Key Takeaways
- The crypto tax calculator is designed to help estimate crypto taxes with ease by using simple fields. It requires details such as annual taxable income, the AUD amount spent and received for selling coins, and whether the coins were held for over a year or not.
- Crypto taxes in Australia are based on capital gains tax (CGT), with profits from crypto classified as property. The net capital gain from crypto is added to taxable income in the financial year it's disposed of, and the tax amount depends on the tax bracket.
- To lower crypto tax in Australia, hold the crypto for more than 12 months, and deduct fees incurred during purchase or sale.
- Crypto profits are subject to tax in Australia, but you only need to pay tax when you dispose of the crypto. A capital loss can be used to offset capital gains in the same year or carried forward to the future.
Use our free cryptocurrency tax calculator below to estimate how much CGT (Capital Gains Tax) you need to pay on any cryptocurrency sales you made this financial year.
Disclaimer: This calculator only provides an indicative estimate based on data you have input, and the tax brackets and rates found on the ATO website, and does not constitute tax advice. Calculating capital gains tax, including cryptocurrency tax is complex and differs for each individual situation. You should consult your tax advisor to fully understand and comply with your Australian tax obligations. Every individual's tax situation is different, and the calculations provided below are estimates only.
Free Crypto Tax Calculator
How to use our Crypto Tax Calculator
We have made our calculator as simple as possible so that anyone can estimate their crypto tax, without any advanced tax knowledge or complicated mathematics. If you do not understand any of the fields above, here is a quick description of each of them:
Annual taxable income: This is your total taxable income for the financial year in which you sold your cryptocurrencies. This includes your salary (which is found on your payment summary from your employer at the end of each financial year) and any other income you may earn, including interest, and capital gains from sale of stocks and property. By inputting your annual taxable income, we can determine the tax rate applicable to your cryptocurrency profits.
Amount of AUD spent on coin #1: This is the total amount in AUD that you paid for the cryptocurrency that you are now selling, inclusive of any deposit or transaction fees. For example, if you bought $2,000 worth of Bitcoin, and the fees were $10 on top of that, you would have spent $2,010.
Amount of AUD received when selling coin #1: This is the total value in AUD you received when you sold your cryptocurrency, or traded it for a different coin. For example, if you sold your Bitcoin for $5,000, or traded your Bitcoin for $5,000 of ETH.
Have you held coin #1 for at least 1 year: If you held your cryptocurrency for at least 1 year, you are eligible for a 50% CGT discount. You only need to pay tax on half of your crypto gains, which is a great incentive for investors to HODL for at least a year before selling and reaping their profits.
Profit for coin #1: This is automatically calculated, and is the amount of profit you made from this cryptocurrency, excluding any taxes.
Taxable amount: This is the amount of your profit that will be taxed, depending on whether you held your cryptocurrency for at least 1 year.
Add coin: Our calculator allows you to calculate your combined capital gains and losses for up to 5 cryptocurrencies at once. If you want to work out your profits for more coins, click the Add Coin button and fill out the relevant fields for the additional coins.
Total profit: This is automatically calculated, and is the total amount of profit from all the cryptocurrencies you have added to the calculator, excluding any tax.
Total crypto tax: This is automatically calculated, and is an estimate of the amount of tax you need to pay on your cryptocurrency capital gains this financial year.
How does crypto tax work in Australia?
The ATO considers cryptocurrency as property, and not a currency, despite its name. Any profits made from cryptocurrency is therefore subject to capital gains tax (CGT). You make a capital gain if the value of your cryptocurrency is higher when you dispose of it (i.e. when you sell, swap for another crypto, or use it as payment) compared to when you bought it. A capital loss occurs when the disposal value is lower than when you purchased it. You need to calculate the gain or loss for each cryptocurrency sale or swap that you make, and for each separate coin.
It’s important to note that crypto tax is not a separate tax. Your net capital gain from cryptocurrency is added to your taxable income in the financial year that you sell or otherwise dispose of your crypto. The tax you need to pay will depend on which tax bracket you fall under. Our calculator above takes this into account when you input your taxable income at the top. If you have made lots of transactions, you will benefit from using a crypto tax program to help you calculate the tax you need to pay. See our article on the best crypto tax software in Australia.
How to lower crypto tax in Australia?
The easiest and most effective way to minimise your crypto tax is to hold your cryptocurrency for more than 12 months before you sell. After this time period, you only have to pay HALF the tax that you would have, if you held it for less than one year. Make sure you store your crypto safely in a wallet, if you plan on holding it in the long term.
You can also reduce your tax by deducting any trading fees, transaction fees, deposit fees, transfer fees or any other fees, that were incurred during the purchase or sale of your crypto.
Do I have to pay tax on crypto in Australia?
In most cases, yes you will have to pay tax on any crypto profits you make in Australia. You can use our crypto profit/loss calculator to work out how much profit or loss you made. However, keep in mind that you only have to pay tax when you dispose of your cryptocurrency. Disposal includes selling, swapping, gifting or exchanging your cryptocurrency, according to the ATO website. This means that if you purchased cryptocurrency, and you still own it, you do not have to pay tax on it, even if the value has increased significantly. You only need to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on it when you eventually sell it (or dispose of it in another manner).
If you are a low income earner, and your combined annual taxable income plus crypto gains is less than $18,200, you won't need to pay any tax on your crypto gains.
What if I made a loss in crypto?
If you have made a capital loss through the sale of your cryptocurrency, you can use that to offset any capital gains you made in the same financial year. If you did not make any capital gains in that year, you can carry that capital loss forward for capital gains you make in the future. Speak to a registered tax agent for detailed advice on how to do this. You can also use crypto tax software, which makes it much easier to calculate your profits and losses.
Where should I buy cryptocurrency?
If you want to know where you should buy crypto, read our article on the best crypto exchanges in Australia. You can find an exchange that charges lower fees, to increase your profit from crypto.
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