Yes, you usually pay capital gains tax (CGT) when you take profits on crypto in Australia. The ATO treats selling crypto for AUD, swapping it for another coin, gifting it and spending it on goods or services as disposals that trigger a CGT event. Your capital gain is the amount you receive minus your cost base. If you are an Australian resident individual and held the crypto for at least 12 months, you may be able to halve the gain with the CGT discount. The net capital gain is added to your taxable income for the year. This is the position as of October 2026, based on the ATO pages linked below.

This is general information, not tax or financial advice. Tax depends on your circumstances, so confirm your position with a registered tax agent before you sell.

Key Takeaways

• Selling, swapping, gifting, converting to AUD and spending crypto are all CGT events (ATO).
• Moving crypto between wallets you own is not a disposal, but a network fee paid in crypto can be (ATO).
• Resident individuals can usually halve a gain on crypto held at least 12 months, not counting the day bought or the day sold (ATO).
• Capital losses reduce capital gains, but a net capital loss cannot be deducted from salary. It carries forward (ATO).
• Keep records of every transaction in AUD, export them regularly and keep them for 5 years (ATO).

Do You Pay Tax on Crypto in Australia?

For most people who buy and hold crypto as an investment, the ATO treats it as a CGT asset, similar to shares. You do not pay tax while the price moves. Tax applies when a CGT event happens, which is usually when you dispose of the crypto. The ATO explains this on its page about how to work out and report CGT on crypto.

Each crypto asset is a separate CGT asset. Bitcoin and Ethereum are different assets, and each parcel you buy has its own cost base and purchase date. That matters when you take profits, because the parcel you sell decides both the size of the gain and whether the 12-month discount applies.

Different rules can apply if you trade crypto as a business, receive it as income, or earn staking rewards. This guide covers investors taking profits. For the wider picture, read our crypto tax guide for Australia.

Which Crypto Transactions Trigger a CGT Event?

The ATO’s crypto asset transactions page and its tax time toolkit for crypto investors set out which transactions count as a disposal.

A common mistake is to think tax only applies when money lands back in your bank account. The ATO’s clarity on crypto reporting update confirms that a swap between two crypto assets is a disposal, and that each transaction must be recorded in AUD.

How to Work Out the Gain When You Take Profits

The basic sum is simple. The capital gain or loss equals the capital proceeds, which is what you receive for the crypto, minus the cost base, which is what you paid plus certain costs.

What goes into the cost base

The cost base includes the AUD amount you paid and incidental costs such as brokerage. The ATO’s toolkit says fees you paid in AUD can form part of the cost base, while fees paid in crypto are their own disposal. If you bought with another crypto, your cost is the AUD market value of what you gave up at that time.

The order the ATO uses

The ATO’s CGT discount page sets the order. First, add up your capital gains for the year. Second, subtract capital losses, including losses carried forward from earlier years. Third, apply the CGT discount to any discountable gains that remain. The result is your net capital gain, which goes into your tax return with your other income.

Converting to AUD

Every amount must be in Australian dollars at the time of the transaction. The ATO accepts values from a reputable exchange or price service, as long as you use a consistent method and keep the evidence.

The 12-Month CGT Discount and Timing

Timing is often the single biggest lever when you take profits. If you are an Australian resident individual and you owned the crypto for at least 12 months before the CGT event, you can usually reduce the gain by 50%. The ATO says you exclude both the day you acquired the asset and the day of the CGT event when you count the 12 months.

The discount works differently for other holders. Complying super funds, including SMSFs, get a one-third discount. Foreign residents and temporary residents generally cannot use the full discount. Companies do not get it. If you hold crypto through an SMSF, read our guide to SMSF crypto rules in Australia.

Because each parcel has its own purchase date, a partial sale can include some parcels that qualify for the discount and some that do not. Your records need to show which parcels you sold, and your tax agent can explain the identification methods the ATO accepts.

Capital Losses, Wash Sales and Record Keeping

Capital losses carry forward

Capital losses can only reduce capital gains. The ATO says you cannot deduct a net capital loss from other income such as your salary. If your losses exceed your gains for the year, the net capital loss carries forward to later years.

Wash sales

Selling crypto at a loss near the end of the financial year and buying the same or a substantially similar asset straight back, mainly to create a tax loss, is a wash sale. The ATO’s media release, Wash sales: The ATO is cleaning up dirty laundry, says it can deny those losses and apply penalties.

Records the ATO expects

The ATO’s page on keeping crypto records lists what to keep for each transaction:

• the date and time of the transaction
• the value in AUD at that time
• what the transaction was for and who the other party was, even if that is just a wallet address
• exchange records, wallet addresses and receipts for fees, software and adviser costs

The ATO suggests exporting your exchange history regularly, at least every three months, and before any account closes. Keep records for 5 years. The ATO also runs a crypto data-matching program with designated service providers such as Australian exchanges, so assume your transactions are visible to it. Our crypto tax software overview explains how software can help you organise the records.

Planning Tax Before You Take Profits

Most tax surprises come from selling first and thinking about tax later. In the 5-step SHIFT Method, the last step is to take profits on the way up with a Profit Ladder: a written set of exit levels you decide before the market moves. Adding a tax note to each rung turns it into a plan you can follow with your accountant.

Questions to take to your tax agent before you sell

• Which parcels have I held for at least 12 months, and which have not?
• Do I have capital losses carried forward that will apply first?
• Should part of each sale be set aside for the tax bill?
• Does the structure I hold crypto in, personally, in a trust or in an SMSF, change the result?
• Are my records complete enough to support the cost base of every parcel I plan to sell?

For a full walk-through of exit planning, read how to build a crypto exit strategy and Profit Ladder. To see how a tax agent, a financial adviser and a research platform each fit, read crypto financial adviser vs accountant vs research platform.

Where Collective Shift Fits

We provide crypto education and research, not tax advice. We do not manage money or hold crypto for anyone. Members follow the Live Crypto Portfolio to see our analysts’ buys and sells, and in the Accelerator they write their own Strategy Sheet and Profit Ladder during the 4-week strategy build at the start of the 12-month membership.

Browse more guides on Insights, compare research options on our comparison pages, or read the FAQ for how memberships work. For weekly market updates without the noise, join our free newsletter.

Sources

• ATO, How to work out and report CGT on crypto, accessed October 2026.
• ATO, Crypto asset transactions, last updated 22 June 2026.
• ATO, Tax and crypto asset investments (Tax time toolkit for investors), last updated 1 July 2026.
• ATO, Clarity on crypto reporting, accessed October 2026.
• ATO, CGT discount, accessed October 2026.
• ATO, Keeping crypto records, accessed October 2026.
• ATO media release, Wash sales: The ATO is cleaning up dirty laundry, published 27 June 2022.

General information only. Collective Shift provides research and education, not personal financial advice. We don’t manage your money or hold your crypto. Consider your own circumstances and speak with a licensed adviser and a registered tax agent before acting. Digital assets are volatile and you can lose money. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Third-party products are named for education only; Collective Shift does not endorse them and they can change their features at any time.