France Crypto Tax Guide 2026: PFU 31.4%, BNC, FEC & Form 2086

France treats crypto more carefully than most jurisdictions. There is a clean flat tax for ordinary investors, a separate professional regime for people who trade like a business, and a real risk of being reclassified from one to the other. The line between the two moved with the Loi de Finances 2022, and the consequences of being on the wrong side are large.

This guide covers how crypto is taxed in France in 2026: when the PFU (the 31.4% flat tax from 2026) applies, when you cross into the BNC professional regime, what counts as a taxable event, the €305 exemption, and which forms the DGFiP expects.

The short version: most individual investors pay 31.4% on net gains realized in fiat (the rate rose from 30% on 1 January 2026 because the CSG on capital income increased). Habitual/professional traders fall under BNC. Crypto-to-crypto trades are not taxable for occasional investors. And if you hold tokens on foreign exchanges, you owe the DGFiP an annual declaration whether you sold anything or not.

The two regimes: occasional investor (PFU) vs habitual trader (BNC)

French crypto tax law splits individuals into two camps. Which camp you are in determines almost everything else.

Occasional investor (investisseur occasionnel): You buy and hold crypto, occasionally sell some to fiat, and do not run anything resembling a trading operation. Your gains fall under article 150 VH bis of the Code général des impôts and are taxed at the Prélèvement Forfaitaire Unique (PFU): a flat 31.4% from 1 January 2026 (previously 30%).

Habitual / professional trader (investisseur habituel): Your activity has the characteristics of a profession: high frequency, sophisticated tools, significant capital deployed, and a clear intent to generate trading income. Since the Loi de Finances 2022 (effective 1 January 2023), these profits fall under Bénéfices Non Commerciaux (BNC) — aligned with the regime for stock-market operations — taxed at progressive income-tax rates, with the possibility of expense deductions. (Before 2023 this was the BIC regime; the LF 2022 reform moved professional crypto trading to BNC.)

There is no single legal threshold. The DGFiP and the courts look at a bundle of factors: how often you trade, the tools you use (bots, leverage, derivatives), how much wealth is deployed, whether trading is your main income, and whether the activity is structured in a business-like way.

The Loi de Finances 2022 (which took effect from 2023) clarified the criteria but did not produce a numeric threshold. Most retail investors stay firmly in PFU territory. Day traders, on-chain market makers, and people running bots get reclassified into BNC more often than they used to.

If any of these BNC-side factors apply to you, get an expert-comptable before filing. The reclassification risk is real and the tax consequences are larger than most people expect.

The PFU flat tax explained (31.4% from 2026)

For occasional investors, France applies a single flat rate to net realized gains in fiat. From 1 January 2026 the PFU breaks down as follows (the social-charges component rose because the CSG on capital income increased from 9.2% to 10.6%, lifting prélèvements sociaux from 17.2% to 18.6% and the total from 30% to 31.4%).

Gains are calculated at the level of the portefeuille global — your entire crypto portfolio, not per-coin — using the article 150 VH bis proportional formula:

Plus-value = Prix de cession − (Prix total d'acquisition × Prix de cession ÷ Valeur globale du portefeuille)

This is a single-pool approach: you cannot pick which lot you are selling, and it is not FIFO. The full mechanics are covered in crypto capital gains calculation France.

Taxpayers can opt to be taxed at the progressive income-tax scale instead of the 31.4% flat, which sometimes makes sense for low-income filers. That election applies globally to all capital income for the year, not just crypto (see PFU vs barème).

The €305 exemption (still in force)

Under article 150 VH bis I CGI, if the total of all your digital-asset disposals for the year is €305 or less, the gains are fully exempt. This exemption was not abolished — it remains in force in 2026. If total annual disposals exceed €305, even slightly, all the year's disposals become taxable and must be computed with the portfolio method. It is an all-or-nothing annual threshold on total disposal proceeds, not a per-transaction allowance. Detail in the France €305 exemption.

When you cross into BNC territory (and why it matters)

The PFU is generous. The professional BNC regime is heavier.

If your trading is reclassified as habitual/professional, your profits become Bénéfices Non Commerciaux (since the LF 2022 reform, effective 2023 — previously BIC). That means progressive income-tax rates instead of the 12.8% IR component, plus the obligation to declare a professional activity, with the possibility of deducting real expenses.

There are two BNC sub-regimes for crypto traders.

Micro-BNC is administratively lighter but the 34% flat deduction rarely matches actual expenses for crypto trading. The déclaration contrôlée lets you deduct exchange fees, gas, software subscriptions, hardware, and a portion of utilities, but it requires real accounting.

Most people do not choose BNC; they get pushed into it after a tax audit. If you are trading at scale, the cleanest approach is often to incorporate (SASU, SAS, SARL) and run the activity through a company — corporation tax (impôt sur les sociétés) at 15% up to €42,500 of profit and 25% above, plus dividend taxation when you pay yourself.

Taxable events: sale to fiat vs crypto-to-crypto

This is one of the most important features of French crypto tax law and it is specific to the occasional-investor regime.

Taxable in France for occasional investors:

• Selling crypto for euros or any fiat currency
• Using crypto to pay for goods or services
• Selling crypto on a platform that converts to fiat at the back end (some debit cards)

Not taxable in France for occasional investors:

• Swapping one crypto for another (BTC to ETH, ETH to USDC, anything)
• Moving crypto between wallets you own
• Buying crypto with fiat and holding it
• Receiving a gift of crypto (gift tax may apply separately)

The crypto-to-crypto exemption is a meaningful difference from UK and US rules. If you swap ETH for USDC on Uniswap, no French tax is due at that moment; the cost basis carries through. Tax triggers only when you eventually convert to fiat or spend it.

This rule applies to the occasional-investor PFU regime. Under the professional BNC regime, the treatment of disposals differs and crypto-to-crypto can be brought into the professional income computation.

Stablecoins are a grey area. The DGFiP has not formally ruled that USDC or USDT are equivalent to fiat. As of 2026, swapping ETH for USDC is still treated as a crypto-to-crypto trade for PFU purposes. That position could change; track stablecoin disposals carefully.

Form 2086 — declaring capital gains

If you realized any taxable disposal during the year, you owe the DGFiP a Form 2086 alongside your annual déclaration de revenus (Form 2042). Full box-by-box detail is in Cerfa 2086 explained.

Form 2086 itemizes each taxable disposal: date, proceeds in euros, the global portfolio value at disposal, the total acquisition price across the portfolio, and the resulting gain or loss. Net annual gain flows from Form 2086 to Form 2042 C, line 3AN (gains) or 3BN (losses).

Points that catch people out:

• One Form 2086 covers all disposals for the year, but each disposal is a separate line.
• You need the global portfolio value in euros at the moment of each disposal, not just the value of the asset sold.
• Losses for the year offset gains for the year. For individuals under PFU, net losses are not carried forward to future years (a minority legal argument contests this — confirm with an adviser).
• The €305 exemption is still in force: total annual disposals ≤ €305 → exempt; > €305 → all disposals taxable.

The filing deadline tracks the standard déclaration de revenus calendar (online opens mid-April; deadlines fall late May to early June depending on département; paper earlier).

Form 3916-bis — declaring foreign exchange accounts

If you hold crypto on a foreign exchange (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, OKX — anything not a French PSAN), you must declare each account on Form 3916-bis every year, regardless of whether you sold anything. Full detail in Cerfa 3916-bis.

The penalty for failing to declare is €750 per undeclared account (€1,500 if the account balance exceeded €50,000 at any point in the year), under article 1736 X CGI. The DGFiP receives data from EU-authorised CASPs through the DAC8 directive (effective 1 January 2026), so non-disclosure is increasingly easy to detect.

Form 3916-bis requires the exchange name and country, the account identifier, the opening date, and whether the account was closed during the year. You file one per account, attached to Form 2042. Self-custody wallets (MetaMask, Ledger, Trust Wallet) are not subject to this declaration — only third-party-hosted accounts.

FEC export for crypto businesses (DGFiP requirement)

If you operate under the BNC déclaration contrôlée or run a French company, the DGFiP can require you to produce a Fichier des Écritures Comptables during a tax audit. The FEC is a standardized text file containing every accounting entry for the financial year, in the format defined by article A. 47 A-1 of the Livre des procédures fiscales.

The FEC has 18 mandatory columns including journal code, entry date, account number (under the Plan Comptable Général), debit, credit, currency, and reconciliation reference. It must be produced within the time set by the DGFiP during an audit and must reconcile to the published financial statements.

For crypto-active companies, building a FEC manually is genuinely difficult — data lives across exchanges, on-chain wallets, fiat bank accounts, and accounting systems that rarely speak to each other. Wag3s Ledger generates FEC exports automatically from connected wallets and exchanges, mapping crypto transactions to the correct PCG accounts.

Failure to produce a valid FEC during an audit triggers a fine of €5,000 or up to 10% of the reassessed tax, whichever is higher, and shifts the burden of proof against you for the rest of the audit.

Mining, staking, airdrops — how they are taxed

Income from crypto activity is taxed differently from capital gains, and the categorization depends on the activity.

Mining (Proof-of-Work): Treated as Bénéfices Non Commerciaux (BNC) for individuals, taxed at progressive rates. At professional scale with significant equipment it is professional BNC. The fair-market value of mined coins at receipt is income; subsequent appreciation is taxed under the disposal regime when sold.

Staking: The prevailing position is that staking rewards are BNC income at receipt for individuals, valued at fair-market value when the rewards become available. Subsequent disposal follows PFU rules.

Airdrops: Passive airdrops are generally treated as zero-cost-basis crypto, taxed only on disposal. Airdrops received for actions (testnet, retroactive usage rewards) are BNC income at receipt value.

Liquidity mining and DeFi yield: Generally BNC at receipt. The frequency and complexity make manual tracking impractical.

Salary paid in crypto: Treated as ordinary salary; the employer converts to euros for prélèvements sociaux and impôt sur le revenu. The euro value declared becomes the cost basis for future PFU calculation.

FAQ

Do I owe French tax if I held crypto all year and didn't sell?

No. France only taxes realized gains. Holding crypto and moving it between your own wallets are not taxable events. You may still need to file Form 3916-bis if any crypto is held on a foreign exchange.

Can I carry forward crypto losses to future years?

Not under the occasional-investor PFU regime: losses within a year offset gains within the same year, but unused net losses are lost (a minority legal argument contests this — confirm with an adviser). Under the professional BNC regime, losses follow the professional-income rules.

What's the difference between micro-BNC and the déclaration contrôlée?

Micro-BNC applies a flat 34% deduction to your BNC revenue (minimum €305) and taxes the rest at progressive IR. It is simple but rarely tax-optimal for high-expense crypto trading. The déclaration contrôlée lets you deduct actual expenses but requires full bookkeeping and FEC capability.

Is the €305 exemption still available?

Yes. It was not abolished. Total annual digital-asset disposals ≤ €305 → gains fully exempt; > €305 → all disposals taxable. See the France €305 exemption.

What happens if I don't declare a foreign exchange account on Form 3916-bis?

€750 per undeclared account (€1,500 if the balance exceeded €50,000 at any point), under article 1736 X CGI. Under DAC8 the DGFiP receives automatic data from EU-authorised CASPs, so undeclared accounts are increasingly visible. The penalty applies even with no taxable disposal — it is about disclosure.

Further reading

For tracking individual crypto activity and generating a France-ready Form 2086 export, see Wag3s Folio. For French companies that need automated FEC exports mapped to Plan Comptable Général accounts, see Wag3s Ledger.

Related guides:

• Cerfa 2086 Explained
• Crypto Capital Gains Calculation France (150 VH bis)
• PFU vs Barème: Choosing in France
• The France €305 Exemption
• Cerfa 3916-bis — Foreign Crypto Accounts
• How to do crypto taxes — the jurisdiction-agnostic framework

External sources:

• DGFiP — BOFiP-Impôts BOI-RPPM-PVBMC-30 (capital gains on digital assets): bofip.impots.gouv.fr
• Article 150 VH bis CGI — Légifrance
• Loi de Finances 2022 (effective 1 January 2023) — moved professional crypto trading from BIC to BNC and clarified the habitual/occasional criteria
• 2026 CSG increase on capital income (9.2% → 10.6%) raising the PFU from 30% to 31.4%