The House Ways and Means Committee is circulating seven separate crypto tax bills ahead of a June 9 hearing, the first serious move by the tax-writing panel to rewrite how the IRS treats digital assets. The drafts target the industry’s longest-standing tax complaints, including levies on small payments, the double taxation of mining and staking rewards, and the absence of wash sale rules for tokens. The committee will discuss the proposals at a full-committee hearing scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 9.
Staking is the process of locking up cryptocurrency to help secure a blockchain network in exchange for newly issued token rewards. Under current IRS guidance, those rewards are taxed as income the moment they are received, then taxed again as a capital gain when sold, a structure the industry calls double taxation.
Key takeaways
- The House Ways and Means Committee is circulating seven crypto tax discussion drafts ahead of a June 9 hearing.
- Proposals cover de minimis transactions, stablecoin payments, network fees, mining, staking, wash sale rules, and charitable donations.
- One draft would let miners and validators defer tax until they sell their rewards, ending double taxation.
- Chairman Jason Smith split the effort into seven narrow bills rather than one omnibus to make coalition-building easier.
Published: June 7, 2026, 16:00 UTC
What the seven bills would change
Each draft addresses one narrow piece of digital asset tax treatment rather than bundling everything together. The proposals include eliminating tax on certain small, or “de minimis,” transactions, stablecoin activity, and network fees; setting rules for assets acquired through mining; aligning digital assets with the existing tax treatment of securities; applying wash sale rules to crypto; and removing an appraisal requirement for digital asset donations to charity.
A wash sale rule blocks investors from claiming a tax loss when they sell an asset and buy it back within 30 days. Stocks already fall under this rule, but crypto does not, which has let traders harvest losses more aggressively than equity investors can. One of the drafts would close that gap.
The mining and staking measure is the centerpiece for many in the industry. It would let validators and miners defer income until they actually sell their rewards, removing the current requirement to pay tax at the moment tokens are received. That single change would resolve a tax position the industry has fought over for years.
Why the committee split the effort into seven bills
Chairman Jason Smith’s decision to advance seven discussion drafts instead of one large package is a tactical choice. Breaking the issues apart makes it easier to assemble coalitions around individual provisions. A lawmaker who opposes the wash sale change could still back de minimis relief without rejecting the entire bill.
The structure also lets the committee attach individual provisions to other legislation later in the year. The arrival of bipartisan crypto tax efforts comes late in the congressional session, but several must-pass bills remain on the calendar that could carry tax items as riders.
Cody Carbone, chief executive of the Digital Chamber, welcomed the hearing as a chance “to refine these proposals and keep the bipartisan tax effort moving forward.” His group said it would work with the committee “to strengthen the drafts and deliver the tax clarity and fairness digital assets deserve.”
What it means for the industry and what comes next
For everyday users, de minimis relief would remove the need to track and report a taxable gain every time crypto is spent on small purchases, a friction point that has discouraged using tokens as payment. For miners and validators, deferring tax until sale would ease cash-flow strain caused by owing tax on rewards they have not converted to dollars.
The tax push runs parallel to the SEC’s move to make digital assets a strategic priority and the broader fight over market-structure legislation. Industry lobbyists have long said tax policy was next in line behind the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the market-structure bill still grinding through the Senate. The shift toward bank-issued tokenized products, including a shared tokenized deposit network from major US banks, adds pressure to settle how on-chain transactions are taxed.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, the Wyoming Republican who leads a Senate Banking digital assets subcommittee, has tried and failed several times to advance similar ideas, including an attempt to attach them to last year’s budget package. The June 9 hearing is the first time the House tax committee itself has taken up the question, which gives the effort more institutional weight than past stand-alone bills. No vote is scheduled yet; the hearing is a starting point for negotiating which provisions can attract bipartisan support.
Frequently asked questions
What is the de minimis crypto tax exemption?
It would exempt small crypto transactions from capital gains tax, so spending a token on a minor purchase would not trigger a reportable gain. Supporters say it would make crypto usable as everyday payment without constant tax tracking.
How are staking rewards taxed now?
Under current IRS guidance, staking rewards are taxed as ordinary income when received, then taxed again as a capital gain when sold. The proposed bill would let validators defer tax until they sell, removing the first layer of taxation.
When is the House crypto tax hearing?
The House Ways and Means Committee hearing is set for 2:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. It is a discussion hearing on seven draft bills, not a markup, so no vote on final legislation is scheduled.
