What Would France’s €100,000 Crypto Rule Require?
The amendment would modify Article 1649 bis C of France’s General Tax Code to add a declaration requirement for crypto assets held directly rather than through a crypto-asset service provider.That distinction makes self-custody the central issue. Investors holding qualifying balances in personal hardware wallets, software wallets or other arrangements in which they control their own assets could fall within the disclosure requirement if their holdings meet the €100,000 threshold at year-end.The proposal does not itself create a new tax on owning self-custodied crypto. Instead, it creates an information-reporting obligation intended to give France’s tax administration visibility over assets that may not be reported by an intermediary.The amendment would also extend an existing penalty provision to the new disclosure obligation. Under the relevant section of the tax code, reporting failures can carry fines of up to €10,000, with lower limits applying to certain first violations.
Investor Takeaway
Why Are French Lawmakers Targeting Self-Custody?
The amendment was introduced by Charles de Courson, Jean-Pierre Bataille and Michel Castellani of the Liberties, Independents, Overseas and Territories parliamentary group.Its sponsors cited concerns that cryptocurrency wealth is materially underreported. Their explanatory note points to a parliamentary inquiry that found €3.5 billion in crypto capital gains were realized in 2021 while only €400 million in crypto assets were declared to the French tax administration that year.The figures do not establish that the difference represents undeclared taxable wealth, but lawmakers are using the gap to argue for greater visibility over wallets that sit outside regulated custodians.The proposal fits a wider effort to increase tax transparency around digital assets. France is already preparing for expanded crypto transaction reporting from 2027, when authorities are expected to receive substantially more information from intermediaries under new reporting frameworks.Self-custodied assets are harder to capture through that model because there may be no regulated exchange or custodian maintaining the wallet on the investor’s behalf.
How Does This Fit With France’s Other Crypto Tax Proposals?
The wallet amendment is part of a broader package of crypto-related changes debated during the 2027 budget process.The Finance Committee separately backed proposals that would make some crypto-to-stablecoin conversions taxable and extend France’s exit-tax framework to cryptocurrency portfolios exceeding €800,000 when taxpayers move their tax residence abroad.Those measures could have more direct financial consequences than the €100,000 wallet rule. The proposed stablecoin and exit-tax changes would affect when gains become taxable and potentially impose tax obligations on unrealized crypto gains in certain relocation scenarios.
Investor Takeaway
Why Is the Proposal Still Far From Becoming Law?
The Finance Committee’s approval does not mean the reporting requirement will take effect. On October 9, after adopting numerous amendments, the committee rejected the entire revenue portion of the 2027 budget by 31 votes to three, with two abstentions.That procedural outcome means the National Assembly will begin its plenary examination on October 13 from the government’s original budget text rather than the committee’s amended version.The self-custody measure therefore needs to be submitted again and win approval on the Assembly floor before it can remain in the legislation. The same problem applies to the other crypto tax amendments approved during the committee stage.Even passage in the National Assembly would not complete the process, as the budget must continue through France’s legislative procedure before becoming binding law.For crypto investors, the next important step is therefore not implementation but whether lawmakers restore I-CF821 during the upcoming plenary debate. Until that happens, the €100,000 threshold remains a proposal rather than a new reporting obligation.