Australian crypto tax: CGT events, the discount, and the deadline

How the ATO sees crypto

The ATO’s framing is blunt: for most individual investors, crypto is a CGT asset, not money. Dispose of it — sell for dollars, swap one token for another, spend it, give it away — and a CGT event happens, measured in Australian dollars at that moment, whether or not any dollars actually landed in your account. Some ways of acquiring crypto, like staking rewards, are taxed as ordinary income instead. Buying and holding, or moving coins between your own wallets, triggers nothing.[1][2]

Quick-reference table

CGT and the 50% discount

• Each CGT event is capital proceeds minus cost base — the cost base includes what you paid plus incidental costs such as fees.
• The 50% discount: resident individuals (and some trusts) who held the asset for at least 12 months before the CGT event — excluding the acquisition and disposal days — halve the net gain before it is taxed.[1]
• Capital losses offset capital gains first, in the current year, and carry forward indefinitely. They never offset salary or other ordinary income.
• There is no separate CGT rate. Your net capital gain simply joins your taxable income for the year and is taxed at your marginal rate — which is why a large gain can also push other income into a higher bracket.

Resident marginal rates for 2025–26 (before Medicare levy)

Events taxed as ordinary income

Staking rewards count as ordinary income at their A$ market value when you gain control of them; the same tokens face CGT later only on growth after that point. Airdrops split two ways: tokens from an initial allocation airdrop are generally not income on receipt (your cost base is what you paid — often nil), while airdrops received for doing something — promotion, referrals, services — generally are. Mining turns on whether it amounts to a business or a hobby, and deductions follow from that classification. All three are worth confirming against ATO guidance for your facts.[2]

Three events, worked through (mechanics, not a tax estimate)

One income year, three moves — together they cover most of what Australian holders actually do:

• Sold BTC held for two years: proceeds minus cost base gives the gain; because the holding period comfortably exceeds 12 months, an individual halves it under the discount before it joins taxable income.
• Swapped ETH into SOL after eight months: a CGT event at the A$ value at swap time. Under 12 months means no discount — the full gain counts.
• Received staking rewards: ordinary income at market value on receipt, full stop. CGT only enters the picture if those tokens are later disposed of.

Then the year’s assembly: offset any capital losses against gains first, apply the discount to what qualifies, and the resulting net capital gain joins your other income at marginal rates. Three ideas carry the whole page: swaps count, the discount is purely about the calendar, and rewards are a different tax from disposals.

Common traps

• “I never cashed out to AUD, so nothing to report” — crypto-to-crypto swaps are CGT events. This is the single most common omission.
• Booking staking rewards as capital gains — they are income on receipt; CGT comes later, separately.
• Claiming the discount at exactly 12 months — the count excludes both end days, so “exactly a year” fails. Check the dates.
• Stretching the personal use asset exemption — it is narrow by design: A$10,000 or less, genuinely for personal consumption, typically used soon after acquisition. Long-held investments do not become personal use assets at the checkout.
• Expecting losses to shrink the tax on wages — capital losses stay in the capital bucket.
• Ignoring data matching — Australian exchanges report to the ATO, which matches those records against returns. Gaps invite questions.

Lodging your return

• Income year: 1 July to 30 June.
• Self-lodgment via myTax: due 31 October following the year’s end — 31 October 2026 for 2025–26.
• Through a registered tax agent: later deadlines usually apply if you are on their books before 31 October.
• Keep records for at least five years: dates, A$ values, wallets, counterparties — see Keeping transaction records.[4]

FAQ

Official sources

• [1] ATO, Crypto asset investments — ato.gov.au/…/crypto-asset-investments
• [2] ATO, Transactions — acquiring and disposing of crypto assets — ato.gov.au/…/transactions
• [3] ATO, Individual income tax rates — ato.gov.au/rates/individual-income-tax-rates
• [4] ATO, Due dates for lodging and paying — ato.gov.au/…/due-dates

Figures apply to the 2025–26 income year and were checked against the official pages on 1 September 2026. The ATO’s pages take precedence if they have since changed.