House lawmakers unveil crypto tax bill with $10 fee exemption ahead of markup

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) dropped a 114-page crypto tax bill on September 14, and it touches nearly every corner of digital asset taxation. The Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, filed as H.R. 10357, proposes a $10 exemption for blockchain transaction fees, codifies wash-sale rules for crypto, and settles the long-running debate over how mining and staking rewards should be taxed.

The committee plans to mark up the bill on September 16, alongside other tax measures.

What the bill actually does

The headline number is $10. Under the proposed legislation, blockchain network and transaction fees below that threshold wouldn’t trigger a taxable event. There’s a catch, though. The exemption doesn’t apply to users who have executed more than 5,000 transfers in the prior year.

On stablecoins, the bill draws a clear line. Qualified US dollar stablecoins receive special treatment throughout the legislation, including exclusion from wash-sale and constructive-sale rules.

The wash-sale provisions would close the loophole that allowed traders to sell at a loss, immediately repurchase, and claim the tax deduction, bringing crypto in line with traditional securities.

Mining and staking rewards would be classified as ordinary income upon receipt. Notably, an earlier proposal that would have allowed miners and stakers to defer taxation on unique tokens was stripped from the final text. Its removal means validators face tax liability the moment rewards hit their wallets, regardless of whether they’ve sold anything.

The bill also establishes a framework for digital asset lending. Loans involving crypto as collateral would not trigger taxable events under the proposed rules.

Simplified accounting rules round out the package, with specific provisions for widely traded digital assets.

How we got here

The bill reflects multiple hearings and prior discussion drafts that have circulated through the Ways and Means Committee, including a dedicated hearing held on June 9, 2026. A series of narrower proposals were introduced in June, focusing on specific concerns such as wash-sale applicability and charitable donation appraisal relief. Bipartisan negotiations shaped the final text.

With the November elections approaching and the House’s legislative calendar shrinking, industry observers have flagged the possibility that H.R. 10357 may not make it to a full floor vote before the session ends.

What this means for crypto holders and the market

For everyday crypto users, the $10 fee exemption removes the tax reporting obligation for sub-$10 fees. The exemption excludes users with over 5,000 transfers in the prior year, keeping relief targeted at retail participants.

The wash-sale rule extension would eliminate tax-loss harvesting strategies in crypto, where investors sell depressed assets to realize losses and immediately buy back in. This activity typically spikes around year-end.

The staking and mining provisions require miners and stakers to track the fair market value of every reward at the exact moment it’s received. The removal of the deferral election for unique tokens makes this framework more rigid than earlier drafts proposed.

For DeFi, the lending provisions provide statutory clarity on whether depositing assets into a lending protocol constitutes a taxable event, replacing the current absence of explicit guidance.

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