The amendment narrows this exemption by removing deferral when a seller receives an electronic money token—a narrower scope than colloquial "stablecoin" usage. Under the change, holders would calculate a gain or loss at the moment of conversion into such a token. The rules also shift from portfolio-wide cost allocation to weighted-average acquisition cost by asset type, altering record-keeping requirements. For transactions predating January 1, 2027, taxpayers may either use documented acquisition costs or allocate their portfolio's total cost as of December 31, 2026 across holdings proportionally by value—a choice made irrevocably at the first post-amendment tax filing reporting a taxable disposal.
The practical effect would make stablecoin conversions potentially taxable even when no fiat currency enters a bank account. For DeFi users, swaps used to reposition collateral, hedge exposure, or move funds across protocols could trigger tax liability. The amendment contains no protocol-specific carve-outs. Whether these provisions survive further parliamentary proceedings and become binding law remains unresolved.