A plain-English guide to how the ATO taxes Bitcoin, Ethereum and other crypto — CGT events, the 50% discount, staking and mining income, losses, record keeping, and how to report it.
Yes. If you buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrency in Australia, it has tax consequences. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) does not treat crypto as money — it treats it as property, similar to shares. That means most crypto activity falls under Capital Gains Tax (CGT), and some falls under ordinary income tax. The ATO receives data directly from Australian exchanges, so crypto activity is far from invisible. See the ATO crypto investments page for the official position.
How you're taxed depends on whether the ATO sees you as an investor or a trader:
Most individuals are investors. Being a trader is a high bar based on the actual scale and organisation of your activity, not just how often you trade. If you're unsure, this is worth confirming with an accountant.
A "CGT event" happens whenever you dispose of crypto. The key trap many people miss: you don't need to cash out to Australian dollars to trigger tax. Each of these is a disposal:
| Action | CGT event? |
|---|---|
| Selling crypto for AUD | Yes |
| Swapping one crypto for another (e.g. BTC → ETH) | Yes |
| Using crypto to buy goods or services | Yes |
| Gifting crypto to someone | Yes |
| Buying crypto with AUD | No |
| Holding (HODLing) | No |
| Transferring between your own wallets | No |
For more detail on each scenario, see our explainer on cryptocurrency CGT events.
Your capital gain or loss is the difference between your cost base (what you paid, including brokerage and fees) and the AUD value you received on disposal. A simple example:
That $2,000 gain is added to your taxable income for the year. Because you held for less than 12 months, the full $2,000 is taxable.
If you hold crypto for more than 12 months before disposing of it, you generally qualify for the 50% CGT discount — only half the gain is taxed. Using the example above, if you'd held that ETH for 13 months instead of 8, only $1,000 of the $2,000 gain would be added to your income. See the ATO's guidance on the CGT discount, and our deeper explainer on the 50% CGT discount.
There is no separate crypto tax rate. Your net capital gain is added to your salary and other income, and the whole lot is taxed at your marginal income tax rate. For Australian residents in 2025-26 that's 0% under $18,200, rising in steps to 45% above $190,000, plus the 2% Medicare Levy. So the tax you actually pay on a crypto gain depends on your total income for the year. To see how a gain stacks on top of your salary, try our tax return calculator or salary calculator.
Not all crypto is taxed under CGT. Rewards you earn are usually treated as ordinary income at their AUD market value the moment you receive them:
That received value also becomes the cost base of those coins, so when you later sell or swap them, you only pay CGT on any further gain from that point.
Made a loss? You can't deduct a capital loss against your salary or wages. But a capital loss can offset capital gains in the same year — including gains from shares or property — and any unused loss carries forward indefinitely to offset future gains. You must report the loss in the year it happens to "bank" it for later. Learn how losses interact with other gains in our guide to Capital Gains Tax.
The ATO requires you to keep records of every transaction — dates, AUD value at the time, what it was for, and exchange/wallet records — for at least 5 years. Doing this by hand across multiple exchanges and wallets is painful.
This is where crypto tax software helps. I've personally used Koinly — I connected it to my exchange and wallet, it automatically pulled in every transaction, worked out my gains and losses (including the CGT discount), and generated an ATO-ready report I could hand to my accountant. Everyone's situation differs, but for anyone with more than a handful of trades it saves hours. The ATO also has guidance on keeping crypto records.
For most people, reporting crypto means completing the capital gains section of your tax return for disposals, and declaring any staking/mining/airdrop rewards as other income. You can lodge through myGov/myTax or a registered tax agent. Because the ATO data-matches against Australian exchanges, it's far safer to report accurately than to hope it goes unnoticed. The ATO tax return page has lodging details.
Yes. The ATO treats cryptocurrency as property, not currency. Selling, swapping, gifting, or using crypto to buy goods are all taxable events that may trigger CGT. Mining and staking rewards are typically treated as ordinary income.
Yes. Swapping (e.g. Bitcoin for Ethereum) is a disposal of the original asset, which triggers a CGT event. You calculate the gain or loss using the AUD value at the time of the swap.
Yes — if you hold the crypto for more than 12 months before disposing of it, only half the capital gain is included in your taxable income.
There's no separate crypto rate. A net gain is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate (0%–45% for 2025-26 residents), plus the 2% Medicare Levy.
Yes. Staking rewards, airdrops, and mining are generally taxed as ordinary income at their AUD value when received, and that value becomes the cost base for a future CGT event.
Just holding isn't taxable. A capital loss can't reduce your salary, but it offsets capital gains in the same year or carries forward to future years — you just need to report it to bank it.
Dates, the AUD value at the time, what each transaction was for, and exchange/receipt records — kept for at least 5 years.
Report net capital gains in the capital gains section and any rewards as other income, via myGov/myTax or a tax agent. Crypto tax software like Koinly can generate an ATO-ready report.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial or tax advice. Tax rules can be complex and change frequently. Always consult a qualified tax professional or accountant for advice tailored to your situation, and refer to the official ATO website for the latest information.