Capital gains tax calculator.
Your capital gain after costs, the 50% discount for assets held more than a year, and the tax it adds to your return at your marginal rate.
- Registered Tax Agent No. 26266813
- Regulated by the TPB
- CPA & IPA members on our team
CGT in four steps.
Quick answer
Capital gain = sale proceeds − cost base. Subtract capital losses, then halve what is left if you held the asset for more than 12 months (the 50% discount for individuals). The net gain is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate plus 2% Medicare levy. There is no separate CGT rate.
Step 1 — the cost base
Five elements: the purchase price; incidental costs of acquiring and disposing (stamp duty, conveyancing, agent's commission, brokerage, advertising, valuations); ownership costs you did not claim as deductions (interest, rates, insurance, repairs — not available for assets bought before 21 August 1991 or for personal use assets); capital improvements; and costs of defending your title. For a rental property, capital works deductions you claimed (or could have claimed) reduce the cost base.
Step 2 — gain, losses and the discount
Proceeds minus cost base is the gross gain. Capital losses — from this year or carried forward — are subtracted first. Then, if you owned the asset for more than 12 months (measured contract date to contract date), individuals and trusts halve the remaining gain. Companies get no discount; complying super funds get one-third. Assets acquired before 20 September 1985 are exempt.
Step 3 — add it to your income
The net gain goes on your tax return for the year the contract was signed and is taxed with everything else. Because it stacks on top of your other income it is often taxed at a higher rate than your usual pay — a $120,000 discounted gain on top of a $90,000 salary is taxed mostly at 37%. Timing a sale into a lower-income year, or splitting ownership, can change the result materially — which is where advice before the contract is worth far more than after.
Example
| Sale price | $650,000 |
| Less selling costs | $15,000 |
| Less cost base ($450,000 + $20,000 stamp duty and legals) | $470,000 |
| Capital gain | $165,000 |
| 50% discount | $82,500 |
| Net capital gain added to income | $82,500 |
| Extra tax and Medicare levy (income rises from $90,000 to $172,500) | $29,025 |
From 1 July 2027
The 50% discount is being replaced for individuals, trusts and partnerships by cost base indexation and a 30% minimum rate on gains that accrue after 1 July 2027; gains accrued before then keep the discount. If you hold investment assets now, their value just before that date will matter when you sell. We'll update the calculator when the final rules are published; the CGT on property guide tracks the change.
Sources: ATO — Capital gains tax, Calculating your CGT, CGT discount. Estimates for residents only; foreign residents are not eligible for the discount on most assets. Main residence exemptions, small business CGT concessions and inherited assets are not modelled. Not advice.
Selling an asset? Ask before the contract.
Timing, ownership and the main residence rules can change the tax by tens of thousands. We handle CGT for property, shares and crypto for clients anywhere in Australia.
CGT — your questions.
How is capital gains tax calculated in Australia?
There is no separate CGT rate. The capital gain (sale proceeds minus cost base) is reduced by any capital losses and, for individuals who held the asset more than 12 months, by the 50% discount. The net gain is added to your other income for the year and taxed at your marginal rate plus Medicare levy. A $100,000 gain on an asset held two years adds $50,000 to your taxable income.
What goes into the cost base?
What you paid for the asset, plus incidental costs of buying and selling (stamp duty, legal fees, agent's commission, brokerage, valuation), plus the cost of capital improvements, plus ownership costs for property such as interest, rates and repairs that you did not claim as deductions. Depreciation claimed on a rental property is deducted from the cost base. Keep the records — the ATO can ask for them years later.
Is my home exempt from CGT?
Your main residence is generally fully exempt if you lived in it the whole time and did not use it to produce income. Renting out part of it, running a business from it, or renting the whole property out for more than six years while living elsewhere creates a partial gain. Our CGT on property guide covers the 6-year rule and the partial exemptions.
When is the gain taxed — contract date or settlement?
For property the CGT event happens on the date of the contract, not settlement. A contract signed on 20 June and settled on 30 July belongs in the earlier financial year's return — a common surprise. For shares and crypto it is the date of the trade.
Can I offset a capital loss against my salary?
No. Capital losses can only be offset against capital gains — in the same year or carried forward indefinitely. Losses are applied before the 50% discount, so it is better to use them against undiscounted gains where you have a choice. Losses on personal use assets and collectables have their own rules.
What is changing for the CGT discount in 2027?
For individuals, trusts and partnerships the 50% discount is replaced from 1 July 2027 by cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax rate on gains accruing after that date. Gains accrued before 1 July 2027 keep the 50% discount, so the value of an existing asset immediately before that date will matter when it is eventually sold. This calculator applies the current 50% discount rules.
Does crypto attract CGT?
Yes. Selling crypto for dollars, swapping one coin for another, using it to buy something, or gifting it are all CGT events. The gain is the market value received minus the cost base of the coins disposed of, and the 50% discount applies if held over 12 months. Our crypto tax guide explains record-keeping.
More questions? See the full FAQ or ask us directly.
Keep going.
Income tax calculator
Tax payable, Medicare levy, offsets and your refund.
Learn moreCGT on property
The 6-year rule, cost base and the 2027 changes.
Learn moreCrypto tax in Australia
CGT, staking, swaps and the records you need.
Learn moreRental property deductions
What you can claim, and the 2027 changes.
Learn moreInvestments, property and crypto — reported right.
Registered tax agents for investors Australia-wide.