How to Declare Crypto in France Without an Accountant

Most French occasional crypto investors do not need an expert-comptable — they need the right order of operations on impots.gouv.fr. The forms are few; the traps are procedural (the €305 test, where Form 2086 hides online, and that 3916-bis is independent). This is the step-by-step for 2026, and the honest line for when to stop self-filing.

TL;DR

• Apply the €305 test first: total annual disposals ≤ €305 → no 2086 computation (but still file 3916-bis).
• Form 2086 (Cerfa 16043) is at the online step 3, "Déclarations annexes" — only if disposals > €305.
• Carry the net to Form 2042 C — line 3AN (gains) / 3BN (losses).
• One Form 3916-bis per foreign exchange account — independent of disposals and of the €305 test.
• Stop self-filing if: high volume (BNC risk), heavy DeFi/staking, prior unreported years, or exit/residency questions.

Step 0: decide if self-filing fits you

Self-filing is appropriate for the straightforward occasional investor: buy-and-hold with some disposals, a few exchanges, no automation, no significant staking/DeFi complexity. It is not appropriate if any professional/BNC indicator applies (see occasional vs habitual trader), if you have substantial reward income (BNC at receipt — see BNC vs PFU), prior unreported years, or an exit-tax/residency question. Be honest at step 0; everything below assumes you cleared it.

Step 1: reconstruct the year's history

Before the online service opens (9 April 2026 — see France filing deadlines), reconstruct every transaction across all wallets and exchanges. You need, per taxable disposal: the date, the disposal price (prix de cession), the total acquisition price of the whole portfolio (prix total d'acquisition), and the global portfolio value at that moment (valeur globale du portefeuille) — the inputs the 150 VH bis method needs (see crypto capital gains calculation).

Step 2: apply the €305 test

Sum all taxable disposals for the year (proceeds, not gains; crypto-to-crypto excluded — it is not a taxable disposal for occasional investors):

• ≤ €305 → exempt. Skip the 2086 gain computation. Go to Step 4 (3916-bis).
• > €305 → all disposals taxable. Continue to Step 3. (See the France €305 exemption.)

Step 3: complete Form 2086 online

In the online return on impots.gouv.fr, at step 3, click "Déclarations annexes" and select Form 2086 (Cerfa 16043). For each taxable disposal, enter the date, disposal price, total acquisition price of the portfolio, and global portfolio value. The form applies the 150 VH bis proportional formula and computes the per-disposal gain/loss; it nets the year automatically.

The net result then carries to Form 2042 C:

• Net gain → line 3AN (taxed at PFU 31.4% in 2026, or barème by option — see PFU vs barème).
• Net loss → line 3BN (recorded; not carried forward under the mainstream PFU rule — see France crypto loss treatment).

Step 4: file Form 3916-bis (always, if you have a foreign account)

Independently of everything above, file one Form 3916-bis per foreign exchange account held, used, or closed during the year — Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, etc. There is no threshold and it is due even if you sold nothing and even if disposals were under €305. Self-custody wallets (MetaMask, Ledger) are excluded. Full detail in Cerfa 3916-bis.

This is the single most common self-filer omission: people who correctly skip 2086 (under €305) wrongly think they have nothing to file, and miss the 3916-bis — which carries a €750/€1,500-per-account penalty regardless.

Step 5: submit before your zone deadline

Submit the complete return (2042 + 2086 if applicable + 3916-bis) before your département-zone deadline (21 May / 28 May / 4 June 2026; paper 19 May). Then reconcile your declared figures against any DAC8-reported data (see DAC8 impact on individuals) — from 2026 the DGFiP receives CASP data, so a clean self-filing should match it.

The self-filer's checklist

1. Confirm you are genuinely occasional (Step 0).
2. Reconstruct full history before 9 April.
3. €305 test: ≤ €305 → skip 2086; > €305 → compute all.
4. Form 2086 at "Déclarations annexes" (step 3); net → 2042 C 3AN/3BN.
5. One 3916-bis per foreign account — always, no threshold.
6. Submit before your zone deadline; reconcile vs DAC8.

How vendor tools help the self-filer

Waltio (French-specialised) and Koinly reconstruct history and produce a 2086-ready summary you transcribe into the online annexe. Confirm the tool uses the 150 VH bis method (not FIFO) and the 2026 PFU 31.4%, and that it lists foreign accounts so you do not miss a 3916-bis. The tool does the arithmetic; the procedural discipline (€305 test, where 2086 lives, 3916-bis independence, deadline) is the self-filer's.

How Wag3s helps

Wag3s Folio reconstructs the multi-chain history, applies the €305 test and the 150 VH bis method with the 2026 PFU, and lists every foreign account so the 3916-bis is never missed — producing the figures a self-filer transcribes into impots.gouv.fr, reconciled against DAC8-reported activity. See the Folio product page.

Further reading

• France Crypto Tax Guide 2026
• Cerfa 2086 Explained
• The France €305 Exemption
• Cerfa 3916-bis — Foreign Crypto Accounts
• France Crypto Tax Filing Deadlines 2026
• Occasional vs Habitual Trader (France)

Sources

• impots.gouv.fr — online income return flow; Form 2086 at the "Déclarations annexes" step
• Form 2086 (Cerfa 16043; 2026 campaign millésime 16043*07) — déclaration des plus ou moins-values de cessions d'actifs numériques — impots.gouv.fr
• Article 150 VH bis CGI — Légifrance
• Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) — EUR-Lex