House Ways and Means Clears Crypto Tax Overhaul, a Day After Senate CLARITY Act Stalls

The House Ways and Means Committee voted Tuesday to advance a sweeping crypto tax measure, sending it to the next stage of consideration in the House. The panel approved the bill by a 385 vote, one day after a separate market-structure proposal failed to clear a key procedural hurdle in the Senate. The legislation, designated H.R. 10357, would establish the first federal tax framework tailored specifically to digital assets by rewriting portions of the Internal Revenue Code that apply to crypto transactions. Committee leaders described the vote as a major step after more than a year of negotiations that drew support from both Republicans and Democrats. Among its provisions, the bill creates a de minimis exemption for small network and transaction fees. Under the rule, payments under $10 would not trigger gain or loss recognition. The measure also aims to streamline accounting for widely traded digital assets and introduces special tax treatment for qualifying dollar-pegged stablecoin transactions. The proposal largely preserves current tax concepts for digital assets. Wash sale and constructive sale rules would remain, and mining and staking income would continue to be taxed under existing treatment. The text also includes new broker reporting requirements for digital-asset transactions and sets up a voluntary disclosure program that would allow eligible taxpayers to address prior compliance issues. Democrats and Republicans on the committee characterized the package as a balanced approach that pairs targeted relief with ongoing oversight of digital-asset markets. The House action comes against the backdrop of renewed Senate gridlock on crypto policy. On Monday, the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, a market-structure bill that drew 49 votes, short of the 60 needed for cloture. The vote blocked debate rather than definitively ending the bill, and Senator Thom Tillis moved from yes to no after it became clear the measure would fall short—a shift that keeps open the option for a senator on the prevailing side to seek reconsideration of cloture. With the tax bill now moving in the House and the CLARITY Act awaiting next steps in the Senate, attention is turning to whether Senate leaders will revisit the market-structure vote.