Crypto Tax Accountant

For most individuals, the ATO generally treats cryptocurrency as a capital gains tax (CGT) asset rather than as money or foreign currency. That means a CGT event can happen when you dispose of crypto — by selling it for dollars, swapping it for another coin, or using it to pay for goods or services. Some activity, such as certain rewards, can instead be treated as ordinary income when received. How the rules apply depends on your circumstances, so this is general information only and not personal tax advice.

Often, yes. Swapping one cryptocurrency for another is generally treated as disposing of the first asset, which can trigger a CGT event even though no Australian dollars were involved. The gain or loss is worked out using the market value in Australian dollars at the time of the swap. This catches many people who assume tax only applies when they move back to cash. We can review your swap history and work out what needs to be reported for your situation.

At a high level, rewards from staking, lending-style products and many airdrops can be assessable as ordinary income when you receive them, valued in Australian dollars at that time. When you later dispose of those tokens, a separate CGT calculation can also apply, using the value you were first taxed on as the cost base. The detail varies by arrangement and by your facts, so we treat each item on its merits. We do not give financial-product or investment advice — only help with the tax reporting.

Usually, yes. Missing records are very common with crypto because exchanges close, logins are lost and wallets get moved. We work with whatever you can recover — exchange exports, wallet addresses, bank statements and emails — and reconstruct the position as accurately as the available evidence allows. Where information is genuinely unavailable, we take a reasonable, defensible approach and document our assumptions. Going forward, we help you set up record-keeping so future years are far simpler than catching up on a backlog.

Capital losses on crypto can generally be used to offset capital gains in the same year, and any unused amount can usually be carried forward to offset gains in later years, subject to the rules that apply to you. Capital losses cannot normally be offset against your salary or other ordinary income. We do not promise any particular outcome — the effect depends entirely on your overall position — but we make sure genuine losses are recorded so they are available when they can be used.

No. We are accountants, not financial or investment advisers. We do not give financial-product advice, recommend specific coins, or comment on trading or investment strategy. Our role is the tax side: reconciling your transaction history, working out the capital gains, losses and any income to report, and lodging an accurate return. If you want investment advice, you should speak with a licensed financial adviser. Everything on this page is general information only and does not take your circumstances into account.

The CGT changes do; the residential-property changes do not. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (No. 49 of 2026) received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026 and is law. Its Schedule 2 rules, which quarantine excess deductions on residential property, are about residential dwellings — crypto is not residential property, so they do not apply to it. Schedule 1 does reach crypto, because crypto is generally treated as an ordinary CGT asset. Schedule 1 commenced on 1 July 2026, but its substantive changes apply to CGT events happening on or after 1 July 2027 — commencement and application are different things. So for a disposal before 1 July 2027 the 50% discount continues for an eligible resident individual who held the asset at least 12 months. For a disposal on or after 1 July 2027 the discount percentage for a resident individual, or for a trust that is not a complying superannuation entity, becomes 0% on ordinary assets such as crypto, and cost-base indexation may apply instead, subject to conditions including a twelve-month holding rule and residency requirements. Indexation may reduce a gain but cannot create or increase a capital loss. Our technical resource on the CGT discount changes from 1 July 2027 sets out the full detail, including worked timing examples. This is general information only, not personal tax advice.

They overlap, because crypto disposals are reported under the same CGT framework as shares and property. The difference is in the data: crypto involves high transaction volumes, swaps between assets, transfers across wallets and rewards that sit outside CGT. Our crypto work focuses on reconciling that activity correctly. If your gain relates to property, shares or a business asset rather than crypto, our broader capital gains tax page is the better starting point.

Keep a dated record of every transaction: what you did (buy, sell, swap, spend, receive), the date, the quantity, the value in Australian dollars at the time, and any fees. Hold on to exchange exports, wallet addresses and receipts, and note transfers between your own accounts so they are not mistaken for disposals. Good records are the single biggest factor in getting a crypto return right and in keeping the cost of preparing it down. We can help you set up a system that carries forward year to year.