House Committee Advances Crypto Tax Bill Despite Clarity Act Setback

The House Ways and Means Committee approved a crypto tax reform bill on Wednesday, just a day after a separate industry-backed market structure bill collapsed in the Senate.

Committee Vote and Bill Details

Lawmakers voted 38-5 to advance the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act to the full House, showing broad bipartisan backing. The bill, introduced earlier this week, aims to clarify how small, everyday crypto transactions are taxed, a category known as “de minimis” transactions that currently create complicated accounting headaches. It also covers rules around income recognition, transfers, wash sales, mining, staking and broker requirements, with the goal of treating digital assets more like traditional financial assets.

The legislation sets the small transaction threshold at $10, lower than earlier proposals but seen as necessary to make crypto usable for everyday payments. Committee Chairman Jason Smith said that without such a threshold, something as simple as buying coffee with crypto creates unnecessary tax complications. Representative Steven Horsford added that the bill lays out specific treatment for qualifying stablecoins and small transaction fees.

Pushback Over Industry Influence

Not everyone backed the bill. Representative Lloyd Doggett criticized the committee for prioritizing crypto tax breaks while, in his view, ignoring broader taxpayer concerns, tying the effort to the industry’s political influence under President Trump. With limited legislative time left this session, the bill’s future now depends on momentum built during a short window after the November elections.