The House Ways and Means Committee advanced the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) in a 38-5 bipartisan vote on September 16, clearing the first federal framework for digital asset taxation a day after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act in a 49-50 cloture vote.
The markup followed the panel’s release of the 114-page measure late Monday. The bill, shepherded by Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), would exempt network and transaction fees of $10 or less from gain-or-loss reporting, a change designed to stop small everyday crypto payments from triggering a tax accounting burden. “This wasn’t built overnight,” Smith said after the vote, describing legislation that “brings clarity, parity, and workability to digital asset taxation.”
What the bill would change
The most visible piece for holders is a de minimis exemption for fees of $10 or less, starting in 2028. The measure would also simplify how dollar-backed stablecoins trading near their redemption value are taxed, classify mining and staking rewards as ordinary income, and let certain investment trusts stake assets without losing their tax status.
It would extend wash-sale rules to digital assets, delaying loss deductions when an investor buys substantially identical assets within 30 days of a sale. Qualifying crypto loans would not be treated as sales, and a disclosure program would let eligible taxpayers correct past returns, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. Lawmakers dropped an earlier proposal that would have let taxpayers defer recognition of some mining and staking rewards.
A divided committee, a compressed calendar
Support crossed party lines but was not unanimous. Nevada Democrat Steven Horsford endorsed the stablecoin and fee provisions, while Texas Democrat Lloyd Doggett accused the panel of “hastening to grant privileges to this sector.”
The bill now heads to the full House with roughly five weeks of session remaining before the new Congress convenes in January. It still needs passage in both chambers and the president’s signature to become law.
The vote landed a day after both market regulators pledged to act under their existing authority. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency “will act decisively within the SEC’s statutory authority,” while CFTC Chair Michael Selig said his agency is “locked in and ready to ship its rules.”
