France Crypto Loss Treatment 2026

A profitable year and a painful tax bill are not mutually exclusive in France, and crypto losses are why. This article is specifically about how losses behave for an occasional investor: they help you within the same year, and largely nowhere else. Net losses are generally lost rather than carried forward, and they do not reach your other income, so a volatile year can be taxed far more harshly than its net result suggests. Below are the mechanics, the minority legal argument, and the contrast with the BNC regime. For the gain side of the same form, see the 150 VH bis calculation; the pillar is the France crypto tax guide.

Key points

• PFU (occasional investor): losses offset gains within the same year only; net losses are generally not carried forward (lost if losses exceed gains).
• Category-confined: crypto losses offset crypto gains, not other capital income or general income.
• Form 2086 nets all the year's disposals automatically (150 VH bis); a net loss goes to 2042 C line 3BN.
• A minority legal argument contests the no-carryforward reading; plan on the mainstream rule and confirm with an adviser.
• BNC loss treatment is more favourable (professional-income rules), a structural asymmetry.

The mainstream rule: intra-year only, no carryforward

For occasional investors under article 150 VH bis, losses are usable in a narrow way:

• Within the year: a loss on one disposal nets against gains on other disposals in the same tax year, automatically, on Form 2086.
• Across years: a net annual loss is generally not carried forward. If the year's losses exceed its gains, the excess is lost — it does not reduce next year's gains.
• Across categories: crypto losses are confined to the digital-asset category. They do not offset securities gains, rental income, or general income.

This triple restriction — intra-year, no carryforward, category-confined — is the harshest structural feature of the French occasional-investor regime, and it is the one most likely to surprise a holder who reasons from "net result."

Why a volatile year is taxed harshly

Consider a year with a €40,000 gain in Q1 and a €38,000 loss in Q4 on different positions. Net economic result: €2,000. Under PFU, the Q4 loss does net against the Q1 gain within the year, so the taxable base is the net €2,000 — fine if both fall in the same calendar year. But shift the €38,000 loss into January of the next year and the picture inverts: Year 1 taxes €40,000 at 31.4%; Year 2's €38,000 loss is largely wasted (no carryforward, no other crypto gains to absorb it). Same economics, very different tax — purely from the calendar.

The planning implication: loss realisation timing matters enormously under PFU, because a loss only has value against same-year gains.

Form 2086 mechanics

Form 2086 computes each taxable disposal's gain/loss with the 150 VH bis portfolio method and automatically nets them for the year. Outcomes:

• Net annual gain → Form 2042 C line 3AN, taxed at PFU 31.4% (or barème by option).
• Net annual loss → Form 2042 C line 3BN (records the loss, but it does not carry forward under the mainstream PFU rule).

The €305 test is applied first: if total disposals ≤ €305 the year is exempt and there is no usable loss from it; above €305 the netting runs (see the France €305 exemption).

The minority legal argument

Some French legal commentators argue that occasional-investor net losses should be carryforward-eligible, contesting the DGFiP's restrictive reading. This is a genuine but minority position. The responsible posture for a YMYL guide: state the mainstream no-carryforward rule as the planning basis, flag that a counter-argument exists, and direct contested cases to a French adviser. Do not plan as if carryforward is available unless an adviser confirms it for your specific situation.

The BNC contrast

The non-carryforward restriction is a PFU occasional-investor feature. Under the professional BNC regime (which applies to habitual/professional traders since the Loi de Finances 2022 — see BNC vs PFU), losses follow professional-income rules: professional deficits generally have more favourable treatment (deduction against income, carryforward) than the confined PFU category.

This produces the well-known asymmetry: a high-volume trader repeatedly hitting the PFU loss wall can be structurally better off under BNC, despite BNC's higher complexity. It is rarely worth choosing BNC for this alone, but it is a real consideration once reclassification is on the table.

Practical workflow

1. Map gains and losses to calendar years — timing is decisive under PFU.
2. Realise offsetting losses in the same year as the gains where possible (a deferred loss is largely wasted).
3. Apply the €305 test first; above it, let Form 2086 net the year automatically.
4. Record a net loss on 2042 C 3BN but do not plan on carrying it forward (mainstream rule).
5. If volume is high and losses recur, assess the BNC asymmetry with an adviser.
6. Reconcile against DAC8-reported data (see DAC8 impact on individuals).

Checking how a tool handles losses

The danger here is a tool that imports a generic carryforward model from another jurisdiction and applies it to the French PFU regime, quietly understating next year's tax. Before trusting one, confirm it:

• nets the year's gains and losses under the 150 VH bis method, automatically and intra-year;
• does not carry a net PFU loss forward to a future year, since the mainstream rule does not allow it;
• keeps crypto losses confined to the digital-asset category rather than offsetting securities or general income;
• applies the €305 test before netting, so an exempt year produces no usable loss.

Waltio is French-specialised and Koinly supports the French regime; both net the year correctly. Neither resolves the minority carryforward argument or the BNC-classification question.

How Wag3s fits in

Wag3s Folio nets the year under the 150 VH bis method, surfaces the loss-timing impact so offsetting losses can be realised in the right calendar year, and does not assume PFU carryforward — all reconciled against DAC8-reported activity. The minority carryforward argument and any BNC asymmetry are adviser questions; Folio produces the figures and the trail to support a qualified French expert-comptable on them, rather than deciding them.

Further reading

• France Crypto Tax Guide 2026
• Crypto Capital Gains Calculation France (150 VH bis)
• BNC vs PFU for Crypto in France
• The France €305 Exemption
• Crypto Tax Loss Harvesting — general framework
• DAC8 Impact on Individuals

Sources

• Légifrance — Article 150 VH bis CGI: the occasional-investor regime under which annual gains and losses are netted.
• BOFiP — RPPM, cession d'actifs numériques à titre occasionnel : base d'imposition (BOI-RPPM-PVBMC-30-20): determination of the net annual gain or loss.
• BOFiP — RPPM, cession d'actifs numériques à titre occasionnel : modalités d'imposition et obligations déclaratives (BOI-RPPM-PVBMC-30-30): reporting of the net result on the return.
• Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) — EUR-Lex.