How to Report Crypto Taxes in France

France taxes cryptocurrency under a specific regime introduced by the 2019 Finance Act (Article 150 VH bis of the Code Général des Impôts). Crypto disposals by individuals (occasional activity) are subject to either the Prélèvement Forfaitaire Unique (PFU, flat tax) of 30% or, by election, the progressive income tax scale plus social contributions. Importantly, France only taxes "cashing out" events — selling crypto for fiat currency or using crypto to purchase goods or services. Crypto-to-crypto exchanges (e.g., swapping BTC for ETH) are not taxable events under the current French regime, which is a significant advantage compared to many other countries.

The PFU consists of 12.8% income tax plus 17.2% social contributions (prélèvements sociaux), totaling 30%. This applies to net capital gains from crypto disposals during the tax year. The calculation uses a unique proportional formula: the taxable gain for each disposal is the sale proceeds minus (sale proceeds × total acquisition cost of entire portfolio / total portfolio value at time of sale). This "proportional" method means your gain is calculated based on the ratio of your total acquisition cost to total portfolio value at the time of each sale, not on a per-transaction FIFO basis.

You can opt for the barème progressif (progressive income tax scale) instead of the flat tax. The progressive rates are: 0% up to €11,294, 11% from €11,294 to €28,797, 30% from €28,797 to €82,341, 41% from €82,341 to €177,106, and 45% above €177,106. Social contributions of 17.2% are added on top. This option may be beneficial if your marginal tax rate is below 12.8%. You must elect this option when filing and it applies to all your investment income for the year, not just crypto.

France uses a unique proportional calculation method that considers your entire crypto portfolio. For each taxable disposal, the gain is calculated as: disposal proceeds minus (disposal proceeds multiplied by the ratio of your total portfolio acquisition cost to the total portfolio fair market value at the time of disposal). This means you need to know the total amount you have ever invested in crypto, the total fair market value of your entire portfolio at the moment of each sale, and the proceeds from the sale. This method can be complex to calculate manually, especially if you trade frequently.

French residents must declare all foreign crypto accounts (exchange accounts, wallets on foreign platforms) on Cerfa 3916-bis annually, regardless of the account balance. Failure to declare a foreign crypto account can result in penalties of €750 per undeclared account (or €1,500 if the account value exceeds €50,000). This applies to accounts on exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and any platform based outside France. French exchanges registered as PSAN (Prestataire de Services sur Actifs Numériques) do not need to be declared.

Staking rewards are taxable as BNC income (non-commercial profits) when received. Mining income from occasional mining is treated as BNC. DeFi lending interest and yield farming rewards are similarly treated as income. Since crypto-to-crypto exchanges are not taxable events for occasional traders, many DeFi activities (like token swaps on DEXs) may not trigger taxation until you convert to fiat. However, providing liquidity and receiving LP tokens is an evolving area, and treatment depends on the specific protocol.

Capital gains from crypto disposals are reported on Cerfa 2086 (Déclaration des plus-values de cession d'actifs numériques). This form requires detailed information about each taxable disposal. The totals from Cerfa 2086 flow to your annual income tax return (declaration 2042). The filing deadline is typically in May or June of the following year. You must also complete Cerfa 3916-bis for foreign account declarations.

Taxxy implements the French proportional portfolio valuation method, calculating the total acquisition cost and total portfolio value at each disposal point. The platform correctly identifies which events are taxable (crypto-to-fiat) and which are not (crypto-to-crypto). All values are converted to EUR using historical exchange rates. Taxxy generates completed Cerfa 2086 forms with each disposal properly documented, and provides a summary for your Cerfa 2042 annual declaration.