Free crypto tax calculator for Australians

When you buy and sell crypto for a profit, you may need to pay capital gains tax (CGT) to the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

Our crypto tax calculator is designed to simplify the estimation of your CGT and help you prepare your tax report.

If you've only bought and sold a few cryptocurrencies, this calculator can help give you an idea of your tax obligations.

If you've traded lots of cryptocurrencies, used DeFi or staking, we recommend you use dedicated crypto tax software. You can compare the best tax services based on cost, features and customer feedback below.

Use our crypto tax calculator

• How this calculator works

  The capital gains tax (CGT) is calculated by first determining if there is a capital gain, which is calculated by subtracting the purchase price of the asset, the purchase costs and the sale costs from the sale price of the asset. If there is a capital gain, the individual's total tax payable is then calculated by applying their marginal tax rate for the current financial year to their total taxable income including the capital gain (which may include a discount if held for over 12 months). The figure provided by the calculator relates to the portion of tax payable as a result of the capital gain.

  Assumptions and limitations

  The calculator assumes the following:

  1. The individual is a permanent resident of Australia for the entire current financial year
  2. The asset:
     • Was purchased after 21 September 1991
     • Is owned by the individual and not a business entity
     • Is not an owner-occupied home
     • Is not part of a super fund
     • Is not otherwise exempt from the CGT rules

  • The Medicare Levy Surcharge rate is not payable.

  This calculator provides an estimate only and is not a replacement for professional financial advice.

How to use the crypto tax calculator

Our cryptocurrency tax calculator is designed for a simple estimation of your capital gains tax (CGT).

It works by calculating the profit or loss from a trade and estimating the CGT tax owed.

You can add multiple trades and toggle whether or not you've held an asset for 12 months or more, which will apply the 50% CGT discount.

You may be eligible for the 50% CGT discount if you have held on to an asset for more than 12 months without disposing of it – which means you have not sold it, or swapped it for another cryptocurrency.

To use the calculator, follow these steps:

1. Add each trade to a new row. A trade is when you have bought then sold an asset once.
2. Add your purchase price for the asset in the Purchase Value (AUD) column and then the price you sold it for in the Sold value (AUD). If you held the asset for more than 12 months without disposing of it (eg, selling it, trading it, or swapping it for another asset) then you can toggle the switch which will apply the CGT discount for that trade.
3. Add as many trades as you need.
4. Once you have added all your trades, add your taxable income to the bottom left field. This should include your salary plus any other income, including capital gains from any other assets that were not added to the calculator.
5. Press the green Calculate button. You will be shown an estimate of your capital gains and taxable capital gains.

What triggers a capital gains event?

A capital gains event occurs when you dispose of an asset such as cryptocurrency, and make a profit or loss. This applies to all crypto assets including coins, tokens, NFTs and stablecoins.

You will need to add a new row in the calculator for each capital gains event. So each time you buy then sell an asset, you will need to add it as a new row, even if you made a loss. It is important to record your losses because these offset your gains and may help you reduce your overall tax bill.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) now provides guidance on specific transactions that can lead to capital gains events:

Selling cryptocurrency or NFTs for a profit

This is the most common way of disposing of crypto assets and realising capital gains or losses. For example, if you bought one Bitcoin for $10,000 and sold it for $15,000, you have made a capital gain of $5,000 and would need to report this capital gain to the ATO when you do your tax. The same rules apply to NFTs.³

Switching to and from stablecoins

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are pegged to a fiat currency, such as US dollars or Australian dollars. Switching to and from stablecoins is also considered a disposal of crypto assets for tax purposes, just like if you had sold your crypto for Aussie dollars.

Gifting crypto

Gifting crypto to someone else is another way of disposing of your crypto assets and triggering a capital gains event, unless it is to a registered charity. The ATO treats gifts of crypto as if you sold them at their market value at the time of the gift.⁴

Spending crypto

If you hold on to your crypto as an investment and later to choose to spend it on goods and services you are liable for CGT. You may be excluded if you hold the crypto for a very short period of time and purchased it with the explicit intent of spending it. For example, if you bought BTC and spent it immediately because a merchant offered a discount for purchases made in crypto.⁵

It is important to keep records of all your crypto transactions and consult a tax professional if you are unsure about your tax obligations.

Example crypto tax calculation

Difference between investors and traders when calculating crypto capital gains

If you're a professional crypto trader then your tax implications will be a bit different to those of an investor.

A trader is typically considered someone who buys and sells crypto on a regular basis as a way to generate income. If this sounds like you, then you may want to contact an accountant to better understand your tax obligations.

By and large, though, most crypto owners in Australia are considered investors and subject to capital gains tax.

If you're unsure what you might be, make sure to read our crypto tax guide which neatly breaks down the two.

What can I do if I have made a lot of trades?

Calculating your taxes can be challenging if you have made a large number of trades. Here are some practical steps you can take to start making sense of everything.

Collect your records. You can start by gathering all relevant records of your cryptocurrency trades. You can download a copy of your transaction history from most exchanges, which should provide you with key information like purchase price, sale price, quantity and time and date.

Use crypto tax software. To simplify the process of tracking and calculating your cryptocurrency trades, consider using dedicated crypto tax software. These affordable tools can help you consolidate your transaction history from multiple exchanges, calculate capital gains and losses, and generate tax reports. Popular options include Crypto Tax Calculator, Koinly and CoinTracking.

Compare deals on crypto tax software

Consult a tax professional. If your records are starting to look complicated, then it might be time to consult a professional. A tax professional can guide you through the process, provide personalised advice based on your specific circumstances, and help ensure compliance with the ATO requirements.

What happens if I made a loss?

If you have made a loss from your cryptocurrency investments during the financial year, there are a few steps you can take.

Carry forward the capital loss. In Australia, capital losses can be carried forward to future years to offset against capital gains you may make in those years. There is no time limit, which means this can be a powerful tool to reduce future tax bills, so make sure to keep a record of any losses.

Offset against other capital gains. If you have realised capital gains from other investments during the same financial year, you can use your cryptocurrency capital losses to offset those gains. This can help reduce your overall taxable capital gains and potentially lower your tax bill.

Compare crypto tax services

1 - 3 of 7

Product GXFCY-PTR	Pricing by tier (per year)	Supported exchanges
Koinly Crypto Tax Reporting	Newbie AUD $69 ⁠— 100 trades Hodler AUD $149 ⁠— 1,000 trades Trader AUD $299 ⁠— 3,000 trades Pro AUD $399 ⁠— 10,000+ trades	Supports all major exchanges	Use code FINDER23 for 30% off your first tax report! T&Cs apply. Koinly generates crypto tax reports built to comply with Aussie tax guidelines for 750+ exchanges, wallets and integrations.	Go to siteMore Info	loading Fetching your data...
Crypto Tax Calculator Crypto Tax Reporting	Rookie AUD$49 — 100 transactions Hobbyist AUD$99 — 1,000 transactions Investor AUD$249 — 10,000 transactions Trader AUD$399 — 100,000 transactions	160+ Integrations	Australian made tax software with 3500+ integrations, ATO ready tax reports and support for all financial years.	Go to siteMore Info	loading Fetching your data...
Syla Crypto Tax Reporting	Budget - AUD $59 - 10K transactions and ATO tax report Assurance - AUD $149 - Budget + assurance reports Tax Saving - AUD $249 - Assurance + lowest tax Private Wealth - AUD $389 - 100K transactions + Tax Saving + Trust, Company and SMSF accounts	500+ integrations	Use the discount code FINDER10 to get 10% off the first year subscription. Affordable tax software with a generous free plan and tools to minimise tax.	Go to site	loading Fetching your data...

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Frequently asked questions

• Do crypto tax tools report to the ATO?

  Of the 8 crypto tax tools we reviewed, none of them collect your tax file number or make any declarations about reporting to the ATO.

  The only personal information they asked for is for billing purposes.

  Instead, the software is designed to calcualte your taxes and provide you with a report that you then use to help calculate your overall tax obligation for the year. It is up to you if you provide this to an accountant or upload the details to MyGov.

• Can the ATO track crypto?

  Yes, the ATO knows whether or not you own crypto and can track what you have done with it.

  According to Harrison Dell, a cryptocurrency tax expert and advisor, "If you don't report your crypto gains or losses, you are at significant risk of being audited. The ATO has both an excellent data matching program and immense amounts of data on cryptocurrency activities. They receive data from most exchanges and could use 3rd party tools to link a public key to you."

• Do I need to report crypto if I didn't sell?

  If you held on to your cryptocurrency for the financial year and did not make any transactions at with it then you will not need to declare it, as you have not disposed of the asset.

  However, you may still need to declare your crypto if you used it but did not "sell" it.

  According to the ATO, a taxable CGT event occurs when you "dispose" of an asset. Most people typically think this as selling the asset for something like AUD or stablecoins.

  But it can also apply to decentralised finance activities like depositing funds into a DeFi protocol and receiving a token in return (eg, a liquidity provider token).

  Fortunately, this is unlikely to make much of an impact to your tax bill, according to crypto tax expert Harrison Dell

  "Transactions with LPTs may also trigger tax, however in many cases the tax is negligible. Depositing LPTs into the liquidity pool would likely be a disposal for tax purposes though this does depend on the exact protocol. Removing an LPT from a liquidity pool should not trigger tax, as there is usually no tax on receiving an asset from another person (i.e. a gift)." says Dell.

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Written by

Thomas Stelzer

Publisher

Tom Stelzer is a publisher and writer for Finder, covering investing and cryptocurrency. He previously worked for Finder as a writer in Australia and the UK, covering things like personal finance, loans, investing, insurance as well as small business and business loans. He has a Master of Media Arts and Production and Bachelor of Communications in Journalism from the University of Technology Sydney. See full bio