White House Reviews Proposed IRS Rule to Tax Americans' Foreign Crypto Accounts

In brief

The White House is reviewing Treasury’s proposed rules to join the global Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which would let the IRS access Americans’ foreign crypto account data.
CARF, already adopted by most G7 nations and major crypto hubs, aims to curb offshore tax evasion through automatic information-sharing.
Trump’s advisors support joining the pact, saying it would deter U.S. taxpayers from moving crypto abroad.

The Trump administration is one step closer to approving rules that would allow the IRS to gain key information about Americans’ foreign crypto accounts, and use it to tax such holdings.

Proposed rules from the Treasury Department regarding the United States’ cooperation with an international crypto tax reporting framework reached the White House on Friday, according to a government website. The president’s advisors will now review the recommendation.

Earlier this year, the White House encouraged the Treasury Department and IRS to impose such rules, which would see the United States join the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF.

CARF, which was created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2022, is a global agreement under which member nations automatically share information about citizens’ crypto holdings to crack down on international tax evasion.

Dozens of nations have already signed on to CARF, including G7 members Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom—plus crypto havens like the UAE, Singapore, and the Bahamas.

In a sprawling report on crypto policy published this summer, President Donald Trump’s crypto advisors recommended the United States join the agreement as well.

“[I]mplementing CARF would discourage U.S. taxpayers from moving their digital assets to offshore digital asset exchanges,” the White House said at the time. “Implementing CARF would promote the growth and use of digital assets in the United States and alleviate concerns that the lack of a reporting program could disadvantage the United States or U.S. digital asset exchanges.”

The report instructed the Treasury Department and IRS to consider proposing rules to implement CARF in the United States. The White House noted in the report, however, that such regulations “should not impose any new reporting requirements on DeFi transactions.”

Global implementation of CARF is set to roll out in 2027.