US Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Provide Tax Relief for Small Crypto Transactions

The legislation by a bipartisan group of House representatives would exempt realized crypto gains under $200.

By James Rubin

Feb 3, 2022 at 7:55 p.m. UTC

Updated Feb 3, 2022 at 8:23 p.m. UTC

U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) (Karen Ducey/Getty Images) — U.S. Representative Suzan DelBene (Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

James Rubin

James Rubin is CoinDesk's U.S. news editor based on the West Coast.

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A bipartisan group of U.S. House representatives has reintroduced a bill that would exempt consumers from paying taxes on crypto payments of less than $200.

The "Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act" – an amendment to the Internal Revenue Service's tax code announced on Thursday by Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) – would simplify tax burdens on daily crypto users who must now report even the smallest capital gains.
“Virtual currency has evolved rapidly in the past few years with more opportunities to use it in our everyday lives,” DelBene said in the announcement. “The U.S. must stay on top of these changes and ensure that our tax code evolves with our use of virtual currency.”
The lawmakers last introduced the legislation as the “The Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act of 2020” in January 2021. Consumers must now report changes in a cryptocurrency’s value in dollars from when they purchased the crypto to when it was used in a transaction, including even minor retail purchases.
If it becomes law, the legislation would retroactively apply to all qualifying transactions from Dec. 31, 2021.
Jerry Brito, executive director of the crypto think tank Coin Center, which has lobbied for the bill, said the legislation would "relieve users from having to keep track of small personal transactions ... Not only will this create a level playing field for digital currencies, it will also help unleash innovation on applications like micropayments, which can consist of dozens of transactions per minute and thus are difficult to square with the current law."
Emmer, Schweikert and Soto are co-chairs of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, along with Bill Foster (D-Ill.).

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