Capital Gains Tax Calculator Australia 2026
Australian CGT on property, shares or crypto: cost base, gross gain, main-residence exemption, losses, the 50% discount, the net gain stacked on your income, tax including Medicare levy, the no-discount comparison and timing ideas.
| Cost base | — |
|---|---|
| Gross capital gain | — |
| Main-residence exemption | — |
| Less capital losses | — |
| CGT discount | — |
| Net capital gain added to taxable income | — |
| Tax on the gain (incl. Medicare levy) | — |
| Effective tax rate on the gross gain | — |
| If sold within 12 months (no discount) | — |
| Timing idea | — |
In short
Australia has no separate CGT rate: the net capital gain — sale price less cost base, less capital losses, then halved by the 50% discount if the asset was held over 12 months — is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate plus the 2% Medicare levy. A $205,000 gain for someone on $95,000 becomes $102,500 of taxable income and about $37,800 of tax. Your main residence is exempt, including up to six years of absence.
Who this is for: Australians selling an investment property, shares or crypto.
How Australian CGT works
- Gain = sale proceeds − cost base (purchase price + stamp duty, legal and agent fees, improvements; less any building depreciation claimed).
- Losses first, then the discount: capital losses reduce the gain, and the 50% discount applies to what is left if the asset was held more than 12 months.
- Marginal rates: the net gain sits on top of your other income — a $100,000 discounted gain for someone on $95,000 is taxed mostly at 30–37% plus Medicare.
- Exemptions: main residence (with the 6-year absence rule), cars, assets bought before 20 September 1985, personal-use assets under $10,000, collectables under $500.
- Timing: the contract date fixes the tax year; a sale exchanged on 1 July instead of 29 June defers the tax by a year and may land in a lower-income year. Shares and crypto follow the same rules, with parcel selection allowed.
See also: Negative Gearing Calculator, Australian Income Tax Calculator 2026–27.
Assumptions
- Gain = sale − (cost + costs); main-residence share exempt pro rata; losses deducted before the discount.
- Discount 50% (individual), 33⅓% (super), none (company) if held ≥ 12 months; tax = total tax on income + net gain − tax on income (super 15%, company 25%).
- Joint ownership splits the net gain 50/50 across both owners' incomes.
Worked example
Cost base $645,000; gross gain $205,000. Held over 12 months, so the 50% discount removes $102,500 and the net gain of $102,500 is added to the $95,000 of income. Tax on the gain, including Medicare levy, is about $37,775 — an effective 18.4% of the gross gain — because the gain pushes income into the 37% bracket. Selling within 12 months would have cost about $85,950. Selling in a year with $40,000 less income would cut the tax to about $34,550.
Frequently asked questions
How much is capital gains tax in Australia?
There is no separate rate: the net gain (after the 50% discount if held over a year) is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate plus the 2% Medicare levy — typically 16–23.5% of the gross gain for most sellers.
How long do I need to hold an asset for the 50% discount?
More than 12 months between the contract to buy and the contract to sell. Companies get no discount; super funds get 33⅓%.
Is my home exempt from CGT?
Yes if it was your main residence the whole time you owned it; partial exemption if it was rented or used for business for part of the period, with the 6-year absence rule for periods away.
Can I reduce CGT with super contributions?
Yes — a personal deductible super contribution (within the $32,500 cap, plus carry-forward) in the sale year reduces taxable income, often knocking the gain down a bracket.
Is crypto subject to CGT?
Yes — each disposal (sale, swap, spending) is a CGT event with the same 50% discount after 12 months; personal-use exemptions rarely apply.
What records do I need?
Purchase contracts, settlement statements, invoices for improvements and selling costs, and depreciation schedules — kept for five years after the sale.
Related calculators
See all Australia calculators → · All free online calculators
Found an error? Report it — tell us the inputs, the result you got, what you expected and the rule or source. Confirmed corrections are published within a week.
Ready to build your next digital solution?
Send the brief and you get a scoped response with approach, milestones and a fixed price range. Not a sales call.
A 30-minute call with the engineer who would run your project
Within 2 business daysA written scope: approach, module breakdown, milestones, fixed price range
Within 5 business daysYou decide. No retainer, no obligation, and the scope document is yours to keep either way
Your timelineSend your brief
Three fields to start. Add project details if you have them.