France cryptocurrency tax guide

What this guide covers

This guide covers France's tax year 2025 (income you declare in 2026) regime for occasional individual cryptocurrency disposals, based on article 150 VH bis of the Code général des impôts and its BOFIP administrative commentary. It doesn't cover habitual or professional trading, which France taxes as business income under a different regime. This is educational information, not individualized tax advice.

Tax treatment of cryptocurrency

Article 150 VH bis sets up a dedicated regime for occasional disposals of digital assets by individuals, separate from the ordinary securities flat-tax regime. A disposal is taxable when it's a "paid disposal" (cession à titre onéreux) of digital assets or related rights — made either directly or through an intermediary. One important carve-out: the statute explicitly excludes crypto-to-crypto swaps that involve no cash balance (échange sans soulte) from counting as a taxable disposal at all. Habitual or professional trading falls outside this regime entirely and is taxed as business income instead.

Common taxable events

• Selling crypto for euros (or another fiat currency) — a paid disposal under article 150 VH bis.
• Using crypto to pay for goods or services — treated as a disposal under the same regime.
• A crypto-to-crypto swap WITH a cash balance ('soulte') — the cash-balance portion is taxable; confirm the exact mechanics against the BOFIP commentary for mixed swaps.

Potentially non-taxable events

• A crypto-to-crypto swap with NO cash balance (échange sans soulte) — explicitly excluded from the taxable event by article 150 VH bis itself. Confirmed directly from the statutory text, resolving a genuine conflict flagged in this guide's prior version.
• Total disposals of €305 or less in a calendar year — exempt under the same article. This threshold applies to your gross sales total, not your net gain.
• Buying and holding crypto without disposing of it — not taxable.

Tax rates and thresholds

Your gain is taxed at a flat 12.8% income-tax rate under article 150 VH bis, plus social contributions (prélèvements sociaux) — commonly cited at 17.2%, combining to roughly 30% total for 2025 income. Secondary sources report a possible increase in the social-contributions component for 2026, to roughly 18.6%, which would bring the combined rate to about 31.4%. Those sources disagree on whether that increase applies retroactively to 2025 income you file in 2026. This guide doesn't resolve that dispute — confirm the exact applicable rate directly on impots.gouv.fr before filing. You can instead elect progressive income tax rates, through an express, irrevocable election (box 3CN on form 2042 C) that covers all your household's capital gains for that year. This is a separate election from the one for securities dividends and gains.

Cost basis and calculation

Your gain is calculated using a portfolio-wide average acquisition cost method, not a per-lot or FIFO method. Here's how it works, per the official form 2086 methodology: at the time of each sale, your total portfolio value is the sum of every digital asset and related right you hold at that moment, wherever it's held — exchanges (including foreign ones), personal wallets, offline storage. That total is then used to compute your taxable gain proportionally. This guide doesn't reproduce the full formula; consult the official 2086 notice directly for the exact calculation.

Reporting and compliance

• Individuals report gains on form 2086, filed alongside the main income tax return (declaration de revenus).
• The progressive-rate election is made via box 3CN on form 2042 C.
• Partnerships/companies disposing of crypto-assets use form 2087 instead; where the activity is commercial/industrial, the professional capital-gains regime applies to the entity rather than this individual regime.

Residency and cross-border issues

Your French tax residency — not where your exchange is located — generally governs whether your worldwide crypto gains fall within this regime. This guide doesn't cover non-resident-specific rules or double-taxation treaty interactions in depth.

Example

This example is hypothetical, for illustration only. Camille sells crypto during 2025 for total proceeds of €4,000, realizing a €1,200 gain via the portfolio-average method. Her total disposals exceed the €305 threshold, so the gain is taxable. Under the default 12.8%-plus-social-contributions regime, combined roughly 30% for 2025, she'd owe approximately €360 — unless she elects progressive taxation via box 3CN, an irrevocable choice covering all her capital gains that year. Had she instead swapped the same crypto for a different token with no cash received, article 150 VH bis wouldn't treat that swap as a taxable event at all.

Official resources

• Article 150 VH bis (BOFIP doctrine): https://bofip.impots.gouv.fr/doctrine/pgp/11967-PGP
• BOI-RPPM-PVBMC-30-30 (occasional disposals commentary): https://bofip.impots.gouv.fr/node/353598
• Impots.gouv.fr: https://www.impots.gouv.fr/

Limitations and review information

Tax year covered: 2025 (declared 2026). Last verified: October 10, 2026, against article 150 VH bis's actual text and its BOFIP commentary. Remaining gap: the BOFIP commentary found carries a 2024-04-23 publication end-date and may have been superseded by a newer version not located in this pass; the exact 2025-vs-2026 social-contributions rate is still disputed across secondary sources. This is educational information only, not individualized tax advice — confirm current specifics directly on impots.gouv.fr/BOFIP or with a French tax professional.