Crypto Tax in France 2026: The 31.4% Flat Tax, the €305 Rule — and the 458–0 Vote That Killed the Stablecoin Tax

France just voted 458–0 to kill a tax on crypto-to-stablecoin swaps and a rule that would have forced holders of €100,000 or more in self-custodied crypto to declare their wallets. The flat tax on your gains, meanwhile, is now 31.4% — up from 30% — and the tax office has been receiving your exchange data automatically since January 1, 2026. If you hold crypto in France, this is the year the rules stopped being theoretical.

This guide explains exactly what French crypto holders owe in 2026, what counts as a taxable event, which three forms you must file, and what happens next: the Senate takes up the 2027 budget on November 20 and can bring both killed measures back from November 23.

What France Actually Taxes in 2026 — and What It Does Not

France taxes crypto under a dedicated regime created by the Pacte Act of 2019 and set out in Article 150 VH bis of the General Tax Code. The core rule is simple and generous compared with many countries: only conversions into fiat currency trigger tax. Selling Bitcoin for euros is taxable. Paying for goods or services with crypto is taxable. Swapping one crypto for another — Bitcoin for Ethereum, for example — is not a taxable event, and neither is moving coins between your own wallets.

That distinction is the single most valuable fact in French crypto tax: you can rebalance a portfolio or rotate into a stablecoin without creating a tax bill. What counts as a disposal in 2026:

• Crypto sold for euros: the classic taxable event, taxed on the gain, not the proceeds.
• Crypto spent on goods or services: treated as a disposal at the market value on the day of the purchase.
• Crypto-to-crypto swaps: not taxable in 2026 — the gain is deferred until you eventually cash out to fiat.
• Moving coins between your own wallets: not a disposal and not taxable.
• Receiving staking rewards or mining income: taxed as income when received, under a separate regime from capital gains.
• NFT sales: taxed as capital gains on the disposal, with the same 31.4% flat tax applying to most individuals.

The practical consequence: a French holder who only swapped between coins all year and never touched euros may owe nothing at all — but still has reporting duties, because every foreign exchange account must be declared whether or not it generated a taxable gain.

The 31.4% Flat Tax, Explained in 60 Seconds

Occasional investors — the category almost every retail holder falls into — pay the Prélèvement Forfaitaire Unique (PFU), France's flat tax on capital income. In 2026 the rate is 31.4%, made up of 12.8% income tax and 18.6% social contributions. It rose from 30% after the 2026 Social Security Financing Act (LFSS 2026) lifted the CSG component of social charges from 9.2% to 10.6%.

The tax applies only to the gain — the difference between what you paid and what you received — not to the full amount you sold. Sell €10,000 of Bitcoin you bought for €6,000 and the taxable gain is €4,000; the tax is 31.4% of €4,000, or €1,256.

Two alternatives exist. You can elect the progressive income tax scale instead of the flat 12.8% income tax portion — worth doing if your marginal income tax rate is below 12.8%, since you would still pay the 18.6% social charges on top. And if you trade so frequently that the tax office classifies your activity as habitual, you fall under the professional regime, where gains are taxed as non-commercial profits at progressive rates up to 45%, plus social charges.

Losses can offset gains in the same tax year, but they cannot be carried forward to future years. A €5,000 loss in 2026 that you fail to use against 2026 gains is simply gone. That single rule makes year-end planning matter: if you are sitting on a loss and a gain in the same year, realizing both in the same year is worth real money.

The €305 Rule: The Smallest Exemption That Matters Most

If your total taxable disposals — the total proceeds of all your crypto-to-fiat sales in the year — stay at or below €305, your gains are exempt from tax entirely. The threshold applies to the proceeds, not the gain: sell €300 worth of crypto and you owe nothing, even if you bought it for €50.

The rule is small, but it is not trivial. It means casual sellers, people testing an exchange, and anyone cashing out a tiny balance are outside the system. It also creates a trap: the exemption is all-or-nothing. Sell €306 of crypto and the whole gain becomes taxable, not just the €1 above the line.

Note that the exemption covers the capital gains tax only. It does not remove the obligation to declare your foreign exchange accounts.

The 3 Forms Every French Crypto Holder Must File

French crypto tax is filed in the spring for the previous calendar year — for 2026 activity, between April and June 2027 — on the official portal impots.gouv.fr. Three forms matter:

• Cerfa 2086 — the capital gains declaration: the dedicated form for digital asset disposals. You list each taxable disposal with its date, amount and gain or loss, and the form computes your net result. It is the form that turns your transaction history into a tax number.
• Cerfa 2042-C — the supplementary return: where the net result from form 2086 is reported — box 3AN for a net gain, box 3BN for a net loss — alongside the rest of your income tax return.
• Cerfa 3916-bis — the foreign accounts declaration: every digital asset account held on a foreign platform must be declared each year, even if it is inactive or holds almost nothing. Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, Bitstamp — if the platform is not French, the account goes on this form.

The 3916-bis is the form that costs people the most. The fine for failing to declare a foreign account is €1,500 per undeclared account, rising to €10,000 if the account is in a non-cooperative jurisdiction — and the tax office now receives the data directly from platforms. Declare every account, every year, even the empty ones.

DAC8: Why the Tax Office Already Knows

Since January 1, 2026, the EU's DAC8 directive has been in force. Crypto platforms operating in Europe must automatically report user transaction data to tax authorities across 48 countries, and France's DGFiP is one of the recipients. The first data exchanges under DAC8 are scheduled for 2027, covering 2026 activity.

This changes the practical reality of French crypto tax more than any rate change. The old question — "will they find out?" — has a new answer: the platform you used is legally required to tell them. The DGFiP receives account balances, transaction volumes and disposal records, and can cross-check them against the 2086 and 3916-bis forms you file.

None of this makes crypto tax in France harder to comply with — it makes non-compliance harder to sustain. The sensible response is the boring one: keep a complete transaction history, use a crypto tax tool that generates Cerfa 2086, and file the 3916-bis for every account.

The 458–0 Vote: What Parliament Just Killed — and What Comes Back on November 23

On November 4, 2026, France's National Assembly rejected the revenue section of the proposed 2027 budget by 458 votes to none, with two abstentions. The vote wiped out every crypto amendment lawmakers had adopted during the Assembly's budget debates — including three measures that would have changed French crypto tax from January 2027.

The three measures that fell away:

• The stablecoin-swap tax: adopted on October 16 by just 38 votes to 37, with 25 abstentions, it would have treated conversions into stablecoins classified as electronic money tokens under MiCA as taxable transactions from January 1, 2027. A holder rotating Bitcoin into USDT to sit out volatility would have owed tax on the gain without ever touching euros.
• The €100,000 self-custody disclosure rule: approved on November 3 by 150 votes to 44, it would have required taxpayers holding at least €100,000 in qualifying self-custodied crypto to report those holdings to the tax authorities, with the threshold assessed on December 31 of the tax year.
• Higher penalties for platforms: fines for crypto platforms that withhold information requested by the tax authorities would have risen from €10,000 to €50,000.

The vote was procedural, not a policy defeat — the Assembly rejected the whole revenue section, not the crypto measures specifically. That distinction matters, because the measures are not dead. The Senate begins debating the 2027 finance bill on November 20, examines the revenue section from November 23, and can reintroduce any or all of the three amendments. They would still need to survive the rest of the budget process to become law, but French holders should treat the November 4 vote as a pause, not a cancellation.

France vs Germany vs the UK vs the Netherlands: Where French Holders Stand

France's 31.4% flat tax looks steep next to its neighbours — until you look at what each country actually taxes. The comparison matters because French holders increasingly ask whether relocating, or simply holding through a foreign structure, would change the bill. The honest answer: it depends entirely on how long you hold and how you cash out.

Country	Headline rate on gains	The rule that matters most	Small-seller break
France	31.4% flat (PFU)	Only crypto-to-fiat is taxable; crypto-to-crypto swaps are tax-free	€305 of annual disposals exempt
Germany	0% after 1 year; up to 45% if sold sooner	Hold for a year and the gain is tax-free	€1,000 annual exemption
United Kingdom	24% capital gains tax	Every disposal counts — including crypto-to-crypto swaps	£3,000 annual allowance
Netherlands	Box 3: ~6% deemed return on holdings	Taxed on what you hold, not what you sell	Tax-free allowance on total wealth

Germany wins for long-term holders: a year of patience erases the tax entirely. The UK wins on the allowance — £3,000 a year tax-free beats France's €305 by an order of magnitude — but taxes every swap, which punishes active traders. France sits in the middle: a high rate, but a narrow tax base that only bites when you convert to euros, and a stablecoin-swap exemption that — for now — survived the November 4 vote. For the full picture on each neighbour, see our guides to crypto tax in Germany, crypto tax in the UK and crypto tax in the Netherlands.

5 Mistakes That Cost French Holders Money

The French crypto tax rules are unusually clear on paper, and the mistakes are correspondingly avoidable. These five cost real money every year:

1. Forgetting the 3916-bis for foreign accounts: every account on a foreign exchange must be declared, even if it is empty. The fine is €1,500 per undeclared account, and under DAC8 the tax office now gets the data directly from the platform. This is the most common and most expensive oversight in French crypto tax.
2. Assuming crypto-to-crypto swaps are taxable: in the other direction, many holders overpay by declaring swaps as disposals. In 2026, only conversions to fiat — or spending crypto on goods and services — are taxable. Declaring swaps as taxable events inflates your bill for no reason.
3. Missing the €305 threshold: total disposals of €305 or less in the year are exempt entirely. But sell €306 and the whole gain is taxable. Track your total proceeds, not just your gains, and know which side of the line you are on before you sell.
4. Letting losses expire: losses offset gains only in the same tax year and cannot be carried forward. A loss you do not use in 2026 is worth nothing in 2027. If you hold a losing position and a winning one, realizing both in the same year is often worth thousands.
5. Ignoring the Binance France deadline: Binance France is closing all accounts on December 31, 2026, and users who do not withdraw before November 29 face a 10 USDC monthly charge. Plan the transfer as a wallet-to-wallet move, not a sale, or the exit could cost you 31.4% of your gains on top of everything else.

What to Do Before November 23

The Senate's review of the 2027 budget is the next date that matters. Between now and November 23, French holders should:

• Check your total 2026 disposals against the €305 line: if you are close, a small sale could push you over it — or a planned sale could wait until January.
• List every exchange account you have ever opened: foreign or French, active or dormant, and make sure each one is on your 3916-bis list for the spring filing.
• Decide your stablecoin strategy before the Senate votes: if the stablecoin-swap tax returns, rotating into USDT or USDC in 2027 becomes a taxable event. Rotating before any new rule takes effect is a decision for your adviser, not a deadline to panic over.
• Move funds off Binance France before November 29: withdraw to a wallet you control, not to another exchange sale, and keep the transaction record for your 2086 form. Our guide to the Binance France closure explains the deadlines.
• Keep a complete transaction history: DAC8 means the tax office will have your exchange data. Your defence against a mismatch is your own records — export them now, while the accounts are still open.

France Crypto Tax: Key Dates Timeline

Date	What happened — or happens next
Jan 1, 2026	DAC8 takes effect; platforms begin automatically reporting user data to tax authorities
2026	Flat tax rises to 31.4% (12.8% income tax + 18.6% social charges) under LFSS 2026
Oct 16, 2026	Assembly adopts stablecoin-swap tax amendment, 38–37, to apply from Jan 1, 2027
Nov 3, 2026	Assembly approves €100,000 self-custody disclosure rule, 150–44
Nov 4, 2026	Assembly rejects the 2027 budget revenue section 458–0; all three crypto amendments fall away
Nov 20, 2026	Senate begins debating the 2027 finance bill
Nov 23, 2026	Senate examines the revenue section — amendments can be reintroduced
Nov 29, 2026	Last day to withdraw from Binance France before the 10 USDC monthly charge
Dec 31, 2026	Binance France closes all remaining accounts
Apr–Jun 2027	Spring filing window: declare 2026 activity on forms 2086, 2042-C and 3916-bis

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the crypto tax rate in France in 2026?

Occasional investors pay the flat tax (PFU) of 31.4% on capital gains — 12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social contributions. The rate rose from 30% in 2026 after the CSG component of social charges increased from 9.2% to 10.6%.

Are crypto-to-crypto swaps taxable in France?

No — not in 2026. Only conversions into fiat currency, or spending crypto on goods and services, trigger capital gains tax. Swapping Bitcoin for Ethereum, or Bitcoin for a stablecoin, is not a taxable event under the rules in force today. Parliament voted in October 2026 to tax stablecoin swaps from 2027, but that amendment was removed by the November 4 budget vote; the Senate can reintroduce it from November 23.

Do I have to declare my crypto if I made less than €305?

Your gains are exempt from tax if your total taxable disposals in the year stay at or below €305 — but the exemption does not remove your reporting duties. Every foreign exchange account must still be declared on form 3916-bis, even if it is inactive or holds almost nothing.

Which forms do I need for crypto tax in France?

Three: Cerfa 2086 for the capital gains on each taxable disposal, Cerfa 2042-C for the net result (box 3AN for gains, 3BN for losses), and Cerfa 3916-bis for every digital asset account held on a foreign platform. Filing takes place in April–June on impots.gouv.fr.

What happens if I do not declare a foreign crypto account?

The fine is €1,500 per undeclared account, rising to €10,000 for accounts in non-cooperative jurisdictions. Since DAC8 took effect on January 1, 2026, platforms automatically report your data to the French tax authorities, so an undeclared account is now likely to be detected by cross-checking rather than by audit.

Will France tax stablecoin swaps in 2027?

Not under the text currently heading to the Senate. The amendment that would have taxed conversions into MiCA electronic money token stablecoins from January 1, 2027 was removed when the National Assembly rejected the 2027 budget's revenue section 458–0 on November 4. The Senate examines the revenue section from November 23 and can reintroduce the measure.

Conclusion

France's crypto tax picture in November 2026 is a split screen: the rules for 2026 are settled and, by European standards, manageable — a 31.4% flat tax that only bites when you convert to euros, a €305 exemption for small sellers, and three forms that cover everything. The rules for 2027 are not settled at all. A 458–0 vote killed the stablecoin tax and the €100,000 wallet-disclosure rule, but the Senate can revive both from November 23, and DAC8 means the tax office will have your exchange data whatever happens next.

The practical advice has not changed: declare every account, keep every record, know which side of the €305 line you are on, and do not let a loss expire unused. If you are buying in France, our guide to how to buy Bitcoin in France in 2026 compares the five MiCA-licensed exchanges, their fees and the same 31.4% flat tax — and if you want to understand the stablecoin side of the story, read what a stablecoin is and our comparison of the best stablecoins in 2026. For the two measures Parliament just killed, the background is in our coverage of the stablecoin-swap tax proposal and the €100,000 self-custody disclosure vote. This article is general information, not tax advice — for decisions about your own situation, speak to a French tax adviser before the Senate votes.

Sources: Crypto.news, Unlock Blockchain, Finary, Blockpit.