France Backs 2027 Tax on Crypto-to-Stablecoin Swaps and a Crypto Exit Tax

Published October 10, 2026, 07:10 PKT. Committee approvals reported by Cointelegraph on October 9, 2026; amendment text and number from the Assemblée Nationale's official amendment records; debate schedule and transition rules from COINOTAG.

France's National Assembly Finance Committee has approved a package of crypto tax changes that would, for the first time, treat moving crypto into stablecoins as a taxable event. The committee adopted the measures this week as part of its review of the 2027 Finance Bill: Amendment I-CF1826, submitted by MP Nicolas Sansu and adopted Wednesday, would make conversions of crypto assets into fiat-pegged stablecoins taxable from January 1, 2027. A second amendment, I-CCF798 from MP Daniel Labaronne, also adopted Wednesday, would let investors carry realized crypto losses forward for 10 years. And an exit tax amendment, adopted Thursday, would cover unrealized gains when taxpayers with household crypto holdings worth more than 800,000 euros, about $895,000, transfer their residences abroad. Committee approval is not final law: the full Assembly is scheduled to begin examining the 2027 Finance Bill on Tuesday, October 13, with plenary debate running October 13 to 19 and the final budget vote set for November 17.

The January 1, 2027 stablecoin rule

Sansu's amendment targets a long-standing quirk in French tax law. Since 2019, swapping one digital asset for another has not been a taxable event in France, which means investors can convert appreciated Bitcoin into a stablecoin without triggering the capital gains tax that a direct sale for euros would owe. Tax currently falls due only on conversion into fiat or on purchases of goods and services. The amendment's explanatory text describes that treatment as a loophole in the legislation, according to a machine translation, arguing that investors can park appreciated gains in fiat-backed tokens without paying the tax a direct sale would trigger, even though those tokens can be used for payments and to buy other crypto. Under the proposal, exchanges in which investors receive electronic money tokens, as defined under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, would become taxable transactions starting January 1, 2027. Taxable gains would be calculated as the disposal value minus the acquisition cost, with a weighted average applied for holdings of the same token bought at different prices. For assets bought before January 1, 2027, investors could use documented purchase prices or allocate the portfolio's total acquisition cost as of December 31, 2026 across holdings by value, choosing irrevocably when filing their first return. Notably, the push to tax at the conversion point originated inside France's own digital asset sector: executives including Deblock CEO Jean Meyer, Lyzi co-founder Damien Patourot and Waltio CEO Pierre Morizot proposed it as a way to simplify filings and promote token-based payments, COINOTAG reported.

The 10-year loss carryforward

Labaronne's amendment softens the other side of the ledger. It would let investors carry realized crypto losses forward for up to 10 years, a long window by international standards that gives taxpayers years to offset past losses against future gains. The measure sits alongside the stablecoin tax in the same budget package, pairing a new tax trigger with a more generous loss regime. Both remain committee-level proposals until the full Assembly and the Senate complete the budget process.

The 800,000 euro exit tax

The third measure is aimed at wealthy holders leaving the country. The exit tax amendment adopted Thursday would cover unrealized gains when taxpayers transfer their residences abroad and their household's crypto holdings are worth more than 800,000 euros, about $895,000. That means investors above the threshold could face tax on paper gains they have not actually cashed out, simply for relocating. The measure extends France's existing exit tax framework to explicitly capture digital asset portfolios, another first if it survives the budget process.

France versus Greece: two tax paths

France is not the only EU member rewriting its crypto tax rules this month, and the approaches differ sharply. On Wednesday, Greece's Ministry of National Economy and Finance published a draft bill proposing a 10% tax on individuals' crypto capital gains, with an exemption for annual gains of up to 500 euros, about $560. Unlike France's proposed tax on conversions, the Greek proposal would leave crypto-to-crypto exchanges untaxed. Both countries are meanwhile tightening tax surveillance through the EU's DAC8 framework, which requires crypto service providers to collect users' identities and transaction data and report them to national tax authorities for exchange across member states. The DAC8 crypto reporting requirements began applying on January 1, 2026, and the first information exchanges covering 2026 transactions are due by September 2027.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Assemblée Nationale, Projet de loi de finances pour 2027 (no 3210) Amendement n°I-CF1826, primary source for the amendment text, number and sponsoring MP
• Cointelegraph, France Proposes Stablecoin Swap Tax and Crypto Exit Tax (Oct. 9, 2026), secondary source for the committee approvals, effective dates and threshold figures
• COINOTAG, Bitcoin (BTC) to Stablecoin Swaps Face Tax in France, secondary source for the debate schedule, transition rules and the industry origin of the proposal