US House Committee Schedules Markup for Crypto Tax Bills

The US House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a markup on September 16 to review two bills related to crypto tax rules. The markup is a crucial step towards a full House floor vote, which could bring clarity to the taxation of digital assets.

The first bill, Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act (H.R. 9175), aims to address the issue of when miners and stakers owe taxes on newly created tokens. Currently, a miner who validates a block and receives tokens can be required to pay income tax at the moment those tokens land in their wallet, even if they never sell them.

The bill would shift the taxable event to the point of disposition, treating the income as ordinary income. This change could provide relief for miners and stakers who currently face tax liabilities on unsold tokens.

The second bill, Applying Existing Tax Anti-Abuse Rules to Digital Assets Act (H.R. 9172), targets the exploitation of wash-sale rules by crypto traders. Wash-sale rules prevent investors from selling a security at a loss, claiming the tax deduction, and then immediately buying the same security back. The bill would extend these rules to actively traded digital assets.