- Buying and reselling crypto as a business gives industrial and commercial profits (BIC); trading in a professional way and mining or staking give non-commercial profits (BNC).
- A company subject to corporate income tax (IS) pays 25% in 2026, or 15% on the first €42,500 of profit if it meets the small-business conditions.
- Under the EU Court ruling Hedqvist, exchanging crypto for money is exempt from VAT. The French tax authority publishes no crypto-specific VAT guidance.
- A business that provides crypto services needs a MiCA license from the AMF or another EU regulator, and from 2026 it collects customer data for the tax authority (DAC8).
This page covers companies and self-employed people in France that hold, trade, mine or accept crypto. Private investors are on personal tax, and the deadlines on filing and deadlines. It is general information, not tax advice.
Crypto in the accounts
The flat tax for private investors does not apply to business profits. The tax authority sorts crypto activity into these categories:
- BIC. Profits from the habitual activity of buying crypto to resell it, a commercial activity, are industrial and commercial profits (bénéfices industriels et commerciaux), under the normal BIC rules (BOFiP BOI-BIC-CHAMP-60-50, § 730).
- BNC. Trading crypto in conditions similar to a professional activity, and mining and staking, give non-commercial profits (bénéfices non commerciaux). They are taxed at the progressive income tax scale and social levies, with either the micro-BNC flat 34% allowance or deduction of actual costs.
- Companies subject to IS. Crypto gains and losses of a company subject to corporate income tax are part of its taxable profit.
We found no page of the tax authority for businesses that explains how crypto is valued at the end of the financial year (October 2026). Ask a chartered accountant (expert-comptable) how to book crypto in your accounts.
A partnership not subject to IS that only manages a crypto portfolio, without a commercial or professional purpose, is treated as an intermediary: its partners are taxed under the private investor rules on their share (BOI-RPPM-PVBMC-30-10, § 20 to 40).
Corporate income tax rates
| Taxable profit (2026) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €42,500, for companies that qualify for the reduced rate | 15% |
| All other profit | 25% (standard rate) |
The 15% rate applies to companies with a turnover of €10,000,000 or less in the financial year, whose share capital is fully paid up and at least 75% held by individuals (or by a company that is itself at least 75% held by individuals), according to Service-Public.fr (checked February 2026). When a company files and pays is on filing and deadlines.
VAT (TVA) on crypto
Exchanging crypto for money. In the Hedqvist case (C-264/14, 22 October 2015) the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that exchanging traditional currency for bitcoin and back is a supply of services for consideration that is exempt from VAT under Article 135(1)(e) of the VAT Directive. France applies that directive; the exemption for transactions in currencies is in article 261 C of the CGI. We found no BOFiP text that sets out the French tax authority’s own position on crypto exchange services (October 2026).
Being paid in crypto. The tax authority publishes no VAT guidance on being paid in crypto (October 2026). If you sell goods or services, VAT is due on your sales in the normal way; the means of payment does not change that. Ask your tax office or accountant how to value a payment received in crypto.
Mining, staking and NFTs. We found no published French VAT position on mining, staking or NFTs (October 2026).
If your business provides crypto services
Holding crypto for customers, exchanging it, running a trading platform or transferring crypto for others are crypto-asset services under MiCA. Since 2 July 2026 the French national PSAN registration no longer exists: a provider needs a MiCA license (from the AMF if it is established in France) or must be a licensed firm from another EU country that passports into France. See regulation.
From 1 January 2026 providers must also collect and verify their users’ tax residence and tax identification number (self-certification), record their transactions and report them every year to the tax authority (DAC8, CGI articles 1649 AC bis to 1649 AC sexies). Decree 2025-1276 sets the deadline: the report is filed before 15 June of the following year, so the first one, on 2026, is due before 15 June 2027. Self-certifications for existing users must be obtained before 1 January 2027. On 14 September 2026 the Council of State’s urgent-applications judge rejected a request by several crypto firms to suspend the decree (no. 519158). Details are on filing and deadlines.
Sources
- impots.gouv.fr: Comment déclarer les plus ou moins values sur cessions d’actifs numériques (cryptomonnaies…) ? (last checked October 2026)
- BOFiP: BOI-RPPM-PVBMC-30-10, Cession d’actifs numériques à titre occasionnel, champ d’application (last checked October 2026)
- BOFiP: BOI-RPPM-PVBMC-30-20, Détermination de la plus ou moins-value (last checked October 2026)
- Service-Public.fr (Entreprendre): Impôt sur les sociétés (IS) (last checked October 2026)
- EUR-Lex: Court of Justice, Hedqvist, C-264/14 (22 October 2015) (last checked October 2026)
- AMF: La période transitoire pour les PSAN prend fin le 1er juillet 2026 (5 February 2026) (last checked October 2026)
- Légifrance: Décret n° 2025-1276 du 19 décembre 2025 (obligations déclaratives des prestataires de services sur crypto-actifs) (last checked October 2026)
- Légifrance: Conseil d’État, juge des référés, 14 septembre 2026, n° 519158 (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above before you act.