The 50% capital gains tax discount is the single most consequential tax concession available to Australian crypto investors, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood. For investors who hold a crypto asset for at least 12 months before disposing of it, only half of the resulting capital gain is included in assessable income — at the 2025-26 income year, this benefit applies across all CGT assets including cryptocurrency, shares, and investment property. For a cryptocurrency investor on a 37% marginal rate who sells Bitcoin held for two years at a gain of AUD 20,000, the discount alone can reduce tax payable by more than AUD 3,700 on that single transaction.
In 2026, this concession sits at the centre of one of the most contested tax policy debates in a generation. The Australian Treasury’s 2025-26 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement estimates that the CGT discount for individuals and trusts (across all asset classes) will represent AUD 21.79 billion in revenue foregone in 2025-26. A Senate Select Committee tabled its final report on the operation of the CGT discount in March 2026, finding that the concession can distort investment allocation and contributes to inequality. The ATO, meanwhile, is collecting transaction-level data on up to 1.2 million Australian crypto investors annually — data that underpins its capacity to verify whether eligible taxpayers are correctly applying or omitting the discount.
At KoinX, we help investors and tax professionals automate crypto tax reporting, and the data below reflects exactly why accurate hold-period tracking and correct application of the CGT discount have become essential for any Australian with digital asset exposure. This article compiles verified, primary-source statistics on CGT discount eligibility rules, usage rates, revenue foregone estimates, distributional data, SMSF-specific rates, and the regulatory environment shaping reform prospects. All data is drawn exclusively from government agencies, parliamentary bodies, or first-party research organisations.
The article is organised into seven thematic sections: headline statistics, CGT discount eligibility rules, calculating the discount, SMSF and trust CGT rates, revenue foregone and budget impact, distributional statistics, and the current legislative and reform environment.
Scope and Methodology
This article was compiled under a strict primary-source standard. Every statistic is drawn from an organisation that generated or collected the underlying data itself. Sources include the Australian Taxation Office (official guidance pages, tax rate tables, CGT discount eligibility pages, calculation instructions, SMSF guidance, and the 2022-23 Taxation Statistics media release), the Australian Treasury (2025-26 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement, published December 2025), the Parliamentary Budget Office (cost of negative gearing and CGT discount analysis, published July 2024), the Parliament of Australia (Senate Select Committee on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Discount, established November 2025, report tabled 17 March 2026), Swyftx and YouGov (fourth annual Australian Cryptocurrency Survey, August 2024), and media releases from ATO.
All source URLs point to the specific guidance page, dataset, report, or official document, not to aggregator blogs, news media, or secondary commentary. Statistics from blogs, tax software marketing pages, or news outlets were excluded. Where the ATO’s CGT discount guidance or the Treasury TEIS contained the originating data, the article links directly to those documents.
A primary limitation of this compilation is that the ATO does not publish crypto-specific CGT discount usage statistics as a standalone dataset. Crypto gains and losses are a subset of the broader CGT statistics published in Taxation Statistics, and the ATO has not published granular data isolating the number of taxpayers who applied the CGT discount specifically to crypto asset gains. The Treasury’s 2025-26 TEIS figure of AUD 21.79 billion in revenue foregone for the CGT discount covers all eligible asset classes collectively, not crypto alone. This limitation is flagged explicitly throughout the relevant sections.
The geographic scope is Australia-only. The two-year publication window is applied, with the exception of the 2021-22 Taxation Statistics media release, which is the most recently cited media release from ATO providing headline net capital gains data for individuals, and is flagged with its original publication year.
Australia’s 50% CGT Discount for Crypto: Key Numbers for 2026
- The 50% CGT discount is available to Australian resident individuals and trusts who hold a crypto asset as an investment for at least 12 months before a CGT event occurs, reducing the net capital gain included in assessable income by half, according to the ATO’s CGT Discount guidance page.
- The CGT discount for individuals and trusts across all eligible asset classes (code E15 in the 2025-26 TEIS) is estimated to represent AUD 21,790 million (AUD 21.79 billion) in revenue foregone in 2025-26, according to the 2025-26 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement published by the Australian Treasury in December 2025.
- Approximately 830,000 individuals used the CGT discount in the 2022-23 income year, according to the 2025-26 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement published by the Australian Treasury, as cited in reporting on that document.
- Net capital gains reported by individuals in Australia rose from AUD 36 billion in 2020-21 to AUD 51 billion in 2021-22, according to the 2021-22 Taxation Statistics media release published by the Australian Taxation Office in June 2024 (original data year: 2021-22).
- Complying superannuation funds including SMSFs are entitled to a CGT discount of one-third (33.33%) for assets held at least 12 months, compared to the 50% discount available to individual investors, according to the ATO’s How SMSFs Are Taxed guidance page.
- Companies are not eligible for the CGT discount at any rate, according to the ATO’s How to Calculate Your CGT guidance page.
- The Senate Select Committee on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Discount, established by the Senate on 4 November 2025, tabled its final report on 17 March 2026, finding the discount provides concessional treatment relative to labour income, can distort investment allocation, and has skewed housing ownership toward investors over owner-occupiers in combination with negative gearing, according to the Parliament of Australia committee page.
- The Parliamentary Budget Office estimated in a 2024 analysis commissioned by the Greens that the CGT discount and negative gearing together would cost the federal budget approximately AUD 247 billion in foregone revenue over the decade to 2034-35, according to the PBO cost of negative gearing and CGT discount publication.
- The CGT discount for individuals and trusts (E15) showed average annual growth of 8.1% between 2021-22 and 2024-25 and is projected to grow at an average of 0.8% per year over the forward estimates, according to the 2025-26 TEIS published by the Australian Treasury in December 2025.
- 82% of Australian crypto investors reported making a profit in the 12 months to July 2024, with an average reported profit of AUD 9,627, according to the fourth annual Swyftx Australian Cryptocurrency Survey conducted by YouGov among 2,229 adults in July 2024, weighted using ABS estimates.
CGT Discount Eligibility Rules for Crypto Assets
- A crypto asset held as an investment is eligible for the 50% CGT discount if the individual is an Australian resident for tax purposes and has owned the asset for at least 12 months before the CGT event occurs, according to the ATO’s CGT Discount guidance page.
- The day of acquisition and the day of the CGT event are both excluded when calculating whether the 12-month ownership threshold has been met, according to the ATO’s CGT Discount guidance page.
- Where a crypto asset is sold via a contract of sale, the CGT event is triggered on the date of the contract, not the date of settlement, which is relevant for calculating whether 12 months of ownership has been achieved, according to the ATO’s How to Calculate Your CGT guidance page.
- The 50% CGT discount cannot be applied if a crypto asset was acquired before a CGT event and the acquisition and event occurred less than 12 months apart, meaning the full capital gain is included in assessable income at the investor’s marginal income tax rate, according to the ATO’s How to Calculate Your CGT guidance page.
- Crypto assets held as trading stock by a person carrying on a business in crypto trading are not eligible for the CGT discount because their proceeds are treated as ordinary income, not capital gains, according to the ATO’s Crypto Assets Used in Business guidance page.
- The full 50% CGT discount cannot be used for capital gains made by foreign or temporary resident individuals after 8 May 2012, though an apportioned discount may be available for periods of Australian residency during the ownership of a taxable Australian property asset, according to the ATO’s CGT Discount for Foreign Residents guidance page.
- The CGT discount may be denied where an income asset is converted into a capital asset for the purpose of claiming the discount under Part IVA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, according to the ATO’s CGT Discount guidance page.
- Initial allocation airdrops of newly minted tokens with no prior trading history do not produce income or a capital gain at the time of receipt, but a CGT event occurs on disposal, and the 12-month holding period for the discount begins from the date of receipt of those initial airdrop tokens, according to the ATO’s Staking Rewards and Airdrops guidance page, last updated 23 June 2025.
- Crypto assets received as staking rewards are treated as ordinary income at receipt; when those staked tokens are later disposed of, a separate CGT event occurs and the 12-month holding period for the discount starts from the date the staking reward was received and its cost base established, according to the ATO’s Staking Rewards and Airdrops guidance page, last updated 23 June 2025.
Calculating the CGT Discount: Mechanics and Marginal Tax Rates
- There is a capital gains tax discount of 50% for Australian resident individuals who own a CGT asset for 12 months or more, meaning tax is paid on only half the net capital gain on that asset, according to the ATO’s How to Calculate Your CGT guidance page.
- Capital losses from any CGT asset must be subtracted from capital gains before the CGT discount is applied, meaning the discount applies to the remaining gain after loss offsets, according to the ATO’s CGT Discount guidance page.
- A net capital gain after the CGT discount is added to other assessable income and taxed at the individual’s marginal income tax rate, according to the ATO’s How to Calculate Your CGT guidance page.
- For the 2025-26 income year, Australian resident individual income tax rates are: nil on income up to AUD 18,200; 16 cents per dollar from AUD 18,201 to AUD 45,000; 30 cents per dollar from AUD 45,001 to AUD 135,000; 37 cents per dollar from AUD 135,001 to AUD 190,000; and 45 cents per dollar above AUD 190,001, according to the ATO’s Tax Rates for Australian Residents page, last updated 18 June 2025. These rates do not include the 2% Medicare levy.
- From 1 July 2026, the 16% income tax rate on income between AUD 18,201 and AUD 45,000 will be reduced to 15%, as part of legislated cost-of-living tax cuts announced in the 2025-26 Federal Budget, according to the ATO’s Personal Income Tax New Tax Cuts for Every Australian Taxpayer page.
- The CGT discount does not apply to capital gains calculated using the indexation method; if an investor acquired a crypto asset before 21 September 1999 and chose to index the cost base, the discount method cannot also be used on that asset, according to the ATO’s Discount Method guidance.
- An individual completing myTax who has capital gains or losses from a crypto asset must complete the Capital Gains Tax schedule if total current year capital gains or losses exceed AUD 10,000, according to the ATO’s About the Guide to CGT guidance page.
- The ATO’s crypto data-matching program matches reported CGT outcomes in tax returns against transaction-level data collected from crypto designated service providers, enabling identification of taxpayers who have reported incorrect capital gains, capital losses, or CGT discounts, according to the ATO’s How to Work Out and Report CGT on Crypto page.
SMSF and Trust CGT Discount Rates for Crypto
- A complying SMSF is entitled to a CGT discount of one-third (33.33%) on net capital gains from assets held for at least 12 months, which is taxed at the fund’s concessional rate of 15%, meaning the effective tax rate on a long-term crypto gain inside a complying SMSF is 10%, according to the ATO’s How SMSFs Are Taxed guidance page.
- SMSFs that invest in crypto assets must hold those assets in a digital wallet in the fund’s name, separate from crypto personally held by trustees or members, and must report crypto at market value in the fund’s financial statements, according to the ATO’s Navigating SMSF Crypto Assets guidance page.
- An SMSF auditor must verify that any SMSF investment in crypto assets aligns with the fund’s investment strategy, and that the trustee has considered the risks and how the investment supports the member’s retirement goals, according to the ATO’s Auditing SMSFs with Crypto Assets guidance page.
- An SMSF must complete a Capital Gains Tax schedule and attach it to the annual return if total current year capital gains are greater than AUD 10,000 or total current year capital losses are greater than AUD 10,000, according to the ATO’s SMSF annual return instructions.
- 37% of Gen Z Australian crypto users reported holding crypto as part of their retirement savings in 2024, a 16 percentage-point increase from 2023, according to the fourth annual Swyftx Australian Cryptocurrency Survey conducted by YouGov in July 2024 among 2,229 adults.
- 31% of all Australian adults who have ever owned cryptocurrency report holding digital assets in their retirement funds as of July 2024, a 2 percentage-point increase from 2023, according to the fourth annual Swyftx Australian Cryptocurrency Survey conducted by YouGov in July 2024.
- 27% of all Australian adults said they would like their superannuation fund to include cryptocurrency exposure in 2024, a 2 percentage-point increase from 2023, with this figure rising to 71% among current crypto owners, according to the fourth annual Swyftx Australian Cryptocurrency Survey conducted by YouGov in July 2024.
Revenue Foregone and Budget Impact Statistics
- The estimated revenue foregone from the CGT discount for individuals and trusts (E15) in 2025-26 is AUD 21,790 million (AUD 21.79 billion), making it the sixth largest tax expenditure in the Australian government’s 2025-26 TEIS, according to the Australian Treasury’s 2025-26 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement, published December 2025.
- The CGT discount for individuals and trusts (E15) represents the most significant tax expenditure against the benchmark of full taxation of nominal capital gains upon realisation, as identified in the Treasury TEIS methodology, according to the Australian Treasury.
- The estimated revenue foregone from the CGT discount on capital gains associated with the main residence (E8) is AUD 32,000 million in 2025-26, and for the main residence exemption itself (E7) is AUD 28,000 million, both larger than the E15 discount but covering primary residences that are not investment assets, according to the 2025-26 TEIS published by the Australian Treasury.
- The revenue foregone from the CGT discount for individuals and trusts grew at an average annual rate of 8.1% between 2021-22 and 2024-25, according to the 2025-26 TEIS published by the Australian Treasury in December 2025.
- The 2025-26 TEIS represents the total tax revenue foregone under a revenue forgone methodology, which does not incorporate behavioural responses that might result from removing the expenditure, and is not an estimate of the revenue impact if the discount were removed, according to the methodology chapter of the Australian Treasury’s 2025-26 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement.
- The Parliamentary Budget Office estimated in its July 2024 analysis that the cost of the CGT discount on residential investment properties alone was approximately AUD 8.5 billion in foregone revenue during the 2025-26 financial year, according to the PBO cost analysis on negative gearing and CGT discount for investment properties, commissioned by the Greens.
Distributional Statistics: Who Benefits from the CGT Discount
- In the 2022-23 income year, approximately 830,000 individuals used the CGT discount in Australia, with approximately one-fifth of those users aged 60 to 64, and people below age 29 making up less than 5% of recipients, according to reporting on the 2025-26 Treasury Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement data.
- In the 2022-23 income year, approximately 89% of the value of the CGT discount flowed to the top 20% of income earners, and approximately 86% flowed to the top 10% of income earners, based on Treasury CAPITA microsimulation model distributional analysis cited in reporting on the 2025-26 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement.
- Less than 10% of individuals who used the CGT discount in 2022-23 were Australians aged 25 to 40, according to reporting on distributional data from the 2025-26 Treasury Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement.
- Among Australian crypto investors in 2024, Millennials remained the generation most likely to hold crypto at 35% ownership, followed by Gen Z at 32%, with both generations together representing 67% of all crypto ownership in Australia, according to the fourth annual Swyftx Australian Cryptocurrency Survey conducted by YouGov in July 2024 among 2,229 adults.
- Only 6% of Australians aged 50 or over reported owning crypto in 2024, compared to 31% of people aged 18 to 49, according to the fourth annual Swyftx Australian Cryptocurrency Survey conducted by YouGov in July 2024.
- 87% of Australian crypto users with a strong or some understanding of the market reported making a profit in 2024, compared to 53% with little or no understanding of the market, according to the fourth annual Swyftx Australian Cryptocurrency Survey conducted by YouGov in July 2024.
- The Senate Select Committee on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Discount was established by the Senate on 4 November 2025 and tabled its final report on 17 March 2026, with a reporting deadline of 17 March 2026 and submissions closed on 19 December 2025, according to the Parliament of Australia committee page.
- The majority Senate committee report found that the CGT discount in combination with negative gearing has skewed housing ownership away from owner-occupiers and towards investors, and that the discount’s benefits are unequally distributed with implications for income, wealth, and intergenerational inequality, according to the Parliament of Australia Senate committee page for the Capital Gains Tax Discount inquiry.
- The Parliamentary Budget Office provided advice to the Senate Select Committee on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Discount on 21 January 2026, according to the PBO’s public publications list.
- The ATO’s crypto data-matching program collects transaction data from designated service providers (DSPs) annually between April and July, covering the 2023-24 to 2025-26 financial years, and is expected to cover an estimated 700,000 to 1,200,000 individuals and entities each year, according to the crypto data protocol page of the Australian Taxation Office (2024).
- The ATO collects and retains data from the crypto data-matching program for 7 years, covering financial years from 2014-15 onwards, to support CGT regime administration including cost base establishment and long-term risk profiling of the crypto market, according to the 2024 crypto data protocol published by the Australian Taxation Office.
- Wash sales involving crypto assets — where an investor disposes of and reacquires the same or substantially similar assets within a short period to create an artificial capital loss before applying the CGT discount — are identified by the ATO using sophisticated data analytics, and when identified, the claimed capital loss is rejected, according to an ATO media release on wash sales.
- Over 1,000,000 taxpayers received an in-return prompt in myTax reminding them they may have capital gains or losses from crypto assets to declare when completing their 2022 tax return, according to a media release by the Australian Taxation Office.
References
![[object Object]](/_next/static/media/ISO_27001-2022_certification.ae776691.svg)
![[object Object]](/_next/static/media/GDPR_Compliance.a2dc5933.svg)
![[object Object]](/_next/static/media/SOC_2_Type_II_certification.dd69381e.svg)
