The House Ways and Means Committee in the United States is reportedly planning to review two digital asset tax bills on September 16, which concern the timing of taxation for mining and staking earnings, as well as the scope of application for rules regarding the wash trading of crypto assets. However, as of the morning of September 14, the committee's official schedule had not yet issued a formal notice of review, and the meeting time and the final list of bills have not been confirmed in official records.

Two bills adjust different tax issues respectively.

H.R. 9175 is mainly derived from mining and staking activities. According to the current text of the legislation, eligible taxpayers have the option to defer the recognition of income from newly acquired tokens until the time of sale or disposal, rather than recognizing it as ordinary income immediately upon gaining control of the tokens.

Current IRS guidelines typically require that miners and staking participants recognize ordinary income when they gain control of the tokens. If there is a change in price later on, capital gains or losses are recognized upon sale. If H.R.9175 is passed, the timing of tax recognition for some taxpayers will change.

H.R. The proposed amendment extends the existing anti-tax avoidance rules, which mainly apply to stocks and securities, to most digital assets. The bill intends to include "wash trading" restrictions within the scope of crypto assets, which means that traders who buy back substantially identical assets within 30 days before and after selling at a loss may not be able to immediately deduct the related losses.

Mining and staking deferral terms may still be adjusted.

According to the submitted text, H.R.9175 has default rules and an optional deferral mechanism. By default, taxpayers are still required to recognize ordinary income at the fair value at the time of acquisition; if deferral is chosen, the related income will be recognized upon the sale of the tokens or other disposition, and will be treated in accordance with the general income tax provisions of the legislation.

The bill is not open to all tokens and taxpayers. The text imposes restrictions on controlled foreign companies, passive foreign investment companies, and certain offshore holding structures, and also includes origin-based rules related to the taxpayer's place of residence.

There were earlier reports in the market that Republican lawmakers might cancel the deferred arrangements or limit them to a 5-year period. However, as of September 14th, the committee had not yet announced any formal amendments or alternative texts, and these adjustments have not been confirmed in official documents.

• The Joint Tax Commission estimates that H.R.9175 will reduce federal revenues by approximately $2.956 billion.
• H.R. 9172 is expected to increase revenue by approximately $2.074 billion from the 2026 to 2036 fiscal year.

The wash trading rules are proposed to be extended to most digital assets.

H.R. 9172 proposes to replace the original wording in tax laws that refers to "stocks or securities" with a new category of "specific assets," which would cover most digital assets, as well as some related contracts and options. The bill also suggests that tokenized or encapsulated assets may be recognized as "substantially identical" assets if they have equivalent economic effects.

The bill provides exemptions for certain US dollar-stabilized coins, but these exemptions are subject to legal conditions and are linked to the definition of payment-stabilized coin issuers recognized by federal law. There are also narrower exceptions for tokens obtained through mining, staking, or similar verification activities, but this does not mean they are completely excluded from the bill.

In addition, the bill also proposes to extend the "presumed sale" rule to digital assets. This rule is typically used to restrict investors from essentially eliminating their price exposure through hedging and other transactions without officially selling the assets, while continuing to defer tax payments.

Even if the committee approves it, further challenges still lie ahead.

If the deliberations on September 16 proceed as planned, the committee may choose to pass the original text, veto the bill, or add amendments during the deliberation process. The "5-year deferral" version that was previously circulated will only become part of the bill content after formal amendments are made.

Even if the committee votes in favor, the bill still needs to be submitted to the entire House of Representatives for review and then must also obtain approval from the Senate. If there are differences between the versions of the two houses, further coordination is required before it can finally be sent to the President for signature.

Currently, the version submitted in June is still the only verifiable official text of the two bills. Whether it moves on to the next stage will depend on whether the committee releases an official agenda and whether any key revisions are proposed during the deliberation process.