CGT events for crypto
| What you do | CGT event? | Capital proceeds |
|---|---|---|
| Sell for AUD | Yes | AUD received, less fees |
| Swap for another crypto | Yes | AUD market value of the crypto received |
| Swap for a stablecoin | Yes | AUD value of the stablecoin received |
| Spend on goods or services | Yes | AUD market value of what you bought |
| Gift | Yes | Market value at the time |
| Move between your own wallets | No | – |
| Buy with AUD | No | Starts a new parcel |
The ATO's guidance on swaps is direct: exchanging one crypto asset for another disposes of one CGT asset and acquires another, so a CGT event happens to the original. You need the AUD market value of the crypto received; if you cannot work that out, use the market value of the crypto given up.
Why swaps catch people out
Traders who never cash out to dollars often assume they have no tax to pay. But every swap realises a gain or loss on the asset given up. A year of active swapping can produce a large net capital gain even if the portfolio ends the year flat in dollar terms, because each swap resets the cost base.
A worked swap
You buy 0.5 BTC for $30,030 including fees, and eleven months later swap 0.2 BTC for ETH worth $30,000, paying a $20 fee. The cost base of the 0.2 BTC is $12,012, the proceeds $29,980, the gain $17,968, and with less than 12 months held, there is no discount. The ETH starts a new parcel with a $30,000 cost base. The crypto calculator shows how to enter it.
The 12-month discount
Crypto held for more than 12 months by an Australian resident gets the 50% discount on the same basis as shares. Each purchase is a separate parcel with its own date, which makes record-keeping essential if you buy regularly.
Income rather than capital
Some crypto receipts are ordinary income: staking rewards, interest-like returns, airdrops in some cases, and crypto received as payment for work or as a business. Professional traders may hold crypto as trading stock rather than capital assets. This calculator handles the capital side; speak to an accountant if any of these apply.
Records to keep
- The date and AUD value of every transaction.
- What each transaction was (buy, sell, swap, transfer).
- Exchange records and wallet addresses.
- Fees paid.
Exchanges close and change their export formats; download your full history every year.
Stablecoins, NFTs and DeFi
Stablecoins are crypto assets like any other: converting AUD to USDT and back can each be a CGT event, though the gains are usually small. NFTs bought and sold as investments are generally CGT assets too, and an NFT kept for personal enjoyment might be a collectable or a personal use asset depending on the facts. Decentralised finance (lending, liquidity pools, wrapping tokens) can involve CGT events where you dispose of one token and receive another; the ATO has published guidance on these arrangements, and the answer depends on whether you keep beneficial ownership. If you use DeFi heavily, specialist crypto tax software or an adviser will save time.
Losses on crypto
A capital loss on crypto offsets capital gains from any source, including shares and property, and carries forward if unused. Crypto lost through a lost private key or a failed exchange may give a capital loss if you can prove ownership, cost and that it cannot be recovered.
Before you lodge
Reconcile your calculated holdings against each exchange and wallet at 30 June. Differences usually mean a missing transaction, often a swap or a fee paid in tokens. Fix the data before relying on the totals.