The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee is preparing to mark up two crypto tax bills on September 16, with the newly released H.R. 10357 setting out a broad framework for digital asset transactions but leaving out a key provision sought by miners and stakers. The package covers mining and staking income, transaction fees, stablecoins, wash sales, digital asset lending, broker reporting and voluntary tax disclosures.
Under the bill, income from digital asset validation activities — including staking, mining and similar work — would be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gains. That approach mirrors current IRS practice, which lawmakers and industry groups have criticized for potentially taxing staking rewards twice: once when received and again at sale. The bill would also establish sourcing rules, treating validation income as U.S.-sourced for U.S. residents and foreign-sourced for nonresidents. It does not include a general deferral mechanism, unlike the separate H.R. 9175 Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act introduced by Representative Mike Carey, which would let taxpayers delay recognizing income until they sell the tokens. That competing deferral approach may not survive the markup process intact.
Broader provisions include a $10 de minimis exception for network and transaction fees, applying to dispositions after December 31, 2027, but unavailable to taxpayers with more than 5,000 digital asset transfers in the prior year, as well as traders, brokers and dealers. The bill would also fold traded digital assets into existing wash sale rules, excluding qualified U.S. dollar stablecoins. For traders, the wash sale expansion may restrict how losses are used to offset crypto gains. Additional sections address digital asset lending, charitable contributions, stablecoin transactions, traders and dealers, broker requirements and a Digital Asset Voluntary Disclosure Program. Earlier tax work already restored 100% bonus depreciation for mining equipment acquired after January 19, 2025.
The legislation advances amid fading momentum for the broader CLARITY Act. Polymarket traders now put the odds of that market-structure bill becoming law in 2026 at roughly 18%, down from a spike near 30%. A bipartisan group of 18 attorneys general, led by New York’s Letitia James, urged the Senate on September 14 to reject the CLARITY Act, arguing its wording could weaken state crypto fraud enforcement.
