Crypto Tax Rates Australia
The ATO wants its cut of your crypto gains, but how do you pay on crypto tax in Australia? Find out everything you need to know about Australia crypto tax rates in our 2025 guide.
Before we start, find out how crypto is taxed in our Australia Crypto Tax Guide 2024.
How much tax on crypto in Australia?
There is no specific ATO crypto tax rate. Instead, your crypto is taxed as either a capital gain or income, and the tax rates are based on the Income Tax rate brackets between 0% to 45%.
If you've made a short-term capital gain or income, you'll pay the same rate of tax as you would on regular income. Meanwhile, if you've made a long-term capital gain, you'll get a 50% Capital Gains Tax discount.
Crypto tax rates 2024 - 2025
Your crypto tax rate is based on your total annual income. So it will be the same as the highest tax band you fall into, or if it pushes you into the next tax rate bracket, then the next rate instead. The ATO announced tax cuts and changes to tax brackets for the 2024 - 2025 financial year. You can use the table below to figure out your Income Tax rate bracket.
| Income | Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 - $18,200 | 0% |
| $18,201 - $45,000 | 16% |
| $45,001 - $135,000 | 30% |
| $135,001 - $190,000 | 37% |
| $190,001+ | 45% |
Do I pay the same tax rate on all of my income?
Australia uses a progressive tax rate system. This means you won’t pay the same flat rate on all your earnings. Instead, as you earn more, you’ll pay more tax, but only on earnings that fall into the higher Income Tax rate brackets.
It’s also important to note that these tax rate brackets do not include the 2% Medicare levy.
What tax rates do traders pay on cryptocurrency?
Most Australians who buy and sell cryptocurrency are classified as investors. However, if you’re trading crypto in a way the ATO describes as "organized and business-like," you might be considered a trader.
If you’re classified as a trader, you’ll pay the same tax rates on your cryptocurrency earnings as investors. However, unlike investors, traders do not qualify for the capital gains tax discount on crypto held for over 12 months. Traders can deduct business-related expenses, whereas investors cannot. This can provide a tax advantage for those categorized as traders.
It’s important to note that the distinction between a trader and an investor isn’t always clear-cut. If you’re uncertain which category you fall into, consult the ATO’s guidelines for more information. You can learn more in our crypto trader tax guide.
How can I reduce my crypto tax rate?
There are legal strategies to lower your cryptocurrency tax liability. One common approach is tax loss harvesting, where you deliberately sell cryptocurrency at a loss to offset your capital gains and reduce your overall tax burden.
Example:
You have $5,000 in capital gains for the year
You sell crypto for a $5,000 loss
Your losses offset your gains, resulting in no tax liability
If your total capital losses exceed your gains, you can carry the net capital loss forward indefinitely to reduce taxes in future years.
How to calculate your crypto taxes
So now you know your crypto tax rate - you need to know how to calculate your crypto taxes so you know how much you'll pay. This all depends on whether your specific transaction is seen as a capital gain or as income. We'll cover both.
Calculating capital gains/losses
Calculate your capital gains or losses: For every taxable crypto transaction (sale, swap, spend, or gift), determine your cost basis (purchase price + fees). If you acquired crypto as a gift or by other means, use the fair market value on the day you received it. Subtract the cost basis from the value when you disposed of it to find your capital gain or loss.
Track all transactions: Do this for every crypto transaction between July 1 and June 30.
Separate short-term and long-term gains: Short-term gains (held <12 months) are taxed as regular income. Long-term gains (held >12 months) qualify for a 50% tax discount.
Calculate net capital gain/loss: Add up all gains, subtract any carried-forward or current-year losses, and apply the 50% discount to eligible long-term gains.
Report to the ATO: Regardless of gain or loss, you must report this in your tax return, and you’ll pay tax at your marginal rate.
EXAMPLE
You made $11,000 in gains from your crypto investments throughout the financial year, as well as a total loss of $1,000.
$3,000 of your capital gains were long-term gains and $8,000 of your capital gains were short-term gains.
Subtract your total capital loss from your short-term gains, leaving $7,000.
Halve your long-term capital gains, leaving $1,500.
$7,000 + $1,500 = $8,500. This is your net capital gain.
To figure out your tax rate, you need to figure out what marginal Income Tax rate bracket you sit in. You earned $60,000 from your job, plus your $8,500 net capital gain - giving you a total annual income of $68,500.
This puts you in the 30% tax rate bracket, so this is your crypto tax rate.
Calculating crypto income
Got crypto income like airdrops, staking rewards, or DeFi earnings? You’ll need to pay Income Tax on it. The process is simpler than for capital gains.
Identify your crypto income: Pinpoint all taxable crypto transactions considered income by the ATO. Note the fair market value of any coins or tokens on the day you received them.
Determine fair market value: Find the AUD fair market value for each token when you received it. If you’re not using crypto tax software, you’ll need to check historical prices from a trusted source.
Calculate your total crypto income: Add up all crypto income for the financial year. This total is taxed at your marginal income tax rate.
EXAMPLE
You earn $60,000 from your job. In this financial year, you've also made $10,000 from crypto income from a variety of DeFi activities.
$60,000 + $10,000 = $70,000.
This puts you in the 30% tax rate bracket.
Use a crypto tax calculator like Koinly
Using a crypto tax calculator like Koinly helps you avoid all of the maths above. Koinly can calculate your capital gains and losses for you (both short and long-term), as well as the fair market value in AUD of any crypto income on the day you received it. All you need to do is sync the exchanges, wallets, and blockchains you use, and Koinly will do the rest, generating a variety of Australian tax reports like the myTax report, Capital Gains Tax report, and Complete Tax report.
All you need to do once you have your report is file as you usually would, using either myTax or paper forms. Done!
