- The 2025-26 income year ended on 30 June 2026. If you lodge your own tax return, it is due by 31 October 2026. A registered tax agent can often lodge later, if you are on their list before 31 October.
- Capital gains and losses on crypto go in the capital gains section of your return; staking and other crypto income go under “other income”.
- The ATO already receives data on crypto transactions and accounts from Australian providers and matches it with tax returns. Reporting under the international CARF standard has been announced but is not yet law (October 2026).
- Keep records for 5 years. A late return can cost one penalty unit (AUD 364 from 1 July 2026) per 28 days, up to five units; a wrong return 25% to 75% of the shortfall.
This page covers when and how to report crypto to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). How the tax is worked out is on personal tax and business tax. It is general information, not tax advice; the due date the ATO or your tax agent gives you comes first.
Deadline calendar
The dates below are for the 2025-26 income year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026), for entities that balance on 30 June, as published by the ATO.
| Date | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 30 June 2026 | End of the 2025-26 income year | Everyone |
| 31 October 2026 | Tax return due if you lodge it yourself (myTax or paper). Also the last day to get on a registered tax agent’s lodgment program | Individuals |
| 31 October 2026 | Company return due if the previous year’s return was late or a prior-year return was overdue on 30 June 2026 | Companies |
| 15 January 2027 | Return due for companies that were taxable medium to large taxpayers in the prior year | Companies |
| 28 February 2027 | Return due for self-preparing taxpayers that were not due earlier | Companies and trusts |
| Later, per agent | Due date under your registered tax agent’s lodgment program; ask your agent | Clients of tax agents |
| 1 July 2027 | New CGT rules start: no 50% discount, indexation, 30% minimum tax (see personal tax) | Individuals and trusts |
Individuals: step by step
Who must lodge
If you lodge a return, capital gains and income from crypto belong in it. The ATO has a separate non-lodgment advice for people who do not need to lodge a return. We could not read the ATO’s page on who must lodge for this review, so check it for your situation.
Crypto in the return
- List every disposal in the year (sales, swaps, spending, gifts) with the date, the value in Australian dollars and the cost base.
- Work out each capital gain or loss, subtract losses, then apply the 50% discount to gains on crypto held at least 12 months (for events before 1 July 2027). The ATO has an online calculator and record keeping tool.
- In myTax, enter the result under “Capital gains or losses”; on paper, at question 18 (capital gains) of the 2026 return.
- Report staking rewards and other crypto income at their Australian dollar value as “other income”.
- Companies, trusts and funds use the capital gains tax schedule instead.
Tax agents and later dates
The ATO says most registered tax agents have a special lodgment program and can lodge for their clients after 31 October; your due date depends on your situation and when you engage the agent, so contact the agent before 31 October. If you are leaving Australia permanently, you may be able to lodge early, on paper. If you have returns for earlier years outstanding, lodge them as soon as possible to limit interest and penalties.
Companies
For June-balancing companies the due date depends on size, history and whether a tax agent lodges: 31 October if last year’s return was late, 15 January for taxable medium to large companies, and 28 February for self-preparing taxpayers not due earlier (see the calendar). Companies that use a tax agent get the date from the agent’s lodgment program. Companies with a substituted accounting period have other dates.
What providers report
Data matching now. The ATO runs a crypto asset data-matching program. It says it matches what you report in your tax return with data on crypto transactions and accounts from designated service providers, to identify buyers and sellers and quantify transactions. Its published protocol covers the income years 2014-15 to 2025-26.
CARF. On 17 December 2025, in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the government announced it will implement the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), with related changes to the Common Reporting Standard, and a domestic crypto tax transparency reporting regime. The ATO says “This measure is not yet law” and that Australia’s first exchange under the CARF is expected to start in 2028. At the time of writing (October 2026) we found no enacted law and no confirmed start date for collecting the data.
Record keeping
The ATO says you must keep records of each crypto asset and every transaction. It lists:
- receipts when you buy, transfer or dispose of crypto, and the date of each transaction,
- what the transaction was for and who the other party was (a crypto address is enough),
- exchange records and the value in Australian dollars at the time of each transaction,
- agent, accountant and legal costs, and software costs for managing your tax affairs,
- digital wallet records and keys.
Keep them for 5 years from the later of when you prepared or obtained them, when the transactions were completed, or the year the CGT event happens, and long enough to cover the amendment period (usually 2 or 4 years). Records must be in English or translatable to English, on paper or electronic. The ATO suggests exporting your transaction history at least every 3 months and before you close an account.
Penalties and voluntary disclosure
| Situation | Penalty (as published, October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Return lodged late (individuals and small withholders) | 1 penalty unit per 28 days or part, up to 5 penalty units. A penalty unit is AUD 364 for infringements from 1 July 2026 (AUD 330 from 7 November 2024 to 30 June 2026). Higher multiples apply to medium and large withholders. |
| Shortfall from failing to take reasonable care | 25% of the shortfall amount |
| Shortfall from recklessness | 50% of the shortfall amount |
| Shortfall from intentional disregard of the law | 75% of the shortfall amount |
The ATO says it generally does not apply late-lodgment penalties in isolated cases, warns you before it does, and usually does not issue one for a late return that results in a refund or nil. Interest can also be charged on unpaid tax.
Forgot to report crypto? You can tell the ATO yourself (a voluntary disclosure). The ATO says it will reduce some penalties by 80% if you tell it about a shortfall before it tells you it will examine your affairs, and to nil if the shortfall is less than AUD 1,000 and you disclose before any examination. After an examination has been announced, the reduction is 20%, and only if your disclosure saves it significant time or resources. With the ATO’s data matching, it may already know about crypto you held at an Australian provider.
Sources
The ATO website refused automated access in October 2026. We read the ATO pages below through copies saved by the Internet Archive between July 2025 and October 2026 (the voluntary disclosure page was last updated by the ATO in August 2024). We could not read the ATO’s pages on who must lodge and on the exact due dates under tax agent programs.
- ATO: Lodge your tax return online with myTax (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Lodge your tax return with a registered tax agent (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: How to lodge your tax return (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Due dates by topic, income tax (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: How to work out and report CGT on crypto (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Keeping crypto records (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Crypto assets data-matching program protocol (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: OECD Crypto Asset Reporting Framework and domestic reporting (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Failure to lodge on time penalty (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Penalty units (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Penalties for making false or misleading statements (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Liability and penalties for voluntary corrections (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules, amounts and dates change, so check the official sources above and the due date the ATO or your tax agent gives you before you act.