US House Committee Advances Crypto Tax Amnesty Step

Section 502 of the digital assets tax bill, approved by the House Ways and Means Committee on September 16, allows taxpayers to regularize undeclared cryptocurrencies by paying owed taxes and interest, with a 0% penalty on the first $25,000 of annual unpaid tax. This is a legislative step, not an active amnesty.

## What the committee approved and what it didn't

Section 502 of the digital asset taxation bill passed the **House Ways and Means Committee** on **September 16**. The text allows for the regularization of undeclared cryptocurrencies by paying the corresponding tax and interest. The penalty is set at **0%** on the first **$25,000** of unpaid tax per year.

It is important not to confuse this step with the final goal. It is a committee approval, not enacted law: the full legislative process until entry into force is still missing. Anyone with undeclared crypto cannot go to an office tomorrow to avail themselves of anything.

## The Spanish problem: calculating tax on years of swaps

In Spain, regularization faces a practical wall before a sarracena one. Calculating tax on years of swaps using the **FIFO** method requires reconstructing each transaction in chronological order. Some argue that even the inspector would not be able to perform this calculation with available data.

The FIFO method obliges selling the oldest assets first. With years of exchanges between cryptocurrencies, the result is a chain of gains and losses dependent on records many taxpayers do not keep. Without this calculation, there is no basis for regularization.

## Italy did it in 2023 and the pattern repeats

Italy approved a limited regularization for cryptocurrencies only in **2023**. It is not an isolated case: the Spanish tax amnesty of **2012** trinc similar logic. The repeating pattern is always the same: offering a window to get up to date in exchange for collecting what was off the radar.

With **DAC8** already in force, the European directive requiring intermediaries to report crypto-asset transactions, some believe Europe will end up copying the United States. The logic is simple: if data will arrive anyway, offering a voluntary exit before they arrive is cheaper for everyone.

This is general information, not tax advice. Consult a professional before making any moves.