Capital gains tax on shares in Australia

• Owned the shares for at least 12 months? Only half the gain is taxed.
• Made a loss? It comes off your gains, and any left over carries forward.
• From 1 July 2027 the half-off discount is replaced for growth after that date. See the 2027 changes.

Capital gains tax applies when you stop owning shares or ETF units. Selling them is the usual way. Giving them away or moving them to someone else counts too, and so does a takeover where you are paid out.

The date that counts is the day you sold, the trade date, not the day the sale settled. A sale on 30 June belongs to that financial year, even though the money arrives in July.

Nothing is taxed while you hold. A rise in price only becomes a gain when you sell.

Gain = what you sold for − your cost base.

Your cost base is what you paid for the shares, plus the brokerage on buying them and on selling them. A few things, such as a return of capital from the company, lower it. The cost base guide has the detail.

If you bought the same shares at different times and sold only some, you need to know which ones you sold, because each purchase has its own cost and date.

If you are an Australian resident and owned the shares for at least 12 months, you can halve the gain before it is taxed. Super funds take a third off instead, and companies get no discount.

The CGT discount guide covers how the 12 months are counted. From 1 July 2027 the discount only applies to growth before that date.

A loss on one sale comes off gains on others in the same year. It comes off before the discount is applied. For sales up to 30 June 2027, use it against gains that don't get the discount first.

A capital loss can't reduce your wages or other income. If your losses are bigger than your gains, the rest carries forward to later years with no time limit.

Made-up figures, for a sale before 1 July 2027:

• You buy 1,000 shares at $5.00, paying $20 brokerage.
• Two years later you sell them all at $8.00, paying $20 brokerage.

Cost base: $5,000 + $20 + $20 = $5,040.

Gain: $8,000 − $5,040 = $2,960.

After the discount: you held them more than 12 months, so $1,480 is added to your taxable income. At a tax rate of 30% plus the 2% Medicare levy, that is about $474 of tax.

Most people who buy shares to hold them are investors, and everything on this page applies. If you trade so often and in such an organised way that it is a business, your profits are taxed as ordinary income instead, with no discount. The ATO decides this from the facts, so ask a tax agent if you are unsure.

Do I pay tax if I don't sell?

No. A rise in price is not taxed until you sell. The 2027 changes treat shares as sold and bought back at 1 July 2027, but nothing is payable until you really sell.

Are dividends part of capital gains tax?

No. Dividends are income, taxed in the year you receive them, with franking credits counted against your tax.

What about shares from a dividend reinvestment plan?

Each reinvestment is a new purchase. Its cost is the dividend reinvested, and its 12 months start from the day the shares were issued.

Do overseas shares count?

Yes. An Australian resident pays tax on gains from shares anywhere, worked out in Australian dollars using the exchange rate on the day of each purchase and sale.

Where does it go on my tax return?

Your total gain for the year, after losses and the discount, goes in the capital gains section, along with any loss you are carrying forward.

Portfoli.au keeps the date and cost of every purchase, brokerage included, and works out the gain or loss on each sale for every financial year. It applies the 12-month discount where it fits and takes losses off first, with every step shown. You choose which shares count as sold when you bought at different times.

For a single sale, try the free capital gains calculator. For every sale across your platforms, start free.

• ATO, How to calculate your CGT
• ATO, Using capital losses to reduce capital gains
• ATO, CGT discount (updated 29 June 2026)
• ATO, When you can claim losses on shares and units

Check with a registered tax agent before you act.

• The 50% CGT discount and the 12-month rule: Who gets the discount, how to count the 12 months, and why losses come off first.
• Cost base of shares: brokerage and what to include: What goes into the cost of your shares, brokerage included, and which shares count as sold.
• Crypto tax in Australia: Which crypto transactions are taxed, staking rewards, airdrops and the 12-month discount.
• Capital gains tax changes from 1 July 2027: The 50% discount is replaced for growth after 1 July 2027. What that means for shares you own now.
• Tax-loss selling before 30 June, and wash sales: Selling at a loss before 30 June, what the loss is worth, and the buy-back the ATO refuses.
• How ETFs are taxed in Australia: Distributions, the annual tax statement, cost base changes, and selling units.
• How to track your share portfolio in Australia: The records to keep, a spreadsheet or a tracker, and the figures worth watching.
• All guides, and help with using Portfoli.au.
• Capital gains calculator: work out the gain on one sale, free.
• Dividend calculator: estimate dividend income with franking credits, free.