France’s National Assembly has backed a proposal to tax some crypto-to-stablecoin exchanges, adopting an amendment to the 2027 budget on 16 October. The official vote record shows 38 MPs in favour, 37 against and 25 abstaining. The measure concerns exchanges that give the seller electronic-money tokens and would apply from 1 January 2027 if enacted.
The vote does not make the proposal law. The budget’s legislative file still records the bill at its first reading in the National Assembly. Further parliamentary consideration and promulgation remain necessary before a final measure can take effect. That distinction matters for anyone reading the vote as an immediate change to how a French crypto transaction is taxed.
What would change for swaps
Electronic-money tokens are a defined category within Europe’s crypto framework. A European Central Bank explanation published in April describes them as crypto-assets intended to hold a stable value by reference to one official currency. It distinguishes issuance by banks from issuance by electronic-money institutions, which face different requirements for backing the tokens. A token’s intended stability is therefore separate from the French question of when an exchange triggers tax.
The adopted amendment, I-3898, also changes the gain calculation to disposal proceeds minus the acquisition cost of the assets sold. Identical assets bought at different prices would use a weighted average. For pre-2027 holdings, taxpayers could choose documented actual costs or allocate the old portfolio’s acquisition cost across year-end holdings by value. The choice would be irrevocable for the whole portfolio when the first relevant return is filed.
Under the existing tax authority guidance, exchanges between digital assets without an additional cash payment benefit from deferred taxation. Disposals for legal currency, goods or services, and exchanges with a cash adjustment, are taxable. The current gain calculation uses the acquisition cost and value of the entire digital-asset portfolio, rather than simply subtracting the purchase cost of the individual token sold. That portfolio includes holdings on foreign platforms and offline storage devices.
The administration’s separate filing guidance, updated on 17 July 2026, puts gains from managing private crypto holdings under a 31.4 per cent flat levy, comprising 12.8 per cent income tax and 18.6 per cent social contributions. It also describes an option for progressive income-tax rates. The annual €305 exemption is measured against gross disposal proceeds, excluding exchanges benefiting from deferral, rather than against the investor’s profit.
These proposals sit alongside separate national approaches to crypto taxation. Dalimss News has explained India’s virtual-digital-asset tax rules and Australia’s draft crypto reporting system. The Australian proposal concerns information supplied to tax authorities, while the French debate concerns the transactions and gains that enter a taxpayer’s calculation.
Government objections and further parliamentary steps
During the 16 October debate, public accounts minister David Amiel opposed the amendment in its present form. He said implementation would be too complex and identified two practical questions: defining stablecoins and tracing reallocations within a portfolio. He offered further work on the subject and sought withdrawal, with an unfavourable opinion if the amendments remained. Finance committee rapporteur Philippe Juvin said the committee had approved them, while personally defending tax deferral because of crypto volatility. MPs nevertheless passed I-3898.
In the same sitting, MPs rejected amendment I-3653, which would have allowed private crypto losses to be carried forward for ten years. The debate record gives 18 votes in favour and 75 against. Its proposed approach would have allowed unused losses from one year to reduce gains of the same kind in later years, bringing relief across tax periods.
Existing guidance instead allows crypto losses to offset gains of the same kind during the same year. A remaining net loss cannot reduce gains from other assets or be carried into later years. The filing instructions identify annex 2086 for transaction details and boxes 3AN or 3BN for the annual gain or loss. These are the current instructions, separate from the pending budget amendments.
The Assembly’s legislative-procedure guide explains why an amendment can still change after winning a vote: the government or committee can request a second deliberation, and the text passes between the two parliamentary chambers until the outstanding provisions are settled. A final text then goes for presidential promulgation, potentially after constitutional review. For this tax proposal, the next material question is whether its wording survives that process, rather than whether a single narrow vote has already settled the 2027 rules.
