Crypto tax for individual investors: beware CGT on your digital assets (October 2026)

Investing in cryptocurrency? It’s important to remember that the ATO generally treats crypto as a capital gains tax (CGT) asset.

Many investors focus on tax when they convert crypto back into cash, but selling isn’t the only event that can have tax consequences. Exchanging one crypto asset for another or disposing of crypto in other ways can also trigger a CGT event. That means it’s important to keep good records of every transaction, including dates, values and details of what was bought, sold or exchanged.

While profitable transactions can result in a capital gain, losses may also occur. Those losses aren’t necessarily wasted, but they generally can’t be used to reduce your salary or other income. Instead, capital losses are generally used against capital gains.

If you’ve held a crypto asset for at least 12 months, you may be entitled to the CGT discount, which can reduce the taxable capital gain.

It’s also worth remembering that the ATO receives information about crypto transactions through its data-matching programs. Leaving crypto transactions out of your tax return is becoming increasingly difficult.