Au Crypto Tax

AU Crypto Tax

Australia Crypto Tax -- CGT & Income Skill v1.3

Section 1 -- Quick Reference

Quick Reference

Quick Reference

Core Principle

The ATO treats cryptocurrency (including Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, NFTs, and DeFi tokens) as a CGT asset, not as foreign currency. Each disposal triggers a CGT event.

Individual Marginal Tax Rates (2026-27)

Individual Marginal Tax Rates (2026-27)

• Rate scale by year — The second resident bracket is 15 cents from 1 July 2026 and was 16 cents in 2024-25 and 2025-26; add the 2% Medicare levy. Non-residents have no tax-free threshold and no discount. From 1 July 2027 the 50% discount gives way to cost base indexation with a 30% minimum rate on gains accruing after that date (see 2.3). (ATO, Tax rates: Australian resident)

Key Thresholds

Key Thresholds

Conservative Defaults

Conservative Defaults

Section 2 -- Classification Rules

2.1 CGT Events (Disposals)

CGT Events (Disposals)

A CGT event occurs when you:

2.2 Cost Base Calculation

Cost Base Calculation

• Method for identical assets — FIFO, LIFO, or specific identification -- must be consistent and documented. ATO does not mandate a method but requires consistency.
• Fees and missing parcel records — Classify each fee by the transaction it belongs to: a fee on acquisition enters the cost base of that asset, a fee on disposal is an incidental cost of that event, and a network fee is not automatically deductible or an addition to every asset's cost base. Where a parcel or acquisition record is missing, investigate exchange exports, wallet history and bank transfers before falling back to the $0 conservative default. (ATO, Transactions: acquiring and disposing of crypto assets)

2.3 50% CGT Discount

Available if:

• The asset was held for at least 12 months (acquisition to disposal)
• The taxpayer is an individual or trust (not a company or super fund at 1/3 discount)
• The taxpayer is an Australian tax resident at the time of the CGT event
• Events from 1 July 2027 — The 50% discount applies to eligible events before 1 July 2027. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 replaces it with cost base indexation and a 30% minimum rate for gains accruing after that date; apply the enacted transitional rules to later events. See au-capital-gains.md. (Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026)

2.4 Personal Use Asset Exemption

Personal Use Asset Exemption Conditions

• Exemption failure conditions — If ANY acquisition cost ≥ $10,000, the personal use asset exemption does NOT apply. If crypto is kept on an exchange or held for extended periods, the ATO considers it an investment -- NOT personal use.
• Threshold is acquisition cost, not proceeds — The $10,000 test looks at what the crypto cost to acquire, not what it was worth when spent. Spending a long-held investment holding on personal goods does not turn it into a personal use asset, and a capital loss on a personal use asset is disregarded. (ATO, Crypto asset as a personal use asset)

2.5 Trading vs Investing

Trading vs Investing

• Frequency alone does not decide — Establish whether the taxpayer invests, carries on a trading or mining business, is paid for services, or undertook an isolated profit-making transaction. An isolated commercial transaction can produce ordinary income without a business, and business trading stock and revenue gains use different calculations from capital investments. (TR 92/3)

2.6 Staking Rewards

Staking Rewards

2.7 Airdrops

Airdrops

• Airdrops are not automatically ordinary income — Establish whether the airdrop was received in a crypto trading business, for goods or services, through another income-producing activity, or as a hobby receipt, gift or windfall; current ATO guidance distinguishes these. Where it is not ordinary income the token is still a CGT asset, so record its acquisition and support its value; an unavailable price feed is not evidence that a token had no value. (ATO, Staking rewards and airdrops)
• TR 2026/D1 is a draft — TR 2026/D1 sets out the Commissioner's preliminary view on airdrops, with stated scope exclusions and proposed application arrangements. Do not cite it as a final ruling; record which view was applied. (TR 2026/D1)

2.8 DeFi Specific Events

DeFi Specific Events

• Read the mechanics before choosing the event — Depositing into a liquidity pool, receiving a replacement token, lending, borrowing, wrapping or unwrapping can change or end rights even where the economic exposure looks unchanged. Record the assets and rights held before and after the transaction; the CGT event can be A1, C2, E2 or H2 depending on the arrangement. (ATO, Decentralised finance and wrapping crypto)
• TD 2026/D2 on wrapping and unwrapping — TD 2026/D2 proposes CGT event C2 treatment for specified smart-contract wrapping and unwrapping arrangements. It is a draft with exclusions, so do not apply it to every bridge or custodial transfer; keep a record of the arrangement and the interpretation used. (TD 2026/D2)

2.9 NFTs

Treated identically to other crypto assets. Purchase = acquisition (CGT asset). Sale = disposal (CGT event). Creating and selling an NFT = ordinary income if in the business of creating them, otherwise CGT.

• What the NFT represents decides the treatment — Business receipts, investment disposals, personal use assets and collectables each have their own rules. Neither the label NFT nor an exchange's tax category settles the result.

Section 3 -- Transaction Pattern Library

3.1 Exchange Patterns -- Coinbase

Exchange Patterns -- Coinbase

3.2 Exchange Patterns -- Swyftx

Exchange Patterns -- Swyftx

3.3 Exchange Patterns -- CoinSpot

Exchange Patterns -- CoinSpot

3.4 On-Chain Patterns

On-Chain Patterns

Section 4 -- Computation Method

Step 1: Identify All CGT Events

• Identify All CGT Events — List every disposal in the financial year (sells, swaps, spends, gifts, DeFi events).

Step 2: Calculate Gain/Loss per Event

• Calculate Gain/Loss per Event — Capital proceeds − cost base = capital gain (or capital loss).

Step 3: Apply 50% Discount (if eligible)

• Apply 50% Discount (if eligible) — For each gain where asset held ≥ 12 months: net capital gain = gain × 50%.

Step 4: Offset Capital Losses

• Offset Capital Losses — Apply current and prior year capital losses against gross capital gains BEFORE applying the 50% discount. Correct order: Gross gains − capital losses = net gain. Then apply 50% discount to remaining gains eligible.

Step 5: Add Ordinary Income

• Add Ordinary Income — Staking rewards + airdrops + mining income reported as other income (not in CGT schedule).

Step 6: Report on Tax Return

• Report on Tax Return — Capital gains: Item 18 (Capital gains); Ordinary crypto income: Item 24 (Other income)

Section 5 -- Record-Keeping Requirements

The ATO requires the following records for each transaction:

Record-Keeping Requirements

• Retention period — Retention period: 5 years from the date of lodgement of the return in which the gain/loss is reported. For assets still held: records must be kept until 5 years after eventual disposal.
• Reconcile before calculating — Collect exchange exports, wallet addresses, transaction identifiers, timestamps, token quantities, fees and Australian dollar valuations. Match transfers between the taxpayer's own wallets so they are not recorded as sales, and check that beneficial ownership really stayed unchanged for exchange, lending and custody arrangements. Reconcile opening holdings plus receipts less disposals and fees to closing holdings, and investigate any gap. (ATO, Keeping crypto records)

Section 6 -- Edge Cases

6.1 Hard Forks

• Hard Forks — Tokens received from a hard fork (e.g., Bitcoin Cash from Bitcoin) have a cost base of $0. No income at receipt. CGT event occurs on subsequent disposal with cost base = $0.

6.2 Lost or Stolen Crypto

• Lost or Stolen Crypto — A capital loss may be claimed if the crypto is demonstrably lost (e.g., lost private keys with no possibility of recovery, scam/hack with no recovery). The taxpayer must demonstrate the loss is permanent. ATO may require evidence.
• Exchange collapse and suspended withdrawals — An exchange entering administration, or suspending withdrawals, needs evidence of what asset or enforceable right remains and whether a CGT event has happened. Do not write off an account because withdrawals are suspended. Keep unresolved transactions outside the final calculation until the facts and treatment are documented, then reconcile income, gains, losses and holdings to the workpapers.

6.3 Mining

Mining

6.4 Crypto Received as Payment for Services

• Crypto Received as Payment for Services — Assessable as ordinary income (PSI or business income) at market value in AUD at time of receipt. Cost base for future CGT = that market value.

6.5 Margin Trading / Futures

• Margin Trading / Futures — Profits and losses from crypto derivatives and margin trading are generally on revenue account (ordinary income/loss) unless clearly a one-off speculative punt.

Section 7 -- Prohibitions

• Prohibitions — NEVER claim the personal use asset exemption for crypto held on an exchange for extended periods; NEVER apply the 50% CGT discount without verifying 12+ months holding period; NEVER apply the 50% CGT discount for companies or non-residents; NEVER offset capital losses against ordinary income (only against capital gains); NEVER apply capital losses before gross gains (apply losses first, THEN discount); NEVER ignore crypto-to-crypto swaps as non-events -- each swap is a disposal; NEVER assume DeFi events are non-taxable -- conservative approach is to treat as disposals; NEVER omit staking/airdrop income -- it is ordinary income when received; NEVER present tax calculations as definitive -- always label as estimated

Disclaimer

This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional (such as a CPA, CA, registered tax agent, or equivalent licensed practitioner in your jurisdiction) before filing or acting upon.

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Contributed by Ryan Duguid.

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General reference only. This document does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Verify figures against the cited primary sources or with a licensed professional before relying on them.

Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-09-27. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call get_skill with slug au-crypto-tax on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/au-crypto-tax. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.