This article was written by our partner Waltio, the #1 tax assistant for cryptocurrencies in France.
The taxation of cryptocurrencies in France is a complex subject. Created in 2019 through Article 150 VH bis of the General Tax Code, the tax regime for capital gains on digital assets is still unknown to French tax residents.
At Waltio, the taxation of cryptocurrencies holds no secrets for us. Since 2019, we have been assisting nearly 50,000 digital asset owners with their tax returns. So let's take a tour together of this often misunderstood topic.
What are the crypto tax obligations in France?
There are two tax obligations in France according to Article 150 VH bis of the General Tax Code.
1 - Declare your accounts held, opened, or closed abroad
The first tax obligation requires you to declare your accounts held, opened, or closed abroad, and this, every year. The accounts to be declared are only the accounts operating abroad in which you are not the direct manager of the funds (non-custodial).
These accounts are to be declared in the 3916-bis form on your online declaration space.
In fact, you will not have to declare your Bitstack account (French platform) but neither will your non-heuristic portfolio (e.g.: Green Wallet or Blue Wallet), because you are your own fund manager on these platforms.
However, not having to declare these accounts does not mean that you do not have to declare the taxable transfers made.
2 - Declare your taxable crypto transfers
The second obligation is to declare its taxable transfers in the 2086 form. What makes the tax system on digital assets complex is that you will have to calculate the capital gain or loss realized on each of your taxable transactions. To do this, you will have to do it through the following formula:
Sale price - (Total net acquisition price x Sale price / Total value of the portfolio before the sale)
You will therefore need to value your entire crypto portfolio before the sale to calculate the capital gain or loss (on all your accounts, platforms, wallets and blockchains). This work can be time-consuming, or even impossible to do alone if you have several hundred or thousands of transactions.
To help you value your overall portfolio, calculate your capital gains and losses and report your accounts correctly, Waltio is here for you.
The software automatically calculates your capital gains and losses and produces your tax documents.
Important: the total sum of your taxable sales beyond 305 € will be subject to the flat tax at a percentage of 30%.
What are the taxable events?
As seen previously, you must declare your taxable crypto transactions. But what is a taxable transaction under the French tax system? In fact, it is quite simple...
There are two taxable events:
The transfer of cryptocurrency against a state monetary currency (euro, dollar, yen..)
The exchange of cryptocurrency for a good or service.
Specifically, if you exchange BTC for euro, or pay for your baguette in cryptocurrency, you will be taxable.
If as a Bitstack user you are only saving, you will only be taxed on your capital gains when you withdraw your euro funds. Euro -> crypto and crypto -> crypto operations are not taxable.
Finally, there are particularities for the taxation of different types of crypto transactions: NFT, staking, lending, play to earn, etc... To know more about the taxation of these transactions here is a complete article on the subject.
When to declare my cryptocurrencies?
The tax declaration of your cryptocurrencies is done at the same time as your tax return.
This year, the online tax return space will open on April 13. As for the closing dates, they change depending on your department of residence:
May 25, 2023, for departments from 01 to 19.
June 1st 2023, for departments from 20 to 54.
June 08, 2023, for the departments from 54 to 976.
As for the paper declaration, the closing date will be May 22, 2023.
How to declare my capital gains with Bitstack via Waltio?
To declare your capital gains from Bitstack with peace of mind, go to your app. Tap on Account > Documents > Tax declaration > I declare with Waltio.
You will receive by email a history file with all your transactions. All you have to do is create an account on Waltio and upload your file. Don't forget to enter the code "BITSTACK" during the payment to get a 10% discount.