Small Crypto Payments Mean 'Zero Tax'... U.S. Digital-Asset Tax Bill Clears Committee [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] A bill establishing the tax system for the U.S. digital-asset market has cleared its first hurdle. Attention is focused on whether it will also affect South Korea's digital-asset tax regulations. According to the digital-asset industry on the 18th, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee approved the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act on the 16th local time and sent it to the full House.
The bill would reduce the burden of calculating taxes on small fees incurred during digital-asset transactions. In the United States, digital assets are currently treated as property. As a result, paying network or transaction fees with tokens is considered a disposal of digital assets, requiring gains and losses to be calculated each time.
If enacted, network and transaction fees of $10 or less, or approximately 14,000 won, that meet the requirements would be excluded from gains-and-loss calculations. The measure would take effect in 2028.
The bill would also revise the tax rules for stablecoins, mining and staking. Tax calculations would be simplified for stablecoins that meet certain conditions and trade near their dollar redemption value. Rewards earned through mining and staking would be classified as ordinary income.
Wash-sale rules would also apply to digital assets. Under the provision, if an investor sells a digital asset at a loss and buys back a substantially identical asset within 30 days before or after the sale, the loss could not be used immediately as a tax deduction. A wash sale involves selling an asset at a loss to claim a tax deduction and then buying the same asset back.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith said, "It will help improve the clarity, fairness and effectiveness of digital-asset taxation and ensure that the United States remains a hub for digital assets."
The bill cleared the committee just one day after the CLARITY Act was rejected in a procedural vote in the Senate. However, several steps remain before it can become law. The House and Senate must each pass identical versions of the bill, after which it must be signed by the president.
[email protected] Han Young-jun Reporter