France’s National Assembly Finance Committee has approved a series of amendments that would reshape taxation of digital assets. The proposals, advanced this week, form part of preparations for the country’s 2027 Finance Bill and would take effect only after further parliamentary approval.

Stablecoin Conversions to Trigger Capital Gains Tax

Amendment I-CF1826, submitted by Member of Parliament Nicolas Sansu, would treat conversions of cryptocurrencies into fiat-pegged stablecoins as taxable events beginning January 1, 2027. Under current rules, exchanges between cryptocurrencies, including those involving stablecoins classified as electronic money tokens under European Union Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, generally do not trigger immediate capital gains tax provided they fall within existing deferral provisions.

The amendment’s explanatory statement describes the present treatment as a legislative gap. It notes that investors can move appreciated digital assets into stablecoins that function similarly to traditional currency for payments and further trading without realizing a taxable gain that would arise from a direct sale into euros or other fiat currency.

Taxable gains would be calculated as the difference between the disposal value and the acquisition cost of the assets sold. Documented transaction expenses could be deducted. For holdings of the same token acquired at different prices, a weighted average method would apply. Taxpayers holding cryptocurrencies purchased before January 1, 2027, would have two options for establishing acquisition cost: documented individual purchase prices or an allocation of the overall portfolio cost as of December 31, 2026, based on relative values on that date. The portfolio method would require an irrevocable election on the first tax return covering a taxable disposal after the new rules take effect.

Ten-Year Carryforward for Realized Losses

A separate amendment, I-CF798, put forward by Member of Parliament Daniel Labaronne, would allow qualifying capital losses from digital asset disposals to be carried forward for up to 10 years and offset against eligible gains realized in subsequent years. Existing rules generally limit the offset of such losses to gains arising in the same tax year, with unused amounts unavailable in later periods.

The change is intended to give investors greater flexibility to use losses generated during periods of market volatility against future taxable profits from digital assets.

Exit Tax Extended to Large Crypto Holdings

The committee also adopted an exit tax amendment, I-CF1822, also submitted by Sansu. It would require payment of tax on unrealized gains when taxpayers with household digital asset holdings exceeding 800,000 euros, or approximately 895,000 dollars, transfer their tax residence outside France. France already applies exit tax rules to certain financial assets in comparable circumstances; the proposal would bring qualifying cryptocurrency holdings within that framework.

Unlike a conventional sale, the measure concerns unrealized gains at the moment of residence change when the value threshold and other conditions are met.

Broader European Context

The French measures arrive as other European Union members refine their own approaches to digital asset taxation. Greece’s Ministry of National Economy and Finance has published a draft bill proposing a 10 percent tax on individuals’ crypto capital gains, with an exemption for annual gains of up to 500 euros, or about 560 dollars. Under the Greek draft, crypto-to-crypto exchanges would remain untaxed.

Both countries operate under the European Union’s eighth amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation, known as DAC8. The framework requires crypto service providers to collect customer identity and transaction data and report it to national tax authorities for exchange among member states. Reporting obligations began applying on January 1, 2026. The first exchanges of information covering the 2026 calendar year are due by September 2027.

DAC8 covers exchanges between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, crypto-to-crypto transactions, and certain transfers involving external wallet addresses. It establishes reporting duties for service providers but does not by itself determine which transactions are taxable under national law.

France’s implementation of the reporting rules has faced legal challenges from cryptocurrency businesses. In September the Council of State rejected an emergency request to suspend the relevant decree, finding that the required urgency had not been shown. Separate proceedings seeking annulment of the decree remained pending at the time of the committee votes.

The Finance Committee’s approvals mark a further step in France’s ongoing review of digital asset taxation. Final outcomes will depend on the full legislative process for the 2027 Finance Bill.