U.S. House's tax committee advances crypto tax bill in wake of Clarity Act loss

Its movement comes at a late stage in the congressional session, leaving it little time for further action from lawmakers unless it can draw attention during the brief period of roughly five weeks of congressional work scheduled between the November elections and the start of the next session in January. But establishing some legislative momentum on the bill now may help smooth the way for future efforts with the same aim.

Apart from the industry's primary focus on getting a market structure bill set into law, which failed a key Senate vote on Tuesday, establishing a crypto tax law has been another major priority.

The small-transactions threshold is set at $10 in this legislation — significantly lower than some of the previous efforts at tax bills, but an idea seen as necessary to make digital assets more practical to use in payments. Committee Chairman Jason Smith noted that without it, buying a cup of coffee "triggers an absurd maze of compliance."

"We are establishing basic tax rules for digital assets," said Representative Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat who has been pushing such tax policy over the past year. "For everyday transactions, the package provides specific treatment for qualifying dollar stablecoins and small network and transaction fees."