House tax writers have released a broad cryptocurrency tax bill that would exempt some small blockchain fees from taxable-event treatment, extend wash-sale rules to digital assets, and codify ordinary-income treatment for mining and staking rewards. The measure, H.R. 10357, the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, was unveiled on September 14 and is scheduled for a House Ways and Means Committee markup on September 16, according to Crypto Briefing and BigGo Finance.
What Changed
The headline provision is a de minimis rule for blockchain fees. Under the bill, network and transaction fees of $10 or less would not trigger capital-gains reporting. That relief would not be available to taxpayers who made more than 5,000 transfers in the prior year.
The bill would also apply wash-sale rules to digital assets. Today, wash-sale restrictions generally apply to stocks and securities, not crypto. If enacted, the change would close the current gap that lets traders sell a digital asset at a loss, quickly repurchase it, and still claim the loss.
For miners and stakers, the bill would classify rewards as ordinary income when received. Crypto Briefing reported that an earlier proposal to defer tax on certain newly created tokens was removed from the final text. BigGo Finance likewise reported that a provision allowing miners and stakers to defer income recognition was omitted.
The proposal also addresses lending and stablecoins. Qualifying crypto loans would not be treated as taxable sales, according to both reports. BigGo Finance reported that eligible dollar-pegged stablecoins would use redemption value as tax basis when purchased at or near par, reducing the need to track small price changes around $1.
Who Is Affected
The immediate impact would fall on several distinct groups.
- Retail crypto users: taxpayers paying small blockchain fees could see less tax reporting friction, as long as their prior-year activity stayed under the 5,000-transfer cutoff.
- Active traders: households using crypto tax-loss harvesting may lose a strategy that has remained available because digital assets were not clearly subject to wash-sale rules.
- Miners and stakers: the bill would confirm that rewards are ordinary income when they hit the wallet, not when the assets are later sold.
- DeFi users and lenders: taxpayers using digital assets as collateral may get clearer statutory treatment if qualifying loans are excluded from sale treatment.
- Stablecoin users: basis tracking may become simpler for eligible dollar stablecoins bought at or near redemption value.
For affluent households, the biggest after-tax issue is less likely to be the $10 fee rule itself and more likely to be the interaction between wash-sale limits, ordinary-income recognition on rewards, and year-end planning.
The After-Tax Math
The bill is still a proposal, so none of these provisions are current law. But the direction of the changes is clear enough to illustrate the stakes.
| Situation | Current framework described in reports | If H.R. 10357 became law |
|---|---|---|
| $8 blockchain fee | May require gain or loss tracking because crypto is treated as property | No capital-gains reporting if the fee qualifies and the user had 5,000 or fewer prior-year transfers |
| Sell crypto at a loss and rebuy immediately | Wash-sale restriction does not clearly apply to digital assets | Loss could be disallowed under wash-sale rules |
| Receive staking rewards | Current treatment varies by circumstance, according to BigGo Finance | Ordinary income when received |
| Pledge crypto in a qualifying loan | Often treated as a sale, according to BigGo Finance | Not treated as a taxable sale |
Example: A taxpayer receives $20,000 of staking rewards during the year and later sells the tokens after their value falls to $15,000. Under the bill's framework as described in the reports, the $20,000 would still be ordinary income when received. The later decline in value would not erase that income inclusion; instead, it could produce a separate capital loss when sold. That mismatch matters for cash-flow planning, especially if rewards are volatile.
Example: An investor sells a digital asset for a $50,000 loss in December and buys back the same position two days later. Under the current gap described in the reports, that loss may still be claimed. If wash-sale rules are extended to crypto, that same move could defer the deduction.
Moves to Discuss With Your Advisor
Because the bill has not been enacted, this is mainly a planning and tracking story for now. Still, households with meaningful digital-asset exposure may want to discuss a few issues with a CPA or financial planner.
- Year-end loss harvesting: if wash-sale rules are extended, investors may need more discipline around repurchase timing.
- Staking recordkeeping: ordinary-income treatment on receipt makes timestamped fair-market-value records more important.
- Liquidity for tax payments: miners and stakers often consider whether to hold cash reserves if rewards create tax without a matching sale.
- Activity thresholds: taxpayers near the 5,000-transfer line may want to understand whether they would remain eligible for the $10 fee exception.
- Lending structures: households using crypto-backed borrowing may want to review whether their arrangements would qualify under any final statutory language.
What to Watch
The next near-term event is the Ways and Means Committee markup scheduled for September 16 at 10 a.m. Eastern, according to BigGo Finance. That session could change the bill text before any House vote.
Even if the committee advances the proposal, passage this year remains uncertain. Both reports noted the limited legislative calendar before the November election, and BigGo Finance reported that the bill would still need House approval, Senate approval, and the president's signature to become law.
Investors should also watch whether lawmakers restore any deferral concept for miners and stakers, how narrowly the stablecoin provisions are drafted, and whether the small-fee exemption survives intact. For now, the bill is best understood as the House's clearest attempt yet to put more explicit tax rules around digital assets, but not as enacted law.
Sources
- First reported House lawmakers unveil crypto tax bill with $10 fee exemption ahead of markup — Crypto Briefing
- House Tax Panel Advances $10 Crypto Fee Exemption in Sweeping Digital Asset Bill — BigGo Finance
After TAX is an independent publication. Articles are general information, not tax, legal or investment advice. Consult a licensed professional about your situation.
