H.R. 9175, the Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act, was introduced on June 8 by Representative Mike Carey to let miners and stakers defer taxes on their rewards until they actually sell. Representative Steven Horsford has proposed an amendment that would cap that deferral at five years, forcing validators to pay up on a government-imposed timeline regardless of whether they’ve touched their tokens.
What the bill actually does
Under current IRS guidance dating back to 2014, and reinforced in 2023, anyone who earns digital assets through mining or staking owes income tax the moment those tokens hit their wallet. Not when they sell. Not when they convert to dollars. The moment they receive them.
H.R. 9175 would classify newly minted digital assets received as rewards as ordinary income but give taxpayers the option to treat them like self-created property. That means they could defer tax recognition until the asset is actually sold or disposed of. The bill also includes a provision ensuring that grantor trusts holding digital assets can receive staking rewards without jeopardizing their grantor trust status.
The five-year cap and why it’s controversial
