FiscalFox editorial team · Product lead: Grant Sloane · Updated
Calculate Australian CGTEach purchase is its own parcel
Shares bought at different times are separate parcels with their own cost and purchase date. When you sell part of a holding, you need to know which parcels you sold. If your records show it, use those parcels. Otherwise the ATO accepts your own selection, or first in, first out, where the oldest shares count as sold first.
Average cost is allowed only for shares in the same company bought on the same day with identical rights. Shares held through different brokers sit under different holder numbers, so a sale through one broker uses the parcels held there unless the shares were transferred.
Sources: ATO: How to work out your capital gain or capital loss
The 50% discount after 12 months
An Australian resident individual who held a parcel for at least 12 months can reduce the gain on it by half. The 12 months don't count the day you bought or the day you sold. A parcel bought on 15 July 2024 qualifies if sold on 16 July 2025, but not on 15 July 2025.
The discount applies to what is left of a gain after capital losses, not to the gain before them.
Losses come off before the discount
Capital losses from the same year are taken off your capital gains first, then any net capital losses carried forward from earlier years. You can choose which gains the losses reduce, and taking them off gains that don't qualify for the discount first usually gives the lowest result. Only then is the 50% discount applied.
For example, a $10,000 gain on shares held two years and a $2,000 loss on another sale leave $8,000. Half of that is $4,000, your net capital gain. Capital losses can't reduce your other income; any you can't use carry forward to later years.
Foreign shares are converted on each date
For shares bought and sold in US dollars or another currency, convert the cost on the purchase date and the proceeds on the sale date, each at its own exchange rate. Don't convert a finished foreign-currency gain. The ATO accepts Reserve Bank of Australia rates.
Where the figures go on your return
Item 18 of the individual tax return asks for your total current year capital gains (label H), your net capital gain (label A) and net capital losses carried forward to later years (label V). Labels take whole dollars. If you lodge yourself, the return is usually due by 31 October after the income year ends on 30 June.
Worked example: losses before the discount
Synthetic 2025–26 example for a resident individual, with one eligible long-term gain and one capital loss.
| Calculation | AUD or result |
|---|---|
| Long-term capital gain | $10,000 |
| Current-year capital loss | $2,000 |
| Gain remaining before discount | $8,000 |
| 50% discount | $4,000 |
| Net capital gain | $4,000 |
Questions and answers
Is capital gains tax a separate flat tax?
For current-rule income years, your net capital gain forms part of your taxable income. A $4,000 net capital gain is an income amount, not a $4,000 tax bill.
Do I use trade date or settlement date?
For an ordinary exchange trade, use the contract or trade date to identify the income year. Settlement can occur in the next income year without moving the share sale into that year.
Official sources
Sources reviewed . Export steps describe FiscalFox’s supported file. Broker help links explain the available reports; menu names can vary by account and platform.