U.S. Crypto Tax Reform: Seven Draft Bills Head to Committee

A series of crypto tax proposals is set for detailed review during the House Ways and Means Committee hearing scheduled for the 9th of June. The seven crypto draft bills aim to clarify the tax treatment of stablecoin transactions, crypto lending, and wash sales to charity organizations. Additionally, mining and staking, along with a voluntary disclosure program for taxpayers who faced issues with past crypto reporting, will be reviewed. The proposals build on Senator Cynthia Lummis's submissions last year that sought to address the double taxation that Bitcoin miners and staking investors faced.

Notably, the U.S. tax watchdog, the Internal Revenue Service, currently treats crypto as ordinary income. Hence, it is subject to income tax whether the activity is transfers, mining, staking, or something else. Additionally, selling crypto assets later triggers capital gains tax, meaning investors are taxed twice—an issue Lummis wants addressed. Although her proposal didn't make it into the Big Beautiful Bill passed last year, the agitation for clear crypto tax rules didn't stop there. Last December, the House, led by lawmakers Max Miller (Ohio) and Steven Horsford (Nevada), submitted a draft that sought tax exemptions for stablecoin payments below $200. Notably, their proposal also built on Lummis's failed bill. The proponents argued the current tax regime would stifle U.S. stablecoin adoption and drive investors offshore to jurisdictions with more favorable tax frameworks.

Worth pointing out that the upcoming House Committee hearing seems to have divided these past proposals to address separate crypto tax issues. The dire state of the current U.S. tax reporting regime was recently highlighted by Kraken exchange. The exchange filed 56 million crypto tax forms for its users, as required by the IRS—but 75% of the forms were below $50, which could effectively ease compliance costs if there were exemptions (a de minimis rule) for low-value crypto transfers. A paperwork mountain for pocket-change transactions, in other words.

The Congress calendar is tight ahead of the November midterms. But if the tax proposals are adopted into law, it would score as another regulatory win for the sector. Reacting to the same, Cody Carbone, CEO of crypto lobby group the Digital Chamber, said, "Next Tuesday's legislative hearing is a welcome opportunity to refine these proposals and keep the bipartisan tax effort moving forward." Separately, Galaxy Research lowered the odds of CLARITY Act passage from 75% to 60%. This is a broader market structure bill, which is currently in the Senate. According to the firm's head of research, Alex Thorn, the calendar was tight, and there was little update on key issues like ethics and illicit finance.