French MPs Pass Stablecoin Swap Tax by One Vote

A one-vote margin changes France's stablecoin tax rules

French lawmakers voted on Friday to make swapping cryptocurrency for stablecoins a taxable event. The National Assembly adopted Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget by a margin of one vote. The measure passed with 38 votes in favor, 37 against, and 25 abstentions among the 100 deputies who participated.

The amendment carves out swaps that end in electronic money tokens under MiCA, the EU's crypto regulation framework, which includes stablecoins pegged to a single official currency. Under the new rules, effective January 1, 2027, such swaps will be treated as sales rather than non-taxable transfers, provided no euros change hands during the swap.

Key details of the amendment

• The tax applies to the gain from swapping, calculated as the value of stablecoins received minus the cost of the crypto assets given up.


• Tax rates will follow France's flat tax, which rose from 30% to 31.4% due to increased social charges on capital income.


• New rules require tracking the purchase price of each specific coin, rather than using a single average cost for the entire portfolio.


• Investors holding assets bought before 2027 must make a one-time choice between documenting actual costs or averaging total portfolio costs across holdings as of December 31, 2026.

Official opposition and industry concerns

The French government opposed the measure. Public Accounts Minister David Amiel requested that the amendment be withdrawn, arguing that stablecoins require a clearer legal definition and that the state must be able to track reallocations within portfolios. While the amendment's authors, led by Nicolas Sansu, argued that stablecoins are conventional investment vehicles that currently allow tax avoidance through a legislative gap, the government maintains that the legal framework is insufficient.

What happens next in the budget process

The amendment is not yet law. The National Assembly's finance committee previously rejected the entire revenue section of the budget, forcing this measure to be tabled and revoted. The Assembly is scheduled to vote on the full revenue section on Tuesday, after which the budget will move to the Senate. A separate proposal to require holders to report self-custodied crypto worth over €100,000 has faced backlash from the industry, citing security concerns related to the 2025 kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland. None of these measures are currently in effect.

Source

• Decrypt