A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is convening a closed-door session next week to push crypto tax reform forward, with new legislation that could reshape how digital asset holders pay taxes on staking, trading, and everyday payments. The House Ways and Means Committee is set to hold the session on May 14, and the PARITY Act – which would defer staking taxes – is on the table.
What the PARITY Act would do
The PARITY Act targets one of the most confusing bits of crypto tax law: staking rewards. Right now, if you stake ether or solana, the IRS treats the rewards as income the moment you get them, even if you haven't sold. The bill would let you defer that tax until you actually dispose of the staked tokens. That's a big deal for anyone who runs a validator or delegates tokens – it aligns crypto staking with how the tax code treats, say, property that appreciates.
The bill doesn't stop at staking. The broader push covers how trading and everyday payments get taxed, though details are still under wraps. Lawmakers are trying to simplify a system that right now forces crypto users to track every swap and every coffee purchase as a taxable event.
Why closed doors?
The session is closed to the public – that's unusual for a committee that typically works in the open. But tax reform is always politically delicate, and crypto tax reform especially so. The bipartisan group wants to hammer out differences without the pressure of live-streamed hearings. Expect some horse-trading between members who want to lower the burden on retail investors and those worried about revenue loss.
The timing matters. With a busy legislative calendar and midterms approaching, this could be one of the last real shots at moving crypto tax language this year. If they can agree on a framework, it might get folded into a larger tax package.
What happens next
May 14 is just the beginning. After the closed session, the committee will need to mark up a bill and get it through the full House – no small task. The Senate is its own puzzle. The PARITY Act has bipartisan support already, but the broader reform package doesn't have a clear path yet.
For now, the key question is whether lawmakers can agree on a definition of “staking” and “payment” that works for both exchanges and individual holders. That's the kind of technical detail that can kill a bill. The session on the 14th should show whether there's enough common ground to move forward – or whether crypto tax reform stays stuck for another year.
