Easy
From how much should you declare your cryptos in France?
The brief answer is: in France, all cryptocurrency holders have an obligation to declare, regardless of the held sum or the level of earnings made. Contrary to what we often hear, there is no official threshold “from” which we declare his cryptos . In reality, several rules apply: you must declare your foreign exchange accounts as soon as they opened and postpone all your earnings, even below 305 euros. Under the 305 euros mark of annual added value, you are not taxed, but you must still enter these operations. Here's how it all works.
Table of contents
Why talk about "from how much to declare your cryptos" when this threshold does not exist?
At first glance, one might think that there is a minimum amount below which no declaration is necessary. This confusion comes from the fact that a threshold of 305 euros is planned in France: it is the level of added value from which your earnings become taxable on income tax. On the other hand, even when you stay below this figure, you must declare your earnings. In other words, there is no exception or complete exemption concerning the declarative obligation.
In addition, if you use a exchange platform , you must declare this account every year, whatever the sums or assets that pass it. This rule is found in article 1649 bis of the general tax code , which requires the declaration of accounts held abroad ( form 3916-Bis ).
The two components of the declaration for cryptocurrencies
To understand taxation in detail , it is necessary to distinguish:
- The declaration of all your cryptocurrency accounts held abroad.
- The declaration of your taxable capital gains (or losses) made during the year.
These two components are complementary. Even without ever having exceeded 305 euros in earnings, you still have to include the accounts concerned. This obligation is therefore much more extensive than the simple tax threshold.
From how much to declare his cryptos: the threshold of 305 euros: how does it work concretely?
According to article 150 VH bis of the general tax , you are liable for a capital gain tax if, in the same calendar year, the cumulative amount of your transfers of digital assets exceeds 305 euros. This rule regularly arouses questions. Here are the key points:
- If the total of your earnings is less than 305 euros, you are not taxed.
- If you cross this 305 euros threshold, your capital gains are subject to the entire tax (and not only the fraction which exceeds 305 euros).
However, fiscal neutrality below 305 euros does not practice declaring the account or transaction. In any case, you must mention the capital gains made (even if you stay below the threshold). Clearly, the threshold of 305 euros is a tax threshold , not a declaration threshold.
From how much to declare his cryptos: how to declare his cryptos in France, the legislative framework
The legislative framework is based on several texts. The 2019 finance law has clarified that capital gains on digital assets (such as Bitcoin, Ether, etc.) are part of the individual regime, provided that the activity is not carried out on a professional basis.
If you act as a professional (usual trader, minor on a large scale, person living only on their transfer profits), you depend on other provisions (the non -commercial profits regime, BNC, since 2023). For a particular investor, we distinguish:
- The general scheme : calculation and declaration of capital gains on occasional activity.
- The BNC regime for minors, professional traders or assimilated activity holders.
The obligation to declare your accounts abroad (form 3916-bis)
Any crypto exchange platform based outside France must appear in your income declaration via the 3916-Bis form . This applies to services such as Binance (whose head office is outside France) or Coinbase (in the United States).
The breach of this obligation can lead to significant financial sanctions from the tax administration. Even if you have not carried out any transaction during the year, the simple detention of a foreign account makes you liable to this obligation.
Important points concerning the declaration of foreign accounts
- To be completed each year, at the same time as the income declaration.
- A 3916-BIS form by foreign account (or foreign platform), minimum detailing the opening date and the nature of the account.
- The subscription is done online or via a paper form. Generally, remote control is privileged.
Its from how much to declare its cryptos: how to declare the capital gains (or losses), the 2086 form
In addition to the declaration of the accounts, you must mention your capital gains on digital assets in the income declaration. To do this, you use the 2086 annex sheet , where you detail:
- The overall value of your digital asset portfolio before transfer.
- The total acquisition price of your cryptocurrencies.
- The amount of each taxable transaction (generally is the transfer against a Fiat, Euro or Dollar currency).
- The final calculation of the capital gain or the capital gain.
The principle is as follows: as soon as you sell a digital active ingredient against the euro (or any other currency with legal courses) or you buy a good or a crypto service, you must assess the added value . French law has introduced a specific calculation, taking into account the overall value of the entire portfolio.
If the total of your taxable transfers remains under 305 euros in net capital gains, you are not subject to tax, but you must still complete the declaration to report these operations.
Specificities of the calculation of the capital gain in cryptocurrencies
The formula takes into account the entire portfolio before each sale, in order to determine the fraction of added value concerned.
- This calculation can be complex if you have made multiple transactions.
- Software specialized in Crypto allows you to determine your annual gain. The main ones are Waltio , Koinly and Cryptotaxcalculator .
From how much to declare his cryptos: the tax regime below and above 305 euros in capital gain
First of all, declaring your cryptos is compulsory whether or not you exceed the 305 euros threshold. If you stay below, you don't pay tax on these earnings, but you must still enter your situation.
Beyond 305 euros, capital gains enter the tax field. Since 2019, the single lump sum (PFU), also nicknamed the flat tax, applies:
- 12.8 % income tax
- 17.2 % of social security contributions
A total of 30 %. This flat tax may seem high, but it has the advantage of simplicity and a single rate. However, for gains collected from January 1 , 2023, you can also opt for the progressive scale if this is more advantageous (marginal lower tax rate, or low overall income).
Distinction between taxation and simple obligation to declare
To use the guiding idea, the question " from how much to declare his cryptos " is misleading: in reality, the declaration is universal, and the threshold of 305 euros only concerns taxation to tax, not the obligation to fulfill the required documents.
From how much to declare his cryptos: What about French accounts and non -custom portfolios?
So far, we have insisted on the declaration of accounts abroad. What if you use a French platform?
In these situations:
- You are not required to declare a "account" in France, because the 3916-Bis form only applies to accounts outside the national territory. Certain French cryptocurrency exchange platforms exist, however they often present higher costs and a more limited choice of cryptocurrencies.
- However, the declaration of capital gains made remains essential. Even if you store your cryptos on a non -custom Wallet, any transfer generating a gain in euros must be postponed in form 2086 during the income tax return.
Special case: purchases between cryptos and stablecoins
According to current rules, the exchange of a crypto to another crypto (for example an Ethereum swap against Bitcoin, or a passage of tokens to stablecoin s USDT ) is not considered as a generating tax in France. You only trigger taxation when you go out to a fiduciary currency or buy a good or service (which is equivalent to an exit from the crypto universe).
However, the details of the final calculation on the global added value can be impacted by this type of transactions, because the overall value of your fluctuated portfolio and must be known at the time of a taxable sale.
From how much to declare his cryptos: the different categories of income related to cryptocurrencies
For private investors, we are talking about capital gains . But some people have other sources of income related to digital assets:
- Mining or stuking : These gains are assimilated to "non -commercial benefits" (BNC), taxable as soon as they are perception. They are not subject to the same calculation formula as the simple added value of purchasing-revence.
- Professional trading : If you trade in a usual way, the administration can requalify you as a professional. You will then fall under the BNC diet (or sometimes BIC before the finance law 2022), with stricter accounting rules.
- Play-to-Earn or DeFi : Each type of income must be analyzed to determine the appropriate tax category. For example, if you receive tokens as a reward for a DeFi protocol , you can be imposed upon the allocation in BNC, or resale, depending on the case.
What is happening in case of value-value
For an individual, the losses can be in charge of the capital gains of the current year but are not reportable in the following years. In other words, if you end the year with a negative balance, you cannot postpone this loss over the next year.
It is therefore useful to regularly monitor your calculations so as not to discover too late a deficit that you would have liked to charge on a future gain.
Possible sanctions in the event of non-declaration
If you omit to declare your accounts or capital gains, you expose yourself to:
- Fines (often around € 750 to € 1,500 per unsuccessful account, which can climb in certain circumstances) .
- A reconstruction of your income by the tax administration, leading to a possible recovery.
- Delay interest if you have underestimated or omitted gains.
The public treasury has increasingly efficient means, in particular thanks to automatic information exchange agreements, to detect unconcluded accounts.
Should you declare if you have not made any gain or if you keep your cryptos?
If you do not make any assignment during the year, you have no added value to postpone the declaration. However, if you still have cryptocurrencies on a foreign platform, the 3916-Bis form remains compulsory.
Long -term “buy and hold” case
For the investor who only store cryptocurrencies without reselling them, there is no gain to declare for the calculation of income tax. The capital gains are said to be "latent". However, you have an obligation to declare the holding of an account if the platform is foreign.
From how much to declare his cryptos: the key elements to remember on the Crypto declaration
To answer the question " from how much to declare his cryptos ", remember that there is no amount allowing to escape the declarative obligation. The essential points are:
- The 305 euros threshold applies only to income taxation. Below this threshold, your earnings are not taxed, but you must register them on the 2086 form.
- All accounts abroad must be declared, regardless of your gains or losses (form 3916-Bis).
- You can choose between the flat tax (30 %) and the progressive scale (if more advantageous) for the gains made from 2023.
- Values are only attributable over the current year . There is no possible postponement over future years.
- Form 2086 is compulsory to declare your capital gains or losses of sale.
The different concrete cases
It is sometimes easier to understand the specifics through concrete examples. Here are some:
- Example A : You buy € 200 Bitcoin, then sell it 250 € a few weeks later, achieving 50 € of added value. You are below the 305 € threshold. You are not imposed, but you must inform this sale.
- Example B : During the year, you carry out several operations: a gain of € 200, then another of € 150. You total € 350 of added value, therefore exceeding the threshold of € 305. You become taxable on all € 350, or € 350 × 30 % = € 105 tax, unless you opt for the progressive scale and it is more favorable.
- Example C Binance account and a Kraken , both based abroad. Even if you only made a loss this year, you must declare the existence of these two accounts via the 3916-Bis form.
From how much to declare his cryptos: the prospects for optimizing Crypto taxation
As an investor, you can consider strategies to optimize taxation. donation mechanism : you can give cryptocurrencies to a loved one and the cryptos tax will be calculated according to the value at the time of the donation. This technique, supervised by the law of inheritance and donations, can sometimes reduce taxation if the person who receives the donation later claims the assets.
However, these strategies require perfect knowledge of legal rules and donation abatements. It is often necessary to rely on legal advice.
Progressive scale or flat tax: how to choose?
Before 2023, capital gains from digital assets were systematically falling from flat tax. Now you have the option of choosing the progressive income tax scale.
- If your marginal tax tranche is greater than 30 %, flat tax is generally more interesting.
- On the other hand, if you are in a lower edge, the progressive scale can reduce the tax burden, especially when your income outside crypto is modest.
It is therefore wise to make a rapid comparison. If in doubt, a tax simulator or a tax expert can guide you.
From how much to declare his cryptos: final summary
To conclude, the question: " How much to declare Crypto ?" »Hit in French legal reality: you must declare the amount of an amount . The 305 euros threshold corresponds to the entry into the taxation of taxation, and not to the declarative obligation.
The tax administration awaits two things:
- Whether you declare your digital asset accounts abroad.
- Whether you postpone all of your earnings, even if you are not imposed in the end.
This approach is often more complex than it seems, hence the need to organize well, especially if you multiply exchange platforms and trading operations.
Action points to remember
- Declare foreign accounts via form 3916-Bis without forgetting any Custodial Wallet outside France.
- Fill in form 2086 for disposal capital gains, even if you remain below the 305 € threshold.
- Compare the flat tax and the progressive scale to determine the diet most favorable to your situation.
- Consider being accompanied by an expert if you trade or if you practice mining or stuking regularly or at least Use automatic capital gains calculation software.
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Yohan Uzzan
Training engineer, I quickly became interested in the field of finance. Convinced that decentralized finance has a bright future ahead of it, I participate in its democratization by developing Crypternon.
