Australia Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Your net capital gain under current law, and the tax it adds at your marginal rate.
Current law ATO method · resident tax rates · Sources
Rules used and official sources
Tax rules and rates change. This calculator follows the rules described on this page and may not cover every situation. Check the official source or a qualified tax professional before filing or invoicing.
About the Australia Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Capital gains tax (CGT) is not a separate tax in Australia: your net capital gain is added to your taxable income for the year of the sale contract and taxed at your marginal rate. This calculator follows the ATO’s steps — capital proceeds less the cost base, the main residence exemption, capital losses, then the CGT discount (50% for individuals and trusts, 33.33% for complying super funds) when you owned the asset for at least 12 months — and, for an individual, shows how much extra income tax and Medicare levy the gain adds.
It applies the current law. Changes announced in the federal Budget for gains accruing from 1 July 2027 are described below but not applied. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
How to use it
- Choose who owns the asset and enter the purchase and sale contract dates — the gain belongs to the income year of the sale contract, not settlement.
- Enter the purchase price and costs of buying (stamp duty, legal and conveyancing fees), capital improvements, the sale price and the costs of selling (agent’s commission, legal fees, advertising).
- If it was your home for all or part of the time, choose the main residence option; for part of the time, enter the days it was not your home.
- Add any capital losses from this year or carried forward, and your other taxable income for the year.
- Read the net capital gain, each step of the working and the extra tax; copy the summary for your records.
Examples
Cost base $530,000: $500,000 + $15,000 stamp duty + $1,200 conveyancing + $1,300 conveyancing + $12,500 agent’s commission
Capital gain $70,000 − 50% discount = net capital gain $35,000
On top of $90,000 of other income it adds $11,200 of income tax and Medicare levy (30% + 2% of $35,000).
Net capital gain $5,000
One-third discount: net capital gain $46,666.67
No discount: the day of purchase and the day of the sale contract do not count, so the asset was owned one day short of 12 months
How the net capital gain is worked out
For each asset, the capital gain is what you received (capital proceeds) minus its cost base; a negative result is a capital loss. Capital losses — this year’s and any net capital loss carried forward — come off your gains before the discount, and the discount applies to what is left of gains on assets owned for at least 12 months (ATO: how to calculate your CGT). A net capital loss cannot reduce other income; it is carried forward to later years.
The cost base has five elements: what you paid; incidental costs of buying and selling (such as stamp duty, agents’, legal and valuers’ fees); costs of owning it that you could not deduct (such as rates and interest on a property you never rented, for assets acquired after 20 August 1991); capital costs to increase or preserve its value; and costs of defending your title to it (ATO: cost base). Capital works deductions you claimed reduce the cost base.
The CGT discount
Australian resident individuals and trusts reduce a capital gain by 50% when they owned the asset for at least 12 months; complying super funds reduce it by 33.33%; companies get no discount (ATO: CGT discount). The 12 months do not count the day you acquired the asset or the day of the CGT event — for a sale under contract, the contract date. Foreign and temporary residents cannot use the full discount on gains made after 8 May 2012.
Your home (main residence exemption)
Your home is exempt if it was the home of you and your family for the whole time you owned it, was not used to produce income and is on 2 hectares or less; a loss on it is ignored (ATO). Otherwise part of the gain may be exempt, generally in proportion to the days it was your home. After you move out you can keep treating it as your main residence for up to 6 years if you rent it out, or indefinitely if you do not (ATO: former home) — enter those days as days it was your home.
Announced changes
The federal Budget announced that, for individuals, trusts and partnerships, the 50% discount will be replaced by cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax on capital gains accruing from 1 July 2027. Assets owned before then keep the 50% discount on the gain up to their value at that date; investors in new builds could choose either method (Budget explainer, Budget: tax reform). The calculator applies the current law and does not model the announced method.
Limitations
- One asset at a time. With several disposals in a year, the ATO lets you choose which gains your losses reduce (gains that cannot be discounted first gives the lowest tax).
- The indexation method for assets bought before 21 September 1999, small business CGT concessions, the extra discount for affordable rental housing and foreign-resident rules are not modelled.
- The partial main residence exemption here is by days only; a home partly rented or used for business is also apportioned by floor area, which the ATO’s CGT property exemption tool works out.
- Tax on the gain is shown for individuals only (resident rates, low income tax offset and Medicare levy for a single person). Trusts usually distribute gains to beneficiaries; super funds and companies pay their own rates.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How much capital gains tax will I pay?
There is no flat CGT rate: the net capital gain is added to your taxable income and taxed at your marginal rate. With the 50% discount, a $70,000 gain adds $35,000 to your income — on top of $90,000 of other income, about $11,200 of tax.
When does the 12-month discount start?
You must own the asset for at least 12 months, not counting the day you acquired it or the day of the CGT event. For property bought and sold under contracts, both dates are the contract dates, not settlement.
Which income year does the gain go in?
The year of the sale contract. A contract signed in June and settled in July belongs to the income year that ended on 30 June.
Can I include stamp duty and renovation costs?
Yes. Stamp duty, legal and conveyancing fees and agents’ fees are incidental costs, and capital improvements count too — but not repairs or anything you already claimed as a deduction.
Do I pay CGT when I sell my home?
Not if it was your main residence the whole time, was not used to produce income and is on 2 hectares or less. If you rented it out or lived elsewhere for part of the time, part of the gain may be taxable.
Is my information sent anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on a server.