Crypto tax breaks buried in 'paperwork' bill—traders win, IRS loses
H.R. 9178 — Less Tax Paperwork for Digital Asset Owners Act · Filed by Rudy Yakym (R-IN) · Introduced Jun 8, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates three major tax breaks for cryptocurrency owners: (1) a de minimis exception allowing small network fees paid in crypto to avoid capital gains reporting; (2) a simplified accounting method for 'widely traded' digital assets that treats all gains/losses as short-term capital gains (taxed at ordinary income rates, not long-term rates); and (3) special treatment for U.S. dollar stablecoins that treats them like cash for tax purposes. The bill also reduces broker reporting requirements for these transactions.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to reduce tax obligations for digital asset owners and traders through multiple carve-outs and simplified accounting methods. Despite the title's emphasis on 'paperwork,' the substantive effect is tax relief, not administrative simplification.
- Section 6 incorporates definitions from the 'GENIUS Act' (a separate, unrelated payment stablecoin regulatory bill) without explanation, making this bill's scope dependent on external legislation.
What the text implies
- The 'simplified accounting' method in Section 3 treats all gains as short-term capital gains, eliminating the preferential long-term capital gains rate (15–20%) and forcing taxation at ordinary income rates (up to 37%). This appears to benefit high-frequency traders who can offset gains through losses, while harming long-term holders.
- The de minimis exception in Section 2 allows unlimited transactions paying network fees without reporting, creating a potential loophole for structuring transactions to avoid capital gains recognition entirely.
- Broker reporting requirements are substantially reduced for stablecoins and simplified accounting elections, making IRS enforcement and tax compliance verification significantly more difficult.
- The $500 million market cap threshold for 'widely traded digital assets' is inflation-adjusted but may exclude emerging cryptocurrencies, creating a two-tier system where only established assets receive favorable treatment.
- The bill's definition of 'digital asset' is extremely broad and delegated to Treasury Secretary, allowing future expansion to cover assets not currently contemplated.
Who it affects
Ordinary taxpayers and the general public bear the cost through reduced tax revenue from cryptocurrency investors and traders, while the primary beneficiaries are high-volume digital asset traders and stablecoin issuers. The simplified accounting method appears designed to reduce tax liability for active traders, and the stablecoin provisions favor issuers of these instruments.
Who stands to gain
- cryptocurrency exchanges
- digital asset traders and hedge funds
- stablecoin issuers
- high-frequency trading firms
- cryptocurrency custodians and brokers
Named in the bill
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Treasury Department / Secretary of the Treasury, IRS, GENIUS Act, Section 475 (mark-to-market election), Section 1051 (simplified accounting), Section 1044 (de minimis network fee), Section 1063 (stablecoin treatment), Section 6045 (broker reporting), AIG, FBK, FMAO — and 2 more
Where it stands
- Jun 8, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 8, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
8 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $6,290,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 11 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 88% of bills with at least one filing.
Rudy Yakym, the sponsor, reported $1,401,759 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Bankers Association — $3,510,000 on 1 filing
- Coinbase, Inc. — $1,160,000 on 1 filing
- Solana Policy Institute — $610,000 on 1 filing
- Blockchain Association — $320,000 on 1 filing
- Crypto Council for Innovation — $310,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jul 9, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Crypto tax breaks buried in 'paperwork' bill—traders win, IRS loses” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr9178 Report an error
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