CGT is not a separate tax — it is the income tax you pay on a net capital gain. When you sell a CGT asset for more than you paid, the profit is added to your assessable income for that financial year and taxed at your marginal rate. The ATO recognises over 50 CGT events, but for most people it is triggered by selling shares, property, or cryptocurrency.

If you are an Australian resident individual and you held the asset for at least 12 months before selling, you only include 50% of the capital gain in your taxable income. On a $100,000 gain, only $50,000 is taxable. This is the most valuable CGT concession available to individual investors.

In most cases, no. The main residence exemption means your principal place of residence is fully exempt from CGT. Partial exemptions apply if you rented the property out for part of the time, used it for business purposes, or were absent for extended periods (though the 6-year absence rule may help).

Yes. The ATO treats cryptocurrency as property, not currency. Every disposal — selling, swapping, or using crypto to buy goods or services — is a CGT event. If you held the crypto for 12+ months, the 50% discount applies. The ATO receives transaction data directly from Australian exchanges.

The cost base is what you paid for the asset plus allowable costs. For property: purchase price, stamp duty, legal fees, conveyancing, and capital improvements (not repairs). For shares: purchase price, brokerage fees, and DRP costs. For crypto: purchase price and exchange fees. The higher your cost base, the lower your capital gain.

Yes. Capital losses from assets sold in the same year offset capital gains before the 50% discount is applied. Unused losses carry forward indefinitely with no time limit. Losses can only offset capital gains — they cannot reduce salary, wages, or other ordinary income.

There is no flat CGT rate. The taxable gain is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate. Someone earning $80,000 who makes a $50,000 gain (after the 50% discount: $25,000 taxable) pays 30% on the gain. Someone earning $160,000 with the same gain pays 37%. The more you earn, the more CGT you pay on the same gain.

CGT is triggered on the date the contracts are exchanged, not the settlement date. For shares, it is the trade date. If you exchange contracts for a property on 25 June 2025 but settle on 15 July 2025, the CGT event falls in the 2024-25 financial year.

No. The 50% discount applies to Australian resident individuals, trusts (with conditions), and complying superannuation funds (which get a 1/3 discount instead). Companies pay tax on the full capital gain at the corporate tax rate of 25% or 30%.

Asset sales generate proceeds that flow through the bank account. Ezyiah identifies those deposits, codes them to capital proceeds accounts, and flags the acquisition and disposal dates so the accountant can determine holding periods and apply the correct CGT treatment before the data reaches your accounting software.