Crypto tax in Australia

• Swapping one coin for another is taxed, even though no dollars change hands.
• Held for at least 12 months? The 50% discount applies, as it does for shares.
• Staking rewards are income in the year you receive them.

Each of these ends your ownership of a coin, so each one is a capital gains event:

• Selling crypto for Australian dollars or any other currency.
• Swapping one crypto for another, stablecoins included.
• Paying for something with crypto.
• Giving crypto away. The gain uses its market value on the day.

Buying crypto, holding it, and moving it between wallets you own are not taxed by themselves.

A swap is a sale of the coin you give up and a purchase of the one you get. Both use the Australian dollar value at the time of the swap.

Made-up figures:

• You buy 1 ETH for $3,000 in January 2025.
• In March 2026 you swap it for SOL, when the ETH is worth $4,500.

The ETH: a gain of $4,500 − $3,000 = $1,500. You held it for more than 12 months, so $750 is taxed.

The SOL: its cost base is $4,500, and its 12 months start in March 2026.

Staking rewards are ordinary income. Include their Australian dollar value on the day you receive them as other income on your tax return. That value is also their cost base for when you later sell them.

Airdrops depend on how you got them. If you aren't trading crypto as a business, and the airdrop wasn't a reward for goods or services, its value isn't income when you receive it. The ATO has set out its view in a draft ruling, TR 2026/D1, which may change before it is final. Check it, or ask a tax agent.

If you are an Australian resident and held a coin for at least 12 months before selling or swapping it, half the gain is taxed. Losses come off first, and crypto losses can be used against gains on shares, and the other way round. From 1 July 2027 the discount is replaced for growth after that date: see the 2027 changes and the CGT discount guide.

Crypto kept mainly to buy things for personal use can be exempt. The ATO reads this narrowly: crypto you hold as an investment is not a personal use asset, even if you later spend some of it. Losses on a personal use asset can't be claimed.

Do I pay tax if I move crypto to my own wallet?

No. Moving crypto between wallets you own doesn't change who owns it, so it isn't a sale.

Does the ATO know about my crypto?

The ATO collects data from Australian crypto exchanges, so assume it can see your trades there. Report every sale and swap.

Can a crypto loss reduce my wages?

No. Like a loss on shares, it only comes off capital gains, and what is left carries forward to later years.

What records do I need?

The date, the Australian dollar value and what the transaction was for every purchase, sale, swap and reward. Exchange downloads cover most of it. Keep them for five years after you sell.

Portfoli.au tracks crypto beside your shares, ETFs, cash and super on the Plus and Pro plans, and works out the gain on every sale with the 12-month discount and your losses applied together. A CoinSpot history is read automatically. Any other exchange's trades can be typed in or uploaded with the import file guide.

Record a swap as a sale of one coin and a purchase of the other, both at the dollar value on the day. Record a staking reward as a purchase at its value on the day you received it, so its cost base is right.

See plans and prices, or try the free capital gains calculator.

• ATO, What are crypto assets?
• ATO, Crypto to crypto exchange or swap (updated 22 June 2026)
• ATO, Staking rewards and airdrops (updated 19 August 2026)
• ATO, Draft Taxation Ruling TR 2026/D1 (crypto received by an airdrop)
• ATO, Crypto asset as a personal use asset

Check with a registered tax agent before you act.

• Capital gains tax on shares in Australia: When you pay tax on selling shares or ETFs, how the gain is worked out, and what to do with a loss.
• 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.
• 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.