- The House Ways and Means Committee approved the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act by a 38-5 vote.
- The crypto tax bill would ease taxes on small crypto transactions and address rules for income transfers mining staking and brokers.
- The vote came less than 24 hours after the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed a key Senate vote.
The crypto tax bill moved ahead in the U.S. House less than a day after the industry’s market structure effort suffered a setback in the Senate. During a Wednesday markup hearing, the House Ways and Means Committee voted 38-5 to send the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act to the full House. The measure is aimed at clarifying tax treatment for digital assets and reducing compliance burdens tied to everyday crypto use. Lawmakers described the bill as a way to handle small routine transactions more clearly while also extending tax treatment used for other financial products to digital assets. Even so, some Democrats challenged the bill’s priority and linked industry support to President Donald Trump.
Crypto tax bill clears committee vote
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act in a 38-5 vote at a Wednesday markup hearing. That process allowed the panel to review the legislation, consider changes and decide whether to move it to the wider House of Representatives. The result showed broad bipartisan support even as the industry was still reacting to the failure of another major bill in the Senate.
The vote came less than 24 hours after the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed a key Senate vote on Tuesday. That earlier loss had hit what was described as the industry’s top legislative priority. Against that backdrop, the committee’s action on tax policy gave another crypto-related measure fresh momentum in the House.
What the bill would change
The legislation would seek to reduce tax burdens on small crypto transactions and make routine use of digital assets easier from a tax accounting standpoint. It focuses in part on so-called de minimis transactions, which are small everyday payments that currently create difficult reporting obligations for users.
The small-transactions threshold in this version of the bill is set at $10. Committee Chairman Jason Smith said that without such a rule, buying a cup of coffee can trigger what he called an absurd maze of compliance. Representative Steven Horsford said the package provides specific treatment for qualifying dollar stablecoins as well as small network and transaction fees.
Crypto tax bill scope and timing
Beyond small payments, the crypto tax bill also addresses how crypto income would be recognized for tax purposes. It covers transfers, wash sale rules, mining, staking and broker requirements. More broadly, the bill is intended to give digital assets similar tax treatment to other financial assets.
Its timing may limit what happens next in the current congressional session. The article notes that there is little time left for additional action unless the bill gains attention during roughly five weeks of scheduled congressional work between the November elections and the start of the next session in January. Still, moving the bill now could help future efforts aimed at the same policy goals.
Political pushback around the measure
Although the effort drew bipartisan backing, it also faced criticism from some Democrats. Opponents questioned why Congress should devote attention to the crypto industry while other taxpayer concerns remain unresolved. They also tied the issue to President Donald Trump, described in the article as one of the industry’s biggest benefactors.
Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas, a senior Democratic member of the committee, argued that the panel was moving too quickly to help the industry. Before the vote, he said no one had urged him to prioritize new tax breaks and loopholes for crypto, and he criticized the committee for responding to what he described as moneyed interests while overlooking the needs of ordinary Americans.
Conclusion
The crypto tax bill emerged from the House Ways and Means Committee with a 38-5 vote at a moment when broader crypto legislation had just suffered a Senate defeat. The Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act is designed to ease tax treatment for small transactions, address crypto income and extend existing financial asset rules to digital assets in areas such as transfers, wash sales, mining, staking and broker obligations. While the bill’s path this session appears narrow because of limited time on the congressional calendar, the committee vote gave the measure bipartisan backing and placed crypto tax policy back into focus after the loss of the market structure bill.
Disclaimer
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