Crypto Tax Australia 2026: CGT, Income and ATO Reporting

Most Australian individuals hold crypto as CGT assets. Selling, swapping, spending or gifting can trigger a CGT event, while staking rewards and crypto received for services can create ordinary income before a later disposal.

Reviewed 9 October 2026. This guide covers common federal treatment for Australian-resident individuals. It is a 2026 planning and reporting guide, not a substitute for the instructions for the particular income year being lodged.

Investor, trader or business?

The ATO says the tax result depends on how crypto is acquired, held and disposed of. Most individuals are investors: their crypto is a CGT asset and gains or losses are capital. A genuine trading or operating business may hold crypto as trading stock or on revenue account.

Frequency alone is not decisive. Commercial purpose, repetition, organisation, systems, business plan, scale, capital and records all matter. An exchange account labelled “professional” does not establish Australian tax status. The ATO's official crypto guidance distinguishes investment, business and personal-use treatment.

Which crypto transactions trigger CGT?

• selling crypto for AUD or another fiat currency;
• swapping one crypto asset for another;
• spending crypto on goods or services;
• gifting crypto to another person; and
• losing or destroying an asset where a relevant CGT event and evidence exist.

Buying crypto with cash and continuing to hold it generally does not itself create a gain. A transfer between wallets with unchanged beneficial ownership is not a sale, but network fees paid in crypto can involve a separate disposal. The ATO CGT overview confirms that crypto disposals are reportable events.

Proceeds, cost base and Australian-dollar values

For each investor disposal, compare capital proceeds with cost base or reduced cost base. Cost can include acquisition price and eligible incidental costs; disposal costs may affect the calculation. Amounts deducted elsewhere cannot be counted twice.

Every event needs an AUD value at the transaction time, including crypto-to-crypto swaps. Identify the disposed units and preserve their actual acquisition date and cost. A platform's average entry price or realised-P&L field is trading information, not automatically the Australian CGT result.

The step-by-step Australian CGT guide gives worked calculations and parcel controls.

CGT discount and capital losses

An Australian-resident individual may generally receive the 50% CGT discount on an eligible asset held for at least 12 months. Companies do not receive it; complying super funds generally use 33.33%. Exact acquisition and disposal dates matter.

Current-year capital losses and prior-year net capital losses are applied before the discount. Investor capital losses cannot reduce salary or ordinary income and unused net losses generally carry forward without a time limit. Review the ordering in the Australian crypto-loss guide.

2025–26 example: gains, a loss and a staking receipt

Assume a full-year Australian-resident individual investor has A$6,000 of gains from parcels held long enough for the discount, A$1,000 from a short-held parcel, and an allowable A$2,000 capital loss. All figures already include eligible fees; there are no prior losses or other concessions. Applying A$1,000 of loss to the short-held gain eliminates that gain. The remaining A$1,000 reduces the long-held gain to A$5,000; its 50% discount leaves an A$2,500 net capital gain. Total current-year capital gains remain A$7,000 before losses and discount, and no loss carries forward.

If the same investor also receives staking tokens worth A$200 during the year, record A$200 separately as ordinary income and preserve their A$200 starting acquisition value. The loss above does not directly reduce that receipt. The income-tax effect depends on the complete return, rather than applying a standalone “crypto tax rate” to A$7,000.

These discount calculations cover 2025–26. The Tax Reform No. 1 Act 2026 introduces different CGT arrangements for later gains from 1 July 2027. A token still held then needs a fresh transition review; this example is not a promise of an unchanged 50% discount forever.

Staking, airdrops, mining and payments

Staking rewards received by an investor are generally ordinary income at their AUD value when received. Established-token airdrops can also be ordinary income. That income value generally becomes the starting cost of the received token for a later CGT event.

Crypto received for employment or services is valued as income under the relevant wage or business rules. Mining can be a hobby, investment-related activity or business depending on facts. Read the Australian staking tax guide for receipt timing and the second-event calculation.

The personal-use exception is narrow

A crypto asset mainly acquired and used shortly afterwards to buy personal items can be a personal-use asset. A capital gain may be disregarded where the first element of its cost base is A$10,000 or less under section 118-10(3). All capital losses on personal-use assets are disregarded.

Long-term holding, speculation or investment purpose usually prevents the exception, even if sale proceeds later fund personal spending. Classification follows purpose and conduct, not a box selected after a gain arises.

The statutory A$10,000 test concerns the first element of cost base, rather than the sale proceeds or the whole portfolio. The simplified ATO crypto webpage uses “less than”; section 118-10(3) includes exactly A$10,000. Investment-purpose holdings still fail the personal-use test regardless of their size.

DeFi, wrapping, lending and derivatives

DeFi labels do not decide tax. Depositing tokens, receiving a pool or receipt token, wrapping, lending, redeeming and collecting rewards can change legal or beneficial ownership and may create a disposal or income event. Map what rights leave and return.

Crypto futures and perpetuals are not automatically spot CGT assets. Contract terms, exchange documentation, settlement and whether activity is capital or revenue determine treatment. A report should keep derivatives separate for review rather than treating them as tax-free or forcing them into spot lots.

How crypto enters the Australian return

Investors report total current-year capital gains, net capital gain and any net capital losses carried forward at the relevant CGT labels. Staking and similar rewards generally go to other income. A Capital gains tax schedule can be required when the applicable thresholds are met.

Business operators report ordinary income, deductible costs and trading stock under their business form. Check current myTax and ATO instructions for the income year; a software worksheet supports but does not replace the filed return.

ATO-ready crypto records

The ATO's recordkeeping page requires records of each asset and transaction. Keep them generally for five years from the later relevant time.

• date, time, units, token, wallet and transaction hash;
• AUD value, source price and FX conversion;
• acquisition cost, fees and selected parcel;
• proceeds, gain or loss and discount eligibility;
• income receipts and linked later cost bases;
• internal-transfer reconciliation and opening balances.

Use the crypto records checklist before generating the final report.

Australian crypto tax FAQ

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. For individual tax advice, consult a licensed tax professional.