CoinDesk
A bipartisan group of four lawmakers reintroduced the Parity Act on Wednesday, the latest Congressional swing at crypto tax reform, with new language that explicitly directs the IRS to model how a de minimis exemption for small digital asset transactions might work in practice.
The bill — backed by Reps. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Max Miller (R-Ohio), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) and Mike Carey (R-Ohio) — also updates the tax treatment of regulated payment stablecoins, creates a safe harbor for trading through brokers and in taxpayer accounts, maps how wash-sale rules might apply to digital assets, and addresses how validator rewards are taxed.
The de minimis review is the load-bearing provision. The bill asks the IRS to quantify how many sub-$200 transactions are currently captured under existing law, what compliance burden that imposes, what an exemption would cost in revenue, and whether — and how — such a carveout might be abused.
Why it matters
Horsford, speaking at CoinDesk's Consensus Miami conference earlier this month, framed tax as the foundational policy layer for crypto adoption: "none of the current regulatory policy framework tells a consumer, an institution, or a builder what happens to their taxes when they sell a digital asset, earned staking reward, lend crypto on the U.S. platform or make a charitable contribution in bitcoin."
The industry's core argument is structural: forcing a taxpayer to compute and report gain or loss on a $4 coffee paid in stablecoin makes crypto unworkable as a payments rail, and the existing code — written for stocks and bonds — has no clean carveout for that scale of activity. A de minimis exemption would mirror what the IRS already allows for foreign currency transactions and would put digital assets on comparable footing. The bipartisan sponsorship, after multiple prior introductions, signals the issue has staying power even as the broader market structure debate stalls.
Market impact
A research mandate is not a policy outcome, and the bill's authors are clear this is a first step rather than a finished framework.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the Parity Act and what does the latest version do?
The Parity Act — Digital Asset Protection, Accountability, Regulation, Innovation, Taxation and Yields Act — is bipartisan crypto tax legislation reintroduced on Wednesday by Reps. Horsford, Miller, DelBene and Carey. The new version updates the tax treatment of regulated payment stablecoins, creates a broker safe…
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What is a de minimis exemption for crypto and why does the industry want one?
A de minimis exemption would carve out small digital asset transactions — the bill specifically focuses on those under $200 — from gain or loss reporting. The industry argues the current burden of computing cost basis on small stablecoin payments makes crypto unworkable as a payments rail for everyday purchases.
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Does the bill actually create a de minimis exemption for crypto transactions?
No. The bill directs the IRS to study how such an exemption might work, quantify the sub-$200 transaction universe, estimate revenue impact, and assess abuse risk. It is a research mandate, not a policy outcome, and the sponsors frame it as a first step.
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How does the bill change the tax treatment of stablecoins?
The new version says regulated payment stablecoins should incur no gain or loss unless the cost basis is less than 99% of the redemption value. That language is the clearest Congressional signal yet that legislators are starting to treat dollar-pegged tokens as a payment instrument.
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What are the chances the Parity Act actually becomes law?
The bill has bipartisan support and has been reintroduced multiple times, which signals staying power. However, every prior crypto tax bill that reached markup in this Congress has died on procedural grounds, and this version is explicitly framed as a foundational first step rather than a finished framework.
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