Crypto CGT in Australia: when selling or swapping crypto can create a taxable gain

The plain-English answer

In this app, crypto CGT starts when you dispose of crypto. Selling for AUD is a disposal. Swapping BTC for ETH is also a disposal of BTC. The output reduces that activity into capital gains, capital losses, discountable gains, and the part that may flow into taxable income.

Why FIFO matters

When you sell or swap crypto, the estimator matches the disposal against the oldest remaining parcels you entered for that asset first. That means a BTC disposal in February 2026 is measured against your earliest tracked BTC parcels, not whichever parcel would produce the best tax result.

Swaps are still disposals even without AUD proceeds

Exchanging BTC for ETH is treated as a disposal of BTC at the AUD market value you enter, followed by a new ETH parcel created at that same value. If you do not know the AUD market value at the time of the swap, the CGT estimate will be weak even if the wallet activity itself is clear.

The 12-month discount rule still depends on parcel dates

If the disposed parcel was held for more than 12 months, gains from that parcel are marked as discount eligible and reduced by 50% after capital losses are applied. The app surfaces the discountable part of the gain separately so you can see how much of the result depends on long-held parcels.

That rule is scheduled to end. The general 50% CGT discount is abolished for CGT events from 1 July 2027; gains from that date are worked out by indexing the cost base for inflation and taxing the real gain at a 30% minimum rate instead. The estimator applies the discount rules that were in force for the tax year you are estimating, so a disposal you are planning for after that date should not be modelled on a discount-eligible result.

Worked example

Suppose you buy BTC, hold it for over a year, then swap part of it into ETH. In this estimator, the BTC disposal may create a discount-eligible capital gain, while the acquired ETH becomes a fresh parcel with its own acquisition date and cost base. If you later sell that ETH, it is measured from the ETH parcel created on the swap date, not from the original BTC purchase date.

Where this guide stops

This is not a complete guide to every crypto tax issue. It does not attempt to cover every DeFi flow, NFT transaction, bridge, wrapped asset, or airdrop pattern. For this version, the relevant question is whether your event list is clean enough for a first CGT estimate in the app.

Frequently asked questions