IRS to White House: Adopt the CARF; This new proposal could change crypto taxes
The White House is reviewing a proposal from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to adopt an international standard for reporting and taxation of digital assets, according to regulatory filings.
- The IRS has submitted a proposal to the White House to adopt the “CARF,” a global tax standard and align with 72 other countries by 2028.
- The proposal would require U.S. taxpayers to report capital gains on foreign platforms more strictly.
- The CARF, launched by the OECD, is designed to combat offshore tax evasion.
The proposal, titled “Broker Digital Transaction Reporting” and submitted to the White House on November 14, would implement the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), a global tax standard that would provide the IRS with access to data on foreign accounts held by American citizens. The measure would align the U.S. tax system with 72 other countries that have committed to implementing CARF by 2028.
The IRS has not classified the measure as “economically significant,” according to the filing. Implementation would require American taxpayers to adopt stricter standards when reporting capital gains generated on foreign platforms.
The CARF was launched by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development at the end of 2022 with the stated objective of facilitating cryptocurrency information sharing among participating countries to combat international tax evasion.
According to a policy recommendations report published by the White House in July, implementing CARF would help discourage U.S. taxpayers from moving digital assets to offshore exchanges while preventing domestic platforms from being disadvantaged compared to international competitors. Adoption would put the United States in line with more than one-third of the world’s countries.
When will CARF rollout?
The rollout of CARF is expected in 2027, with 50 nations prepared to join, including Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and the U.K. Another 23 countries have committed to implementing the framework by 2028, according to OECD data.
In parallel with potential CARF adoption, the U.S. is preparing to introduce stricter tax rules domestically. Beginning in January 2026, Form 1099-DA will take effect, requiring U.S.-based exchanges to provide more detailed transactional data, including both incoming and outgoing transfers.
