Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Estimate the CGT payable when selling an investment property, shares or other asset.
If you're selling shares, your broker's transaction history is the easiest way to get accurate cost-base records. Australian brokers like Stake, Pearler and SelfWealth automatically track parcel-by-parcel cost base for CGT reporting.
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The numbers above are a starting point. For decisions involving your full financial picture — tax, debt, super, investments — a qualified Australian financial adviser can give tailored guidance.
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How is capital gains tax calculated in Australia?
Capital gains tax (CGT) applies when you sell or otherwise dispose of an asset for more than it cost you. The "gain" is added to your taxable income in the year of sale and taxed at your marginal rate. There's no separate "CGT rate" — it just flows through your normal income tax.
Three things make CGT manageable: the cost base (which usually grows once you add stamp duty, legal fees and improvements), the 50 per cent discount for assets held over 12 months, and the main residence exemption for your home.
- Cost base = purchase price + acquisition costs (stamp duty, legal, conveyancer) + ownership costs that weren't otherwise deducted + capital improvements. Investment-property interest and rates that you already claimed as deductions don't go into the cost base.
- 50 per cent discount applies if you (an individual) held the asset for more than 12 months. Companies don't get the discount; super funds get 33.3 per cent.
- Main residence exemption fully removes CGT on the home you live in — provided you've lived there continuously and haven't earned rental income from it.
- Capital losses from other assets in the same year (or carried forward) reduce the gross gain BEFORE the discount is applied. This is the most tax-efficient way to use a loss.
- Disposal date is the contract date (not the settlement date). For property, this matters when buying or selling around 30 June — and matters even more for the upcoming 1 July 2027 CGT discount changes.
Frequently asked questions
Generally no. The main residence exemption fully removes CGT on the home you live in, provided you have lived there continuously since purchase and have not used part of it to earn rental income. If you moved out and rented it out for a period, partial CGT may apply for that period.
You must hold the asset for more than 12 months from the contract date you bought to the contract date you sold. One day short of 12 months and you lose the full 50 per cent discount — the gain is taxed in full. Timing the contract date can make a real difference.
Yes — capital losses carry forward indefinitely and reduce future capital gains BEFORE the 50 per cent discount is applied. This is important: applying a $20,000 loss against a $100,000 gain leaves $80,000, then the 50 per cent discount halves it to a $40,000 taxable gain. Losses can't offset ordinary income — only capital gains.
If the deceased acquired the property before 20 September 1985 (pre-CGT), your cost base is the market value at the date of death. If after, you usually inherit the deceased's original cost base. There's a two-year window in which selling the deceased's main residence is fully exempt — useful to know.
The 2026 Federal Budget legislated the end of the 50 per cent CGT discount on residential investment property from 1 July 2027. From that date, gains will accrue under cost-base indexation plus a 30 per cent minimum tax, with transitional rules for properties owned at the changeover. Other assets (shares, managed funds, business assets) keep the existing 50 per cent discount.
If you have surplus concessional contribution cap room, salary sacrificing or making a personal deductible contribution in the same financial year reduces your taxable income, which reduces the marginal rate at which the gain is taxed. The benefit is greater for high earners. Get tailored advice — there are caps and Division 293 implications.