The ATO treats most cryptocurrency as a Capital Gains Tax asset — not money or foreign currency. This guide covers how CGT applies to your crypto, when you owe tax, the 50% discount, the proposed 2027 changes, how staking and airdrops are taxed, and what records you need to keep. This is general information only, not personal tax advice.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) does not treat cryptocurrency as money or foreign currency. Instead, the ATO classifies crypto assets — including Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, NFTs and most tokens — as property, and specifically as CGT assets for most Australian investors.
This classification has been in place since the ATO published its first cryptocurrency guidance in December 2014. It means that, for most Australians, the rules that apply to crypto are very similar to the rules that apply to shares and investment properties.
The exception is people whom the ATO considers to be carrying on a business of trading crypto. In that case, profits are treated as ordinary income rather than capital gains. Whether you're an "investor" or a "trader" is a matter of judgement based on factors like trading frequency, business intent, time spent and whether you have a documented trading plan. Most Australians who buy and hold are investors, not traders.
Tax law is complex and applies differently to individual circumstances. For decisions involving significant amounts of money, speak to a registered tax agent who has crypto experience. The information here helps you understand the framework — it isn't personal tax advice.
The ATO calls a tax-relevant event a CGT event. Each one requires you to work out a capital gain or loss. The following all trigger CGT events on crypto:
The following are not CGT events:
If you hold a crypto asset for more than 12 months before disposing of it, you may qualify for the 50% CGT discount. This is the single most important tax planning concept for Australian crypto investors.
Example: you buy 1 ETH for $4,000. Eighteen months later you sell for $8,000. Your gross capital gain is $4,000. With the 50% discount, only $2,000 is added to your taxable income. At a marginal rate of 30%, that's $600 in tax rather than $1,200 — a saving of $600 purely from holding past the 12-month mark.
The 50% discount only applies to Australian tax residents. Foreign residents do not get the discount on Australian-sourced gains, though they can still use losses to offset gains.
In the May 2026 federal budget, the Australian government announced significant proposed changes to how capital gains are taxed. The key proposal is to replace the 50% CGT discount with an inflation-indexed model from July 2027, alongside a 30% minimum tax on capital gains.
If passed, this means:
This proposal has not yet passed Parliament. Crypto investors should keep the proposed change in mind for long-term planning but should also be aware that the final legislation may differ. Speak to a registered tax agent before making decisions that hinge on tax treatment.
Not all crypto receipts are CGT events. The ATO treats several common types of crypto receipt as ordinary income, taxed at your marginal rate in the year you receive them:
| Receipt type | Tax treatment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Staking rewards | Ordinary income | Taxed at market value when received |
| Airdrops (established projects) | Ordinary income | Taxed at market value when received |
| Crypto received as payment for work | Ordinary income | Like salary, at AUD market value |
| Mining (as a business) | Ordinary income | Costs may be deductible |
| Mining (as a hobby) | Generally no income tax | But CGT applies on disposal |
| Chain splits / forks | Generally not income | Cost base treatment per ATO guidance |
When you later sell crypto received as income, you pay CGT on the difference between the sale price and the market value at receipt — not zero. The receipt event already triggered income tax; the subsequent disposal triggers CGT on any further movement in price.
The ATO requires you to keep records of every crypto transaction for at least five years. Without records, the ATO may deny your claims for losses or the 50% discount. For each transaction you should be able to produce:
The ATO runs a crypto asset data-matching program that cross-checks data from Australian exchanges against tax returns. Designated service providers (which includes all the major Aussie exchanges) report customer transactions to the ATO. If you've used an Australian exchange, the ATO already knows about your trades — undeclared crypto gains are not a "stay under the radar" strategy.
Australian individuals report crypto gains and losses in their normal income tax return via the Capital gains or losses section. The financial year runs 1 July to 30 June; the deadline for lodging your own return is 31 October each year (extensions are available if you lodge through a registered tax agent).
For each disposal during the year you need to calculate:
Capital gain or loss = Sale proceeds − Cost base
The cost base is the original purchase price plus associated costs (fees, brokerage). The sale proceeds are what you received, in AUD market value, less any fees. If you've held for over 12 months, apply the 50% discount before adding the gain to your taxable income.
For anyone with more than a handful of transactions, manual calculation becomes impractical fast. Three established options dominate the Australian market:
All three connect directly to exchanges like CoinSpot, Swyftx, Independent Reserve and CoinJar via API. You import your transactions once a year and the software calculates gains, losses, the 50% discount, and produces a report you (or your accountant) can attach to your return.