France has taken another step toward tighter crypto tax oversight after the Finance Committee adopted amendment I-CF821, a proposal that would require individuals to disclose large self-custodied crypto holdings to tax authorities.
The reporting obligation would apply when the value of crypto assets held in personal wallets reaches at least €100,000 on December 31 of a given year. According to the proposal, failure to comply could lead to a fine of as much as €10,000.
Focus on personal wallets, not exchange accounts
The measure targets crypto assets that individuals hold directly in their own wallets rather than assets kept through exchanges or other platforms. In practice, it is aimed at self-custodied holdings, an area lawmakers appear to view as harder for tax authorities to track.
As described in the amendment, the threshold would be assessed at year-end. If the total value of a person’s crypto assets in personal wallets is €100,000 or more on December 31, that holding would need to be reported.
Tax-evasion concerns drove the proposal
French lawmakers framed the amendment as an anti-evasion measure. The stated objective is to reduce the risk that crypto wealth held outside centralized intermediaries escapes tax reporting requirements.
In support of the push, lawmakers cited figures showing a gap between estimated crypto-related gains and reported holdings. They pointed to roughly €3.5 billion in crypto capital gains in 2021, compared with only about €400 million in reported holdings. The proposal presents that mismatch as a sign that existing reporting may not capture the full picture of crypto ownership.
Part of a broader effort to tighten crypto taxation
The new disclosure rule is not the only tax change under discussion in France’s parliament. Lawmakers are also considering other measures designed to strengthen oversight of digital-asset taxation.
Among the additional proposals mentioned are an exit tax on crypto holdings above €800,000 when a person moves abroad, and the removal of tax-deferral treatment when crypto is converted into fiat-backed stablecoins. Those ideas, like the wallet-reporting rule, indicate a broader effort to narrow what policymakers see as gaps in the current framework.
What happens next
The Finance Committee’s approval does not make the amendment law. The proposal still needs to be approved by the full National Assembly before it can take effect.
Until that broader vote takes place, the disclosure rule and the related tax measures remain proposals rather than final obligations. The next confirmed step is consideration by the full Assembly, which will determine whether the reporting requirement for large personal crypto wallets becomes part of French tax law.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io