- The ATO treats crypto held as an investment as a capital gains tax (CGT) asset. Selling, swapping, gifting or spending it is a CGT event, and the net capital gain is added to your taxable income.
- Australian residents who held an asset for at least 12 months can reduce the gain by 50%, for CGT events before 1 July 2027. From 1 July 2027 the discount is replaced by indexation of the cost base, and a 30% minimum tax applies to certain capital gains.
- Staking rewards are ordinary income when you receive them. DeFi lending, liquidity pools and wrapping usually trigger a CGT event.
- If you stop being an Australian resident, CGT event I1 happens to your crypto at its market value, unless you choose to defer the gain.
This page covers income tax and capital gains tax for private individuals who hold crypto in Australia; the tax year runs from 1 July to 30 June. When and how to lodge is on filing and deadlines, and companies are on business tax. It is general information, not tax advice.
How crypto is taxed
The ATO says the most common use of crypto is as an investment, and then the crypto asset is a CGT asset. A CGT event happens when you dispose of it, which the ATO says includes when you:
- sell a crypto asset,
- gift it,
- trade, exchange or swap one crypto asset for another,
- convert it to Australian or foreign currency, or
- buy goods or services with it.
Each crypto asset is a separate CGT asset. You make a capital gain if the proceeds are more than the cost base (what you paid, plus certain costs). Your net capital gain for the year is your capital gains, minus capital losses, minus the CGT discount. The ATO says you cannot deduct a net capital loss from your other income. You convert every value into Australian dollars; the ATO says it has used the Reserve Bank of Australia’s exchange rates since 1 January 2020.
The 12-month discount
For CGT events before 1 July 2027, an individual who is an Australian resident can reduce a capital gain by 50% if the asset was acquired at least 12 months before the CGT event (sections 115-25 and 115-100 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, as amended in 2026). Companies cannot use the discount. For CGT events from 1 July 2027 the rules change; see upcoming changes.
Income tax rates
Your net capital gain and any crypto income are added to your other income and taxed at the normal rates. For residents (Income Tax Rates Act 1986, Schedule 7, and the ATO’s tables):
| Taxable income | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| AUD 0 to AUD 18,200 | Nil | Nil |
| AUD 18,201 to AUD 45,000 | 16% of the amount over AUD 18,200 | 15% of the amount over AUD 18,200 |
| AUD 45,001 to AUD 135,000 | AUD 4,288 plus 30% of the amount over AUD 45,000 | AUD 4,020 plus 30% of the amount over AUD 45,000 |
| AUD 135,001 to AUD 190,000 | AUD 31,288 plus 37% of the amount over AUD 135,000 | AUD 31,020 plus 37% of the amount over AUD 135,000 |
| AUD 190,001 and over | AUD 51,638 plus 45% of the amount over AUD 190,000 | AUD 51,370 plus 45% of the amount over AUD 190,000 |
From 2027-28 the rate on income from AUD 18,201 to AUD 45,000 falls to 14%. The rates are for residents who were resident for the full year and do not include the Medicare levy, which the ATO gives as 2%.
A worked example
Our own example, using the 2025-26 rates: a resident buys crypto for AUD 20,000 in March 2025 and sells all of it for AUD 50,000 in May 2026. Her other taxable income for 2025-26 is AUD 80,000. She has no capital losses.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Capital gain | AUD 50,000 − AUD 20,000 | AUD 30,000 |
| Held at least 12 months, sold before 1 July 2027 | 50% discount: AUD 30,000 × 50% | Net capital gain AUD 15,000 |
| Taxable income | AUD 80,000 + AUD 15,000 | AUD 95,000 |
| Tax without the gain | AUD 4,288 + 30% × (AUD 80,000 − AUD 45,000) | AUD 14,788 |
| Tax with the gain | AUD 4,288 + 30% × (AUD 95,000 − AUD 45,000) | AUD 19,288 |
| Extra income tax on the crypto | AUD 19,288 − AUD 14,788 | AUD 4,500, plus Medicare levy of about AUD 300 |
Had she sold within 12 months, there would be no discount: her taxable income would be AUD 110,000 and the extra tax AUD 9,000 plus levy. This is an illustration, not a calculation for your situation; offsets, other gains and losses change the result.
Personal use assets
The ATO says a crypto asset is a personal use asset if you keep or use it mainly for personal use, for example to buy items for personal use or consumption. It is the main use at the time you dispose of it that counts. A capital gain on a personal use crypto asset is exempt if you acquired it for less than AUD 10,000; capital losses on personal use assets are always disregarded. Crypto you hold as an investment, in a profit-making scheme or in a business is not a personal use asset. The ATO adds that, except in rare situations, crypto is not a personal use asset if you first convert it to dollars, use it for a gift card or a prepaid debit card, or pay through a payment intermediary.
Mining, trading and pay in crypto
- Trading as a business. If you carry on a business of trading or mining crypto, the ATO treats the crypto as trading stock: purchases are deductible and sales are ordinary income. High volume or sophistication alone does not mean you are in business; the ATO looks at commercial purpose, profit intent and a business-like, regular activity.
- Mining. The ATO’s mining guidance covers miners who carry on a business (the crypto is trading stock) and the GST on mining services. It does not say how mining as a hobby is taxed, so we do not describe it.
- Salary in crypto. With a valid salary sacrifice arrangement, crypto paid instead of wages is a fringe benefit for the employer. Without one, the ATO treats it as normal salary, and the employer withholds tax and pays super on the Australian dollar value.
- Gifts. Giving crypto away is a CGT event for the giver. Receiving it as a gift has no CGT consequence until you dispose of it.
This page does not cover inheritance. What happens to crypto when someone dies, and the cost base heirs take over, are explained in this guide to crypto inheritance in Australia.
Staking, DeFi, airdrops and NFTs
- Staking. The money value of extra tokens you receive from staking is ordinary income when you receive them, reported as “other income”. The same applies to rewards for proxy staking or voting your tokens. Those tokens then have a cost base equal to their value on receipt.
- DeFi lending and liquidity pools. The ATO says many DeFi “lending” and “borrowing” arrangements are a CGT event, because beneficial ownership of the crypto ends. Depositing crypto into a liquidity pool is a CGT event, and so is withdrawing. Periodic DeFi rewards are assessable income, taxed similarly to interest.
- Wrapping. Wrapping a token through a smart contract (for example ETH to WETH) and unwrapping it is CGT event C2, according to the ATO. This view rests on a draft determination, TD 2026/D2.
- Airdrops. An airdrop received in return for goods or services is ordinary income at its market value. An airdrop received outside a business or income-producing activity is not income when received, but it is a separate CGT asset, with a cost base equal to its market value on receipt. An airdrop from a hobby is not income. The ATO’s draft ruling TR 2026/D1 covers airdrops and may still change.
- NFTs. The ATO says an NFT can be taxed as a CGT asset, as trading stock, as part of a business or as a profit-making scheme, and in rare cases is a personal use asset.
Moving to or from Australia
An Australian resident for tax purposes pays tax in Australia on all income and capital gains from crypto, wherever they come from. A foreign resident pays Australian tax only on Australian-sourced income from crypto; since crypto has no physical location, the ATO looks at where the activity was performed, where the platform is and where the payer and payee are.
When you stop being an Australian resident, CGT event I1 happens to your crypto: you are treated as making a capital gain or loss equal to the difference between its market value on that day and its cost base. You can choose to disregard that gain or loss; the crypto then becomes taxable Australian property, and Australia taxes the full gain when you later dispose of it. The ATO’s own example: bitcoin bought for AUD 10,000 and worth AUD 22,000 on departure gives a gain of AUD 12,000; if the owner defers and sells later for AUD 52,000, the gain taxed in Australia is AUD 42,000. A tax treaty with your new country can change the result. The ATO pages we read do not say how crypto you already own is treated when you become a resident, so we do not describe it.
Upcoming changes
CGT from 1 July 2027
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026. For individuals and trusts it changes CGT as follows:
- No 50% discount on gains from CGT events on or after 1 July 2027, except for new residential dwellings and affordable housing. The discount percentage for other gains becomes 0%.
- Indexation instead. For an Australian resident individual, the cost base of an asset is indexed for inflation for the period from 1 July 2027 (or later purchase) to the CGT event. You must not have been a foreign or temporary resident during that period.
- Deemed sale on 30 June 2027. If you hold an asset through 30 June 2027, you are treated as selling it at market value just before 1 July 2027 and buying it back on 1 July 2027. The gain or loss on that deemed sale is deferred until you actually dispose of the asset, and it can still be a discount capital gain. You can instead choose an apportioning method set by the Commissioner.
- 30% minimum tax. A new Division 119 makes Australian resident individuals pay extra tax so that certain capital gains are taxed at no less than 30% (before offsets). It does not apply to people who received certain payments in the year, such as the age pension, JobSeeker or family tax benefit. The categories of capital gains it uses apply from the income year that includes 1 July 2027.
Ask a tax professional how this affects crypto you already hold. The ATO pages on crypto that we read (updated June to August 2026) do not yet explain the new rules for crypto.
Draft ATO guidance
Two ATO drafts are still open at the time of writing (October 2026): TR 2026/D1 on airdrops and TD 2026/D2 on wrapping and unwrapping crypto. Drafts can change before they are finalized. Reporting by crypto providers to the ATO (CARF) is covered on filing and deadlines.
Sources
The ATO website refused automated access in October 2026. We read the ATO pages below through copies saved by the Internet Archive between August and October 2026, and checked the law itself on the Federal Register of Legislation.
- ATO: How to work out and report CGT on crypto (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Crypto asset transactions (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Crypto asset as a personal use asset (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Staking rewards and airdrops (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Decentralised finance and wrapping crypto (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Non-fungible tokens (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Gifts and donations of crypto assets (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Crypto asset transactions and tax residency (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Crypto assets used in business (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Crypto mining (last checked October 2026)
- ATO: Tax rates, Australian residents (last checked October 2026)
- Federal Register of Legislation: Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (last checked October 2026)
- Federal Register of Legislation: Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (last checked October 2026)
- Federal Register of Legislation: Income Tax Rates Act 1986 (section 23 and Schedule 7) (last checked October 2026)
- Federal Register of Legislation: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (sections 115-25, 115-100, 118-10) (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above before you act.