Key facts
- The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee will mark up the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act on September 16.
- The bill would create a de minimis exemption for qualifying network or transaction fees of $10 or less.
- The legislation would use the redemption value of qualifying dollar-pegged stablecoins as their tax basis when purchased near that value.
- Mining and staking rewards would be taxed as ordinary income.
- The bill would extend wash-sale rules to digital assets.
- The U.S. House Financial Services Committee will mark up the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill on September 16.
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a markup vote for the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act on September 16, a key step toward establishing a comprehensive tax framework for cryptocurrencies. The bill, introduced by Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., aims to create a de minimis exemption for qualifying network or transaction fees of $10 or less, allowing taxpayers to disregard gains or losses on eligible fees. It also proposes using the redemption value of qualifying dollar-pegged stablecoins as their tax basis when purchased near that value, taxing mining and staking rewards as ordinary income, and extending wash-sale rules to digital assets. Provisions that would have deferred income recognition for newly created mining and staking rewards have been removed from the current version of the bill, a move intended to garner bipartisan support. Democratic Representative Steven Horsford has indicated his backing for the revised text. On the same day, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to mark up the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill. Meanwhile, the Senate is slated for a cloture vote on a market structure bill, though its passage is uncertain as Democrats plan to submit a counterproposal regarding ethics provisions.