Capital Gains Tax Calculator Australia (2026–27)

In Australia, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is the tax you pay on any net capital profit realized when disposing of an asset. Contrary to common misconception, CGT is not a separate tax rate or isolated levy. Instead, your net capital gain is added directly to your assessable personal or corporate income for the financial year and taxed at standard marginal tax rates.

A CGT event occurs whenever you sell, transfer, gift, or lose ownership of an asset. Assets subject to CGT include real estate investment properties, Australian and international shares, units in unit trusts, cryptocurrency tokens, commercial property, and goodwill in business entities.

If you sell an asset for more than it cost to acquire and maintain, you make a capital gain. If you sell it for less than its cost base, you make a capital loss. Net capital losses can be carried forward indefinitely to offset future capital gains, but cannot be deducted against salary or wage earnings.

Your capital gain is calculated as your net sale proceeds minus your asset's total cost base. The ATO defines five distinct elements that make up the complete cost base of an asset:

To encourage long-term investment, the ATO provides a significant statutory discount on capital gains for assets held for at least 12 months before disposal:

• Individual Australian Residents & Trusts: Eligible for a 50% CGT discount. Only half of the net capital gain is included in assessable taxable income.
• Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs): Eligible for a 33.33% CGT discount. The effective tax rate on SMSF capital gains held over 12 months is reduced from 15% to 10%.
• Companies: Companies are not eligible for any CGT holding discount. 100% of corporate capital gains are taxed at the applicable company rate (25% for Base Rate Entities or 30% for general companies).

Your home (principal place of residence) is generally completely exempt from Capital Gains Tax under the Main Residence Exemption. To qualify for 100% exemption:

1. You and your family lived in the home for the entire period of ownership.
2. The home was not used to produce assessable income (such as renting out rooms or running a home business).
3. The land area is under 2 hectares.

The 6-Year Absence Rule: If you move out of your main residence and rent it out to tenants, you can continue to treat it as your main residence for CGT purposes for up to 6 years of rental absence, provided you do not nominate another property as your main residence during that timeframe.

Small business owners operating active business assets (with turnover under $2 million or net assets under $6 million) can access four powerful CGT concessions that can reduce or eliminate capital gains tax entirely:

• 15-Year Exemption: If you are aged 55 or older, retiring, and have owned an active business asset for at least 15 years, the capital gain is 100% tax-free.
• 50% Active Asset Reduction: Provides an additional 50% reduction on the remaining capital gain (on top of the standard 50% individual discount).
• Retirement Exemption: Exempts up to $500,000 of lifetime capital gains per individual.
• Small Business Rollover: Defers capital gains tax if replacement active business assets are acquired within 2 years.

When selling shares, ETFs, or units in managed funds, each tranche or parcel of shares purchased on a specific date has its own cost base and holding period.

Investors utilizing Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRP) should note that every dividend reinvestment creates a brand-new parcel of shares with its own unique cost base (equal to the dividend value) and acquisition date. You must track each DRP transaction date to apply the 12-month discount rule accurately upon sale.