How to Declare Crypto in France Without an Accountant

The narrow claim of this article is that a straightforward occasional investor does not need an expert-comptable to file French crypto taxes — what they need is the right order of operations on impots.gouv.fr. The forms are few. The traps are procedural: the €305 test, where Form 2086 hides inside the online return, and the fact that the 3916-bis foreign-account declaration runs independently of everything else. Where the underlying gain comes from is the 150 VH bis calculation; the form it lands on is the 2086; the pillar guide frames the rest. This is the 2026 walkthrough, plus the honest line on when to stop and call a cabinet.

What self-filing actually involves

• Apply the €305 test first: total annual disposals at or under €305 means no 2086 computation, but you still file the 3916-bis.
• Form 2086 (Cerfa 16043) sits at the online step 3, "Déclarations annexes", and only if disposals exceed €305.
• The net result carries to Form 2042 C: line 3AN for gains, 3BN for losses.
• File one Form 3916-bis per foreign exchange account, independent of disposals and of the €305 test.
• Stop self-filing if any of these apply: high volume (BNC reclassification risk), heavy DeFi or staking, prior unreported years, or an exit/residency question.

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.

Where a tool fits the self-filer

Waltio (built for the French market) 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 rather than FIFO, applies the 2026 PFU at 31.4%, and lists your foreign accounts so a 3916-bis is not missed. The tool does the arithmetic; the procedural discipline (the €305 test, where 2086 lives, 3916-bis independence, the deadline) stays with the self-filer.

Where Wag3s fits

Wag3s Folio reconstructs the multi-chain history, applies the €305 test and the 150 VH bis method at the 2026 PFU, and lists every foreign account so the 3916-bis is not overlooked, producing the figures a self-filer types into impots.gouv.fr and reconciling them against DAC8-reported activity. It is built for the self-filer who has cleared step 0 honestly; for a professional/BNC position, prior unreported years, or an exit question, it is meant to support a qualified French expert-comptable rather than stand in for one. 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)

Worked example: simple disposal over €305

Marie has a Coinbase account and a MetaMask wallet. During 2025 she:

• Sold 0.05 BTC for €2,400 (acquired for €1,200 at cost basis).
• Received €150 of ETH staking rewards on Coinbase.
• Made no crypto-to-crypto swaps.

Step 0 — self-filing check. Occasional activity, no bots, no leverage. Self-filing is appropriate.

Step 1 — reconstruct history. She exports Coinbase trade history and records the MetaMask wallet address. She notes the staking rewards are BNC income (separate from the disposal).

Step 2 — €305 test. Her disposal proceeds: €2,400. Above €305 → Form 2086 required.

Step 3 — Form 2086 computation (150 VH bis). She had total portfolio acquisition cost of €15,000 and portfolio fair value of €30,000 at the disposal date.

Proportional acquisition cost = €15,000 × (€2,400 / €30,000) = €1,200.

Net gain = €2,400 − €1,200 = €1,200.

She enters this on Form 2086 at the "Déclarations annexes" step, then carries €1,200 to Form 2042 C line 3AN.

Tax due: €1,200 × 31.4% = €376.80 (PFU in 2026).

Step 3b — BNC income. The €150 staking reward is declared separately as BNC income (not on 2086). Under micro-BNC the taxable amount is €150 × 66% = €99, added to her taxable income.

Step 4 — 3916-bis. Her Coinbase account is foreign (US-registered). She files one Form 3916-bis for it. MetaMask is self-custody — no 3916-bis needed.

Result. Two declarations completed: 2086 + 2042 C for the disposal gain; 3916-bis for Coinbase. Under 30 minutes of online work once the history is reconstructed.

Sources

• impots.gouv.fr — Comment déclarer les plus ou moins-values sur cessions d'actifs numériques: the €305 threshold and the carry to the income return.
• impots.gouv.fr — Formulaire 2086 : déclaration des plus ou moins-values de cessions d'actifs numériques (Cerfa 16043).
• impots.gouv.fr — Modalités de déclaration des comptes d'actifs numériques détenus à l'étranger: the 3916-bis obligation and the per-account penalties.
• Légifrance — Article 150 VH bis CGI: the occasional-investor regime.
• Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) — EUR-Lex.