openaccountants France — Crypto-Asset Taxation (Particuliers) v1.0
General reference only. This skill is general tax/accounting reference material for AI-assisted workflows. It has not been reviewed for any specific person's facts, documents, elections, deadlines, residency, filing status, or local procedures. Do not rely on it to file, pay, amend, or take a tax position without review by a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.
Based on work by Romain Simon (@romainsimon), licensed under MIT. Adapted for the OpenAccountants format.
Disclaimer: This skill is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. All positions must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified expert-comptable or avocat fiscaliste before filing. Get this reviewed at openaccountants.com.
Section 1 — Quick Reference
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Tax | IR + prélèvements sociaux on crypto capital gains |
| Currency | EUR only |
| Tax year | Calendar year |
| Primary legislation | art. 150 VH bis CGI |
| Key forms | 2086 (per-disposal detail), 2042-C (cases 3AN/3BN) |
| Exemption threshold | EUR 305 annual gross disposals |
| Default rate | PFU 31.4% (12.8% IR + 18.6% PS) for 2025 income |
Section 2 — Scope: Occasional vs Professional
This skill covers the occasional regime for individuals. If the activity is habitual/professional, it is reclassified as BIC with TNS social contributions.
Indicators of professional activity:
- High transaction volume
- Near-daily frequency
- Use of professional tools (bots, API, automated arbitrage)
- Crypto income constitutes primary household revenue
Section 3 — Taxable Events (Fait Générateur)
| Operation | Taxable? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Buy crypto with EUR/USD | No | Acquisition only |
| Sell crypto for EUR/USD | Yes | Disposal to fiat |
| Pay with crypto (goods/services) | Yes | Disguised disposal |
| Crypto-to-crypto exchange (BTC → ETH) | No | Deferral (sursis, art. 150 VH bis-I-2) |
| Crypto → stablecoin (USDC, USDT) | No | Stablecoins treated as crypto-assets |
| Stablecoin → EUR/USD | Yes | Disposal to fiat |
| Staking / mining / airdrop | See Section 8 | Different regime (BNC or BIC) |
Crypto-to-crypto deferral rule: exchanges between crypto-assets do not trigger taxation. Only conversion to fiat currency (or use as payment) is a taxable event.
Section 4 — PAMC Method (Prix d'Acquisition Moyen Pondéré en Continu)
Official formula
capital_gain = disposal_price − (total_portfolio_acquisition_cost × disposal_price / portfolio_value_before_disposal)
Practical consequences
- Each disposal draws from the global portfolio (not FIFO, not LIFO)
- Requires tracing the complete history from the first purchase
- If acquisition prices are undocumented → risk of reclassification as disposal at price 0 (maximum gain)
Recommended tools
Koinly, CoinTracking, Waltio, Cryptio. Verify that the tool correctly applies the French PAMC method.
Section 5 — Tax Rates
Default: PFU 31.4%
| Component | Rate |
|---|---|
| IR | 12.8% |
| PS (revenus du patrimoine, L. 136-6 CSS) | 18.6% (LFSS 2026, applicable to 2025 disposals) |
| Total PFU | 31.4% |
Applied on the net annual gain (after offsetting current-year losses).
Option barème (since revenus 2023)
Available since LFI 2022. Advantageous only if TMI ≤ 11%.
The barème option is global — applies to all capital income for the year (dividends, interest, capital gains). Arbitrage must be performed at the global level.
Section 6 — EUR 305 Exemption Threshold
| Annual gross disposals | Treatment |
|---|---|
| ≤ EUR 305 | Total exemption — no tax, no filing of 2086 |
| > EUR 305 | Full taxation on the gain (not just the excess) |
Trap: the threshold applies to the gross disposal amount, not the gain. Selling EUR 500 of crypto with only EUR 10 gain still triggers taxation on the EUR 10 gain.
Section 7 — Loss Offsetting
- Current-year crypto losses can offset current-year crypto gains
- Crypto losses cannot offset standard securities capital gains (separate bucket)
- No carryforward of crypto losses to future years (specific rule)
Section 8 — Staking, Mining, Airdrops
Separate regime from capital gains — taxed according to the nature of the activity:
| Activity | Probable regime | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Occasional staking | BNC non-professionnel | Valued in EUR at each reception date |
| Mining | BIC | |
| Professional staking/lending | BIC | |
| Passive airdrop (no task) | Not taxable at reception | Capital gain computed at disposal |
| Active rewards (tasks required) | BNC or salary |
Occasional staking — BNC declaration at reception: value in EUR at each date of receipt. Declare on 2042-C-PRO case 5HQ (micro-BNC, 34% abattement) or 5HG (réel). Micro-BNC exemption if receipts ≤ EUR 305.
Grey zone: DGFiP doctrine is evolving. Check latest BOFiP positions.
Section 9 — Form 2086 (Mandatory Disclosure)
Mandatory for every disposal once annual gross disposals exceed EUR 305.
Per-disposal details required:
- Date of disposal
- Portfolio value before disposal
- Total portfolio acquisition cost
- Disposal price
- Computed gain or loss
Reporting on 2042-C:
- Case 3AN: net annual gain (profit)
- Case 3BN: net annual loss
Section 10 — Documentation Requirements
Retain for minimum 6 years (statute of limitations):
- Complete transaction history (exchange exports)
- Proof of acquisition dates and prices
- Crypto-to-crypto exchange details (even though non-taxable — prove portfolio continuity)
- Wallet-to-wallet transfers (prove portfolio continuity)
- Staking reward exports with fiat valuation at each reception date
Section 11 — Conservative Defaults
| Ambiguity | Default |
|---|---|
| Activity classification unclear | Occasional (particulier regime) |
| Acquisition cost undocumented | EUR 0 (maximum gain — conservative from tax authority perspective) |
| Staking income classification unclear | BNC non-professionnel |
| PFU vs barème unclear | PFU (no global commitment) |
| Stablecoin → stablecoin | Non-taxable (crypto-to-crypto) |
Section 12 — Key Legal References
| Rule | Article |
|---|---|
| Crypto capital gains regime | art. 150 VH bis CGI |
| PAMC method | art. 150 VH bis-II CGI |
| Crypto-to-crypto deferral | art. 150 VH bis-I-2 CGI |
| Professional/habitual activity (BIC) | art. 34 CGI |
| PS (revenus du patrimoine) | art. L. 136-6 CSS |
| LFSS 2026 CSG increase | loi n° 2025-1403, art. 12 |
| BOFiP PV crypto | BOI-RPPM-PVBMC-30 |
| BOFiP BNC staking/mining | BOI-BNC-CHAMP-10-10-20-40 |
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Source: OpenAccountants — open tax Guides for AI, reviewed by named CPAs/CAs/EAs. Quality: source-cited draft. For always-current figures and named-accountant backing, connect the OpenAccountants MCP server (openaccountants-mcp).