France Crypto Tax for Couples

Ask a French couple how the €305 crypto exemption applies to them and most will answer "€305 each." It is not. Marriage or PACS creates a single foyer fiscal, and the €305 threshold is tested on the couple's combined disposals — the one fact that catches couples out, and the reason this article exists. Beyond the threshold, a couple's return raises its own mechanics: how two portfolios are computed, and how foreign accounts are declared together. The general shape of the exemption is the €305 article; the minor-in-the-foyer case is crypto tax for a minor. The pillar is the France crypto tax guide.

Key points

• Marriage or PACS creates one foyer fiscal, taxed jointly.
• The €305 threshold is per foyer, not per spouse: the couple shares one €305, not €305 each.
• Form 2086 aggregates the foyer's disposals (150 VH bis); the net carries to Form 2042 C (3AN/3BN).
• Compute each spouse's portfolio under 150 VH bis, then aggregate; do not pool two portfolios into one.
• 3916-bis: one block per foreign account, for both spouses (and any attached minor), in the same return, with no threshold.
• Year of union: joint filing is the default, with a separate-return option in some cases that changes the €305 arithmetic.

One foyer, one €305

Marriage or PACS creates a single foyer fiscal: the spouses are no longer taxed individually but on a common taxable income. The crypto consequence that catches couples out: the €305 exemption is applied at the foyer level. If the total of all digital-asset disposals by the foyer for the year is €305 or less, the gains are exempt; above €305, all the foyer's disposals are taxable (all-or-nothing — see the France €305 exemption).

So two spouses do not get €305 each. A couple where each spouse disposes of €200 (€400 combined) is over the foyer threshold and fully taxable — even though each individually would have been under €305. This is the single most important couple-specific point.

Joint filing mechanics

The couple files one return for the foyer:

• Form 2086 aggregates the foyer's taxable disposals; the net carries to Form 2042 C (line 3AN gain / 3BN loss), taxed at the 2026 PFU 31.4% (or barème — now a year-by-year option, see PFU vs barème).
• Form 3916-bis is filed within the same declaration, one block per foreign account, for both spouses' accounts (and any attached minor's — see France crypto tax for a minor).
• The €305 test is applied to the foyer's total disposals, then the 2086 runs if above.

The per-portfolio computation point

A subtle but important mechanics point: the 150 VH bis portfolio method operates on a portfolio. Each spouse's crypto holdings and acquisitions are their own assets. The correct approach:

1. Compute each spouse's disposals against their own 150 VH bis portfolio (own running total acquisition price, own portfolio value).
2. Aggregate the per-spouse results into the foyer's Form 2086.
3. Apply the foyer-level €305 test to the combined disposals.

Mixing two spouses' holdings into a single global pool is not correct — the portfolio formula is per-owner. Aggregate the results, not the pools. (A tool set to "one global pool for the foyer" mis-computes; it must compute per spouse then sum.)

The year of marriage/PACS

The year of the union has filing options: a single joint return for the whole year is the default, but separate returns for the event year can be elected in some cases. The crypto effect:

• Joint filing: one €305 for the couple's combined disposals that year.
• Elected separate returns for the union year: each return applies its own €305.

This materially changes the €305 arithmetic for a couple near the threshold in the year they marry/PACS. It is an adviser question for that specific year — flag it; do not assume joint.

Practical guidance

1. Treat €305 as the couple's shared threshold — sum both spouses' disposals before testing.
2. Compute each spouse's 150 VH bis portfolio separately, then aggregate into the foyer's 2086.
3. File one 3916-bis per foreign account for both spouses (and attached minors) — no threshold.
4. In the year of union, check the joint-vs-separate option — it changes the €305 result.
5. Reconcile the foyer's declared figures against DAC8-reported data (per individual, summed to foyer).

Checking a tool handles a couple correctly

Most tools are built around one person's portfolio, and the couple case is where a wrong default quietly over-exempts you. The portfolio formula is per-owner, but the €305 test is per-foyer, and a tool has to do both. Confirm it:

• computes each spouse's portfolio separately under 150 VH bis (own running acquisition price, own portfolio value), rather than merging both into one pool;
• aggregates the per-spouse results into a single foyer 2086;
• applies the €305 test on the foyer's combined disposals, not per person;
• lists every foreign account for both spouses (and any attached minor) for the 3916-bis, with no threshold filter.

Waltio is French-specialised and Koinly supports the French regime; both compute 150 VH bis per portfolio. The foyer-level €305 aggregation is the setting to verify.

How Wag3s fits in

Wag3s Folio computes each spouse's 150 VH bis portfolio independently and aggregates into the foyer's 2086, applies the €305 test on the combined disposals, and lists every foreign account — both spouses and any attached minor — for the 3916-bis, reconciled against DAC8-reported activity. The year-of-union joint-versus-separate election turns on the whole household's situation; Folio produces the figures to support a qualified French expert-comptable on that choice, rather than making it.

Further reading

• France Crypto Tax Guide 2026
• The France €305 Exemption
• France Crypto Tax for a Minor
• Crypto Capital Gains Calculation France (150 VH bis)
• Cerfa 3916-bis — Foreign Crypto Accounts
• Declare Crypto Without an Accountant (France)

Worked example: couple near the €305 threshold

Laurent and Isabelle are married (foyer fiscal). In 2025:

• Laurent disposes of crypto for total proceeds of €180.
• Isabelle disposes of crypto for total proceeds of €160.

Combined foyer disposals: €340. Above €305. Both disposals are now fully taxable — neither gets the exemption, even though each individually was below €305.

If they had checked the foyer total before year-end, one of them could have deferred a disposal to 2026, keeping the 2025 total at €180 (under €305) and starting 2026 with only €160 (also under €305 for the following year).

This deferred-disposal optimisation is legal and straightforward — it is simple timing, not avoidance. It requires knowing the foyer's combined disposal total before year-end, which is why a shared tracking spreadsheet or a tool configured for foyer-level totals is valuable.

Portfolio computation. For the €340 above, Laurent and Isabelle each compute their 150 VH bis portfolio independently:

• Laurent's gain: total portfolio acquisition cost €8,000, portfolio value €16,000 at disposal date. Disposal proceeds €180. Proportional acquisition cost = €8,000 × (€180 / €16,000) = €90. Gain = €90.
• Isabelle's gain: portfolio acquisition cost €5,000, portfolio value €10,000. Proceeds €160. Proportional acquisition cost = €5,000 × (€160 / €10,000) = €80. Gain = €80.

Aggregate for the foyer's Form 2086. Net gain = €90 + €80 = €170, carrying to Form 2042 C line 3AN. Tax due: €170 × 31.4% ≈ €53.38.

3916-bis. Laurent has a Kraken account (US-based) and Isabelle has a Binance account (non-EU). Both are declared in the foyer's return — one 3916-bis block per account, two blocks total. No threshold; both are required even though total gains were modest.

Year-of-marriage note. If Laurent and Isabelle married in November 2025 and elect separate returns for the 2025 year, each applies their own €305 threshold — Laurent's €180 and Isabelle's €160 are both individually under €305, meaning no 2086 is needed for either. The year-of-union election, where available, changes the entire calculation. This is the specific conversation to have with an adviser in the year the event occurs.

Sources

• Légifrance — Article 6 CGI: marriage/PACS creates a single foyer fiscal taxed on common income, with the year-of-union filing options.
• Légifrance — Article 150 VH bis CGI: the €305 exemption (paragraph I), measured on the foyer's total annual disposals.
• impots.gouv.fr — Comment déclarer les plus ou moins-values sur cessions d'actifs numériques: confirms the €305 threshold is assessed at foyer level.
• Légifrance — Article 1736 CGI: the per-account fine for an undeclared foreign digital-asset account, each spouse's account declared individually.