CGT on Crypto: How Capital Gains Tax Applies to Crypto Assets

For tax purposes the ATO treats crypto assets, including non-fungible tokens, as capital gains tax assets for investors, not as money. There are no special tax rules for crypto; the same rules apply as to assets generally, and the treatment depends on how the asset is acquired, held and disposed of.

Buying crypto with Australian dollars and simply holding it is not a CGT event.

Moving crypto between your own wallets while keeping ownership is not a disposal.

A CGT event happens when you dispose of a crypto asset. For crypto that includes selling it for Australian or foreign currency, trading, exchanging or swapping one crypto asset for another (including swaps between coins, stablecoins and NFTs), spending crypto on goods or services, and gifting it.

Each crypto asset is treated as a separate CGT asset, so a swap of one for another is both a disposal of the first and an acquisition of the second.

A capital gain arises where the proceeds from a disposal, measured in Australian dollars, are more than the asset's cost base. A capital loss arises where they are less.

The net capital gain for the year is the total capital gains, less any capital losses, less any CGT discount. An Australian resident individual can reduce a capital gain by the 50% CGT discount where the asset was held for at least 12 months.

Capital losses can only be offset against capital gains, not against other income. They carry forward to future years and are applied before the discount. A net capital loss cannot be deducted from other income.

A capital gain on a crypto asset is exempt from CGT only where the asset is a personal use asset and was acquired for less than $10,000. The ATO explains what qualifies on its page Crypto asset as a personal use asset, and the broader exemption criteria are set out on the List of CGT assets and exemptions.

A crypto asset is a personal use asset where it is kept or used mainly to buy items for personal use or consumption, judged at the time of disposal, such as buying crypto and using it soon after to pay for something directly. Crypto held as an investment, in a profit-making scheme or in a business is not a personal use asset, and using investment returns to buy personal items does not change that.

Converting crypto to cash or another crypto, or routing it through a gift card, prepaid card or payment gateway to buy personal items, is generally not personal use.

Capital losses on personal use assets are disregarded entirely and cannot reduce other gains or carry forward.

Some crypto activity is taxed outside the simple buy-and-sell case, and the ATO's crypto guidance covers each in detail.

Rewards from staking and from DeFi platforms are ordinary income at their market value when received, and that value becomes the cost base for working out CGT on a later disposal.

A new crypto asset received from a chain split is not taxed when received and has a cost base of zero, with CGT applying on a later disposal.

DeFi lending and liquidity pool arrangements, and wrapping or unwrapping a token, generally trigger a CGT event because beneficial ownership of the asset changes.

Running a business of trading crypto is taxed as ordinary income rather than under the CGT rules. Anyone in these situations can confirm the current treatment in the ATO's crypto asset investments guidance.

Because each crypto asset is a separate CGT asset, records are needed for every asset and every transaction: the date, what the transaction was for and the other party's wallet address, exchange records, the value in Australian dollars at the time, and any agent, software or wallet costs.

Records are kept for five years.

Capital gains and losses from crypto are reported at the capital gains label in the tax return. The ATO runs a crypto data-matching program that compares reported amounts against data from exchanges and service providers.

The ATO's own online CGT calculator and record-keeping tool can be used for crypto.

Crypto is an ordinary CGT asset with no main residence or small business exemption, so it is fully within the 2026 reform.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (Act No. 49 of 2026, royal assent 26 June 2026) replaces the 50% CGT discount with cost base indexation and the higher of the marginal rate or 30% for individuals, trusts and partnerships from 1 July 2027, with a deemed disposal and reacquisition at market value at 1 July 2027 for assets held then. A Bills Digest is available from the Parliamentary Library.

For a crypto asset sold on or after 1 July 2027, the gain accrued up to 1 July 2027 keeps the old rules, including the 50% discount where eligible, and the gain after that date uses indexation and the higher of the marginal rate or 30%.

Example only. An investor buys 2 units of a crypto asset for $4,000 and, 18 months later, swaps them for a different token when the first asset is worth $7,000. The swap is a disposal of the first asset, giving a $3,000 capital gain. Because the asset was held for more than 12 months, the 50% discount can apply after offsetting any capital losses.

Using crypto to buy a laptop would also be a disposal worked out the same way, unless the narrow personal use asset exemption applied.

For a sale that straddles 1 July 2027, use the CGT Calculator to see how the gain is split between the old and new rules.

Do I pay tax when I swap one crypto for another?

Yes. Swapping one crypto asset for another is a disposal of the first asset, and any gain is a CGT event, even though no cash is involved.

Is moving crypto between my own wallets taxed?

No. Transferring crypto between wallets you own, while keeping ownership, is not a disposal.

How does the 12-month discount work?

An Australian resident individual can reduce a capital gain by 50% where the crypto was held for at least 12 months, after offsetting capital losses. This changes for sales from 1 July 2027.

Is crypto a personal use asset?

Usually not. The exemption applies only where the crypto is kept mainly to buy personal items and was acquired for less than $10,000. Investment crypto does not qualify, and losses on personal use assets are disregarded.

Did the 2027 reform change crypto tax?

The rules for what is a CGT event are unchanged, but from 1 July 2027 a taxable gain is worked out under the new rules (indexation and the higher of marginal rate or 30%) rather than with the 50% discount.