Crypto Tax in Australia 2024: Everything You Need to Know

Crypto Tax in Australia 2024: Everything You Need to Know

If you’ve engaged in any sort of cryptocurrency transaction over the last year, it’s highly likely that you’re going to have to report it in your tax return. Transactions include, but are not limited to, buying, selling, trading, mining, staking, giving and/or receiving cryptocurrency, and this applies whether the transaction happened in Australia, America or some nameless tax haven in the middle of the Pacific. Basically, if you used crypto, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) wants to know about it.

But actually working out your cryptocurrency tax can be difficult and there are a lot of different facets you need to consider when preparing your tax return. Yet with the ATO keeping Australian crypto investors squarely in their spotlight, it’s more important than ever that you know what you’re doing and how to report your tax obligations correctly.

To help you on your way, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to the current rules surrounding cryptocurrency and tax in Australia. While this guide is based on the latest information from the ATO (as of 7 July 2023), the information in this article is for general information only. We are not a financial or legal adviser and the information you’ll find below shouldn’t be considered as financial or legal advice. If you need more specific guidance, you should consider seeking independent financial or legal advice.

Am I an investor or trader?

First thing you need to do is work out whether you’re classified by the ATO as an investor or a trader.

Investor

An investor is someone who is primarily buying and selling cryptocurrencies as a personal investment tool. In this case, your income will be derived primarily from long-term capital gains, as well as staking, forks and airdrops.

The vast majority of people who engage with cryptocurrencies will be considered investors and their cryptocurrency transactions will be subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

Trader

A trader is someone who is conducting a business with the primary purpose of earning income from the buying and selling of cryptocurrency. Rather than assessing each transaction as a capital gains event, traders treat their profits as business income instead.

Becoming a trader isn’t simply a question of trading frequency or volume: it requires actions on your behalf that suggest you, either explicitly or implicitly, see your trading as a business, as well as an assessment from the ATO to the same effect. You can find more information about the requirements and consequences of becoming a cryptocurrency trader here.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)

The ATO classifies digital currency as an asset, much like a share in a company or a house, which means that you need to assess your capital gains every time you sell, trade or give away your crypto. We go into all the different types of capital gains events in more detail below.

Note that a capital gains event only occurs when you actually do something with your crypto. If you simply buy and HODL, then you don’t need to pay tax on your cryptocurrency, even if the value of your portfolio increases (or decreases) significantly.

Capital Gains

If you make a profit on a transaction, then you’ll need to pay tax on your capital gain. For instance, if you buy 1 bitcoin at $7,000 (this is what’s known as your “cost basis”) and sell it six months later for $10,000 then you’ve made a capital gain of $3,000 and will need to pay tax on that amount.

Long-term CGT Discount

The Australian Government would prefer it if we weren’t all day-trading on the share/crypto markets and so have implemented what’s known as the long-term CGT discount. Basically what this means is that if you hold an asset for longer than 12 months then you only have to pay tax on the below % of any capital gains you make from that asset once you deduct any capital losses.

  • 50% for resident individuals (including partners in partnerships)
  • 33.33% for complying super funds and eligible life insurance companies
  • 50% discount is removed or reduced on capital gains made after 8 May 2012 for foreign resident individuals

Returning to the example above, if you are an Australian resident, bought 1 bitcoin at $7,000 and sold it a year-and-a-half later for $10,000, then your capital gain will only be considered $1,500 rather than $3,000, given that you didn't have any capital losses. If you had a $1000 capital loss then your capital gain will be $1,000 rather than $2,000. This, it probably goes without saying, can make a big difference to your tax bill.

Capital Losses

If, on the other hand, your cryptocurrency is worth less when you sell it than when you purchased it, you’ve made a capital loss. So, if you buy 1 bitcoin at $7,000 and then sell it six months later for $4,000, you’ve taken a capital loss of $3,000.

Capital losses can be used to offset capital gains either in the same financial year or in subsequent financial years. Let’s say you made a $5,000 capital gain on one trade and a $3,000 capital loss on another. In this case your overall capital gain is $2,000, because your loss partially offsets the gain.

There’s no time limit to how long you can carry forward capital losses, but they must be used if you make a capital gain in a subsequent year. Capital losses cannot be used to offset your income from work.

Calculating your net capital gains

When it comes to calculating your net capital gains, the ATO doesn’t differentiate between different types of asset, so the profits you make from selling crypto, shares, property or any other asset are all bundled in together.

The formula is simple:

(Total Capital Gains

Total Capital Losses (incl. previous years))

*

Capital Gains Discount (for disposed assets that were held for over 12 months)

=

Net Capital Gains

When you’ve worked out your net capital gains for the year, that amount is added to your pre-tax salary to work out your overall taxable income.

Net Capital Gains Example

Sarah invests $5000 in Ethereum at a price of $150 and $5000 in Basic Attention Token (BAT) at 25 cents. Three months later she sells half her Ethereum when the price reaches $200 and receives $3,333. Her capital gain on the transaction is:

$3333 – $2500 = $833

When the market tanks six months later, Sarah sells the rest of her Ethereum at $120 for $2000. At the same time she also sells half of her BAT for 18 cents, receiving $1800.

$2000 – $2500 = -$500

$1800 – $2500 = -$700

This means that at the end of the financial year, Sarah has an $833 capital gain and a $1,200 capital loss.

$833 – $1200 = -$367

Sarah has made a net capital loss of $367 and won’t have to pay any capital gains tax. However, the following year the market soars and Sarah’s BAT are suddenly worth 75 cents each. She decides to sell the rest of her holdings for $7500.

$7500 – $2500 = $5000

As Sarah has held these BAT for longer than 12 months she’s eligible for the 50% long-term CGT discount after deducting any capital losses. When she calculates her net capital gain for the year, she also claims her loss from the previous year before applying the 50% long-term CGT discount.

($5000 – $367) * 50% = $2316.5

Thus Sarah’s net capital gain is $2136.50. This amount is added to her pre-tax income for the financial year.

Capital Gains Exceptions

Personal Use

If you’re holding less than $10,000 in cryptocurrency and use it primarily to purchase goods or services, then it’s considered a personal use asset and won’t be subject to CGT.

Personal use is assessed on a transaction-by-transaction basis and won’t apply if: you otherwise hold the cryptocurrency in question as an investment; you’ve held the cryptocurrency for an extended period; or you acquired the cryptocurrency as part of a business.

However, personal use may apply if you obtained cryptocurrency with the intention of using it as money, but then have to convert it to fiat currency in order to make a purchase.

You can find more details and examples on the ATO’s website.

Donations

If you donate your cryptocurrency to a registered charity, then it’s not considered a capital gains event and you can claim the amount (calculated as a fair price for the cryptocurrency at the time it’s donated) as a deduction on your tax return.

Lost/Stolen Coins

If you’ve lost access to your coins – for example, by losing your private key – or they’ve been stolen somehow, you may be able to claim the value of the coins on the day they were lost or stolen as a capital loss. In order to do so you’ll need to provide detailed evidence proving that you owned the coins, including identity-linked transactions to and from the wallet in question and other proof of use and ownership.

Ask yourself: would this pass muster with an insurance company? If the answer is no, then it’s likely that the ATO won’t be impressed either.

What’s my tax rate?

If you’re a cryptocurrency investor, your tax rate will be determined by where your overall assessable income sits on Australia’s sliding scale of individual tax rates. Assessable income is calculated by:

Income + Capital Gains – Deductions = Assessable Income

If you’re a crypto trader then your tax rate is calculated on the same scale, but the formula is slightly different:

Income +/- Tradings Gains/Losses – Deductions = Assessable Income

If you’re engaged in a non-sole trader cryptocurrency-related business (i.e. you’ve formally registered as a company with ASIC), then your tax rate will be the same as for other companies: 27.5% on all business related income, after deductions.

Resident tax rates 2023-2024

Taxable income Tax on this income
0 – $18,200 Nil
$18,201 – $45,000 19c for each $1 over $18,200
$45,001 – $120,000 $5,092 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $45,000
$120,001 – $180,000 $29,467 plus 37c for each $1 over $120,000
$180,001 and over $51,667 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000

Resident tax rates 2022 - 2023

Taxable income Tax on this income
0 – $18,200 Nil
$18,201 – $45,000 19c for each $1 over $18,200
$45,001 – $120,000 $5,092 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $45,000
$120,001 – $180,000 $29,467 plus 37c for each $1 over $120,000
$180,001 and over $51,667 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000

An investor’s guide to crypto transactions

Buying cryptocurrency

Buying cryptocurrency with regular currency (i.e. Australian dollars) is not a capital gains event and doesn’t have to be reported on your tax return.

Selling/trading cryptocurrency

Every time you sell, trade or convert a cryptocurrency – whether you’re going from one crypto to another, or you’re selling your crypto for fiat currency – you trigger a capital gains event. The capital gain or loss is determined by working out the value in Australian dollars of the new cryptocurrency and comparing that to the value of the old cryptocurrency when you first acquired it.

Example

Dom buys 1 bitcoin for $12,000. Six months later, he uses that bitcoin to purchase 40 ETH when their value in Australian dollars is $500 each. This means the effective value of his bitcoin at the time of trade is $20,000.

$20,000 – $12,000 = $8,000

Dom’s capital gain for the trade is $8,000 and this amount will be added to his net capital gains for the year.

Note that the long-term CGT discount does apply to crypto-to-crypto trades. However, by the same token, the 12 month holding period is reset every time you sell, trade or convert your cryptocurrency.

Understandably this can all get pretty complicated pretty quickly, which is why we suggest using a crypto accounting software like CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla which also allows for CoinJar transactions to appear in the BGL’s Simple Fund 360 - SMSF Administration Software, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker or Accointing,  to keep accurate records and do these calculations for you.

Making purchases with CoinJar Card

CoinJar Card is a fully-featured Mastercard that automatically converts your crypto to cash when you make a transaction.

As with all other transactions that involve converting your cryptocurrency into regular currency, this will trigger a capital gains event and will need to be reported to the ATO. Whether the trade results in a capital gain or loss will determine whether you need to add or subtract the amount from your overall capital gains for the financial year.

Note that in some limited circumstances you may be able to claim the Personal Use exception on transactions you make with CoinJar Card. However the ATO has made clear that this is a question of intention – did you buy the cryptocurrency purely with the intention of using it to make purchases? Or was it an investment that you entered into in the hope of making money? If it's the latter (and let's be honest, it probably is), the Personal Use exception won't apply and you'll have to report the transaction in your tax return.

This is, obviously, less than ideal and we hope that the guidance around this type of transaction changes as products like CoinJar Card become more and more common.

In the meantime, CoinJar makes it easy to keep track of your capital gains with accountant-ready summaries of your crypto transactions. Click here to find out more.

Stablecoins

The ATO treats stablecoins like USDC exactly the same as every other cryptocurrency, so converting your bitcoin to USDC and vice-versa will be considered a capital gains event and any gain or loss will need to be added to your net capital gains.

Gifts

Giving your cryptocurrency to someone else as a gift is a capital gains event. Giving a gift is treated the same as selling your cryptocurrency at market rates and you have to include any capital gain or loss in your end of year calculations.

If you’re the gift recipient, you only have to pay capital gains when you dispose of the gifted cryptocurrency. In this case, use the market value of the gift on the day you received it when calculating any capital gain or loss.

Hard forks

Hard forks occur when a blockchain transitions from one protocol to another. Usually this happens without any effect on the currency itself, but in certain cases it will lead to the creation of two parallel chains with two separate currencies. For instance, when Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was split from bitcoin itself in August 2017 it gave every holder of bitcoin at the time of the split an equivalent number of BCH.

In cases like this, the ATO deems the new coins to have a cash basis of zero. This means that if you sell your forked coins, your capital gain will be the total amount you sold them for.

For example, if you held 1 bitcoin at the time of the BCH fork, you would have automatically received 1 BCH. If you sold that BCH for $300, then your capital gain for the transaction would be $300.

Airdrops

Airdrops are the normally free distribution of coins or tokens sent directly to your wallet. Airdrops are typically used by ICO or NFT issuers to increase awareness of a project, or by established projects to reward holders or increase token supply. Airdrops are unique in that they can occur without your knowledge or consent – but they still have tax implications.

The ATO recently released updated guidance on the tax treatment of airdrops. If the airdrop is an "initial allocation" (that is, the token has no previous trading or price history when it arrives in your wallet) then it won't be treated as income or a capital gains event. Instead it will only become a taxable event when you sell, trade or convert the tokens, at which point you'll have to report a capital gain with a cost basis of zero.

If you're airdropped an existing token or you made some investment to receive the airdrop, then the airdrop will be treated as assessable income at the time it arrives in your wallet. So, if you’re sent $200 worth of Tron tokens in an airdrop, you need to report that as taxable income.

If you later sell, trade or convert your airdropped tokens, it’s treated as a normal capital gains event, with the cost basis being the value of the tokens when you first received them. This means that if you later sell those Tron tokens for $300, you need to report a capital gain of $100.

Staking

An increasingly large number of cryptocurrencies offer holders what’s known as staking rewards. These rewards are a result of their Proof-of-Stake ‘consensus mechanism’ in which holders of these cryptocurrencies validate transactions and create new blocks by staking their cryptocurrency. If your holding is chosen to validate a block, you receive a staking reward in the form of new tokens.

The tax rules for staking rewards are the same as for airdrops. You need to report both the value of the coins at the time they’re awarded (as straight income), as well as any capital gain or loss made when they’re later sold, traded or converted.

(The same rules also apply to less common, but similar reward mechanisms i.e. Proof-of-Authority or Proof-of-Credit mechanisms by validators, agent nodes, guardian nodes, premium and proxy stakers, etc.)

Loans

Cryptocurrency loans are an increasingly popular way for people to earn passive income on their crypto holdings. Any coins or tokens received as a result of your loan will be treated as new assets with a cost basis of zero. This means that they’re not considered income, but if you sell or trade them, you’ll incur a capital gain equal to the total amount received (in Australian dollars).

Let’s say you place 5,000 USD Coin (USDC) in a loan program with an annual return of 8%. At the end of 12 months, you’ll receive 400 USDC. If you then sell those 400 USDC for the equivalent of $600, you’ve made a capital gain of $600.

Using crypto as loan collateral

The borrowing of fiat currency against crypto is not currently seen to be taxable income by the ATO. However, if your collateral is liquified by the loan platform after falling below a certain value, then that will be considered a capital gains event and will be taxed accordingly.

DeFi

It's safe to say that the world of Decentralised Finance (DeFi) is moving faster than the ATO can keep up with. As a result, any advice offered here is subject to change if/when they issue some authoritative guidance on the matter.

In the meantime it's likely that the same principles apply as for all crypto transactions, namely:

  1. If ownership of a token changes, then a CGT event has occurred.
  2. If you receive a token in return for effort, it's treated as income. See: Airdrops and Staking.

Considering this, the act of locking your assets in a liquidity pool – e.g. depositing ETH and receiving wETH in return – should probably be treated as a CGT event, as should the subsequent transformation from wETH back into ETH.

However, the crypto you might earn in return for keeping your ETH in the pool should be treated as income. If you later sell the earned ETH, it's a CGT event with a cost basis equal to the value of the tokens when you first received them.

Futures and margin trading

Despite the fact that both of these activities are referred to as "trading", their treatment by the ATO will primarily depend on whether you're acting as an investor or a trader when the trade occurs.

In the likely event that you're an investor, these trades will be treated the same as if you were actually buying or selling the crypto in question i.e. it will trigger a CGT event for the full amount notionally traded.

For instance, if you take a $100 long position on BTC with 10x leverage, the ATO will see that as a $1000 BTC purchase. If you later close the position for a $200 profit, then you'll have to report that amount as a capital gain.

While engaging in futures and margin trading doesn't of itself render you a trader, they're certainly something the ATO would assess when determining your status as an investor or trader. For more info, see our section on being a cryptocurrency trader below.

NFTs, STOs and other tokenized equities

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Security Token Offerings (STOs) are unique tokens that represent ownership (or part ownership) of property. Their treatment by the ATO is the same as with all crypto, namely that a CGT event occurs whenever you sell, trade, gift or otherwise dispose of the asset.

The rules are different if you're the creator of an NFT. In this case, proceeds from the sale of the NFTs you've created will be treated as business or personal income (depending on in which capacity you were creating the NFT). Any subsequent income you receive due to on-selling commissions will also be treated as income.

There are no clear rules regarding NFT giveaways or drops, however it's reasonable to assume that the tax rules would be similar to those that apply to airdrops.

Mining

If you’re mining coins as a hobby (as opposed to a business), then the rules are similar to income derived from loans: any coins you receive as a result of your mining will be considered a new asset with a cost basis of zero. This means that if you sell or trade them, you’ll incur a capital gain equal to the total amount received (in Australian dollars).

ICOs/IEOs/IDOs

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) and Initial Decentralised Exchange Offerings (IDOs) allow individuals to purchase tokens or coins for a cryptocurrency that doesn’t exist yet, by depositing an existing cryptocurrency like bitcoin or Ethereum.

In the eyes of the ATO this amounts to a crypto-to-crypto transaction, with the taxable event occurring on the date that the new tokens/coins are received. When you sell the new tokens, the cost basis for the transaction will be the value of the cryptocurrency that you initially paid for it.

Example

Let’s say you buy $3000 worth of Ethereum. Six months later, you use that Ethereum, now worth $4000, to take part in an ICO for a new project called Hammercoin (HMC). Nine months after that, Hammercoin finally launches and you receive 1 million HMC tokens, at a value of 0.4 cents each. Your capital gain on the transaction is $1000 – even if the price of Ethereum has changed between the time of your initial deposit and now. However because the taxable event  occurs on the date that the coins are received, you can still claim the 50% long-term CGT bonus. Thus your capital gain on the transaction is $500.

A few months later you sell your HMC tokens for $2500, incurring a $1500 loss and resulting in an overall capital loss of $1000.

Moving crypto between wallets

Moving crypto between wallets you own – either privately or as an account holder on an exchange – is not a capital gains event. However, it’s important to keep track of these movements because automated crypto tax software like CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla which also allows for CoinJar transactions to appear in the BGL’s Simple Fund 360 - SMSF Administration Software, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker or Accointingneeds a full record of your cryptocurrency’s transfer history in order to produce an accurate tax report.

Say, for example, that you sent one bitcoin from your CoinJar wallet to a private wallet and then on to a trading wallet on Binance. If CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla which also allows for CoinJar transactions to appear in the BGL’s Simple Fund 360 - SMSF Administration Software, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker or Accointing can’t account for the transfer to your private wallet, it will assess the passage both too and from the wallet as a taxable event, potentially resulting in a much larger tax bill.

How does tax work for cryptocurrency traders and businesses?

As mentioned above, the vast majority of people who engage with cryptocurrency will be seen as investors by the ATO. However, if you are running an explicitly crypto-oriented business, such as a mining farm, or are operating as a trader rather than an investor, then the rules are different.

Am I a trader?

This question is harder to answer than it might first appear. Simple quantity of trades is not enough to render you a trader in the eyes of the ATO – you must also be operating in a “business-like manner”. While there’s no absolute definition of what constitutes business-like activity, some of the things to look for are:

  • Significant capital investment.
  • A focus on short-term profit generation, as opposed to long-term investment.
  • High volume, repetitive and regular transactions which take place on a daily or weekly basis.
  • Buying and selling behaviour that suggests an active trading strategy.
  • Actually operating in a business-like manner i.e. business registration, strategy documents, office space, business planning, budgeting, consistent asset selection and business-like record keeping.

If you satisfy most or all of the above, then it’s likely that you’re operating as a cryptocurrency trader. If you’re uncertain whether you’re acting as a trader or not, we strongly suggest you secure the services of a crypto tax specialist to help work it out.

Can I be both a trader and an investor?

The short answer: yes. However, if you do want to hold both trading and investing accounts, it’s important to ensure that they exist in separate wallets and experience a minimum of cross-contamination i.e. don’t keep sending coins back and forth between them.

This also means it’s possible to be a cryptocurrency trader and a stock market investor and vice versa.

What does it mean to be a cryptocurrency trader?

Basically, if you’re operating as a cryptocurrency trader it means that you’ll be taxed as a sole trader. Rather than assessing each trade as a capital gains event, sells are seen as trading income, while buys are considered trade purchases. So, much like a regular business, it’s all about income and expenses.

At the end of the year, you’ll tally your income and your expenses – including the difference between the value of your portfolio at the beginning and end of the year – and the profits will be added to your overall taxable income. However, if you make a loss you may be able to deduct that from your other income for the year.

Note that if you’re running an official crypto business – that is, you’ve registered yourself as a company with ASIC for the purposes of trading, mining or any other crypto-related activity – then you’ll pay the Australian company tax rate of 27.5% instead. However, that rate only applies to profits the company has made. Any money you pay out as wages to either yourself or your employees will be deducted from the company’s profits and taxed as personal income instead.

Benefits of being a cryptocurrency trader

Being a cryptocurrency trader gives you access to many of the tax benefits available to small businesses. These include:

  • Small business tax incentives: these change year to year, but typically offer $1,000 tax offsets and reduced rates to certain classes of small business.
  • Loss rules: crypto traders who generate over $20,000 in trades but record an overall loss can often claim this against the rest of their taxable income, allowing traders to claim their trading losses against their regular salary.
  • Expenses: all business- and crypto-related expenses, such as hardware, software, trading fees and subscriptions can be claimed as deductions. Traders can also access the $30,000 small business instant asset write off.

Negatives to being a cryptocurrency trader

  • Increased likelihood of ATO scrutiny: given the many tax concessions on offer to crypto traders, the ATO is likely to take a keen interest in your activities.
  • Extra admin: As a trader, you’re subject to more complex record-keeping and compliance requirements, which can cost both time and money. This can include: detailed trading records; a log of work time; clearly defined strategy documents; detailed research notes; and accurate business records.
  • No long-term capital gains discount: That 50% can really make a difference.

Do I have to register for an ABN/GST?

If you’re classified as a trader then you’ll have to register for a sole trader ABN if you haven’t already, but you only need to register for GST if your annual GST turnover (income before expenses) is over $75k. Cryptocurrency trades are considered to be input-tax sales, which are sales of goods and services that don’t include GST. You can’t claim GST credits for your ‘inputs’ and your cryptocurrency trading turnover doesn’t contribute towards your annual GST turnover.

While you can’t claim GST on your trading per se, you may be able to claim certain business purchases – what are known as reduced credit acquisitions – as well as 75% of any GST paid on brokerage fees. GST compliance can get pretty complex so unless your GST turnover is above $75k per year (in which case you don’t have a choice in the matter), you’ll have to decide whether it’s worth the extra administrative hassle.

Cryptocurrency mining as a business

If you’ve been earning income from mining crypto, then you’ll first have to work out whether you’re running a business or simply mining as a hobby. Much like with trading itself, there are no hard and fast rules here, but generally if you’re conducting business-like activity – i.e. registering a company, creating business plans, pursuing an active profit model, conducting the same activity in a regular, planned fashion – then the ATO is likely to see it as a business.

For mining, this means that all mined cryptocurrency must be reported as income in Australian dollars at the time that it’s mined. Any income you make from selling or trading the crypto must also be reported. At the end of the year, any stock you have on hand will be measured against the stock you had at the beginning of the year and added to the total.

As a business you’re able to claim expenses such as hardware depreciation, software and electricity costs. You may also be able to claim the small business instant asset write-off, which allows you to claim up to $30,000 of equipment or infrastructure costs as a deduction. Finally, you may be able to claim any losses against your regular income, subject to the rules for non-commercial losses.

Loans, DeFi, interest, staking and other forms of cryptocurrency-related business income

As a basic rule, if you’re receiving, sending, buying, selling or giving away cryptocurrency as part of your business – basically any income or expense rendered in cryptocurrency – then you’ll need to include the proceeds as part of your ordinary income. This means reporting the Australian dollar equivalent of the transaction at the time that it occurs.

However, it’s likely that the business-like nature of each activity will be assessed separately. So, you might be running a crypto mining business, but taking interest on crypto loans as a hobbyist or investor.

Futures, options, CFDs and other derivatives

As a trader, any income you make from systematically trading futures, options or other derivative instruments are treated the same as regular trading – your net gain or loss for the year will be added or deducted from your overall income.

However, if you’re trading derivatives as a hobbyist or gambler, the rules are different. In these cases, your gains might be untaxed, but your losses – which the ATO assumes will be the case, because you’re, well, gambling – can’t be claimed as a deduction.

If this sounds like a loophole, prepare to be disappointed. There’s another class of derivative trader: the speculator. Speculators are the derivative’s version of a straight-up investor. They occasionally trade derivatives with a view to making a profit – i.e. there’s a strategy to their decisions – and their profits or losses will most likely be treated as capital gains or losses.

As with crypto trading more broadly, whether you’re a trader, a speculator or a hobbyist hinges on both intention and practice. This means answering questions like: how business-like are you in your activities? How frequently are you trading? How much capital do you have trade with? How much strategy goes into your decisions?

Like the instruments themselves, derivatives tax is complex (and risky) and there are subtle differences in the treatment of different derivatives, so we suggest you talk to a tax professional both before and after making them part of your trading strategy.

Paying employees in cryptocurrency

Generally paying employees in cryptocurrency is treated the same as normal salary or wages. This means that you need to meet all the regular PAYG and superannuation obligations for the employee based on the Australian dollar value of the crypto you’re paying them.

However, if you have a salary sacrifice agreement in place with the employee, then the crypto payment could be classified as a fringe benefit and you need to take note of the rules surrounding the Fringe Benefits Tax.

Reporting Your Tax

The Australian tax year runs from July 1 to June 30. When you lodge your tax return, you need to include all the crypto transactions that occurred between these two dates.

If you are lodging your own return, it must be completed by October 31 of the same year. If you are lodging through a registered tax agent/accountant you usually have until March 31 of the following year to submit your returns.

It’s important to meet these deadlines, because delays in filing your taxes can lead to penalties, fees and potentially even extra scrutiny from the ATO.

What records do I need to keep?

Whether you’re an investor or trader, it’s vitally important that you keep clear, comprehensive records of all your cryptocurrency transactions. A proper record includes:

  • The date of each transaction
  • The value of the cryptocurrency in Australian dollars at the time of the transaction
  • The purpose of the transaction (i.e. was it a gift, a donation or for personal use?)
  • The details of the other party involved (even if it’s just their crypto wallet address)

You should also keep evidence of the following:

  • Receipts of cryptocurrency purchases or transfers
  • Exchange records
  • Invoices for any agent, accountant or legal costs
  • Digital wallet records and keys
  • Any software costs associated with the management of your tax affairs

How can I manage all these transaction records?

If you trade with any regularity, keeping these records can quickly become challenging.

Fortunately, CoinJar now offers comprehensive and easy-to-read EOFY tax statements to its users. All you need to do is:

  1. Login to your account through coinjar.com
  2. Click Settings and then ‘General’
  3. Go to ‘Reports + statements’, followed by ‘Transaction history statements’.

From there you can export your account statement, as well as a record of your Purchases & Sales (probably the one your accountant  wants to see) and Deposits & Withdrawals. Simply choose which dates you want the report to cover and we’ll send it to your inbox.

Automate your tax return through CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla, BGL, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker & Accointing integrations

While most reputable exchanges now offer users the ability to download comprehensive transaction records, compiling them into a single, ATO-friendly document can still present challenges, especially if you’re operating across a number of wallets and cryptocurrencies.

We suggest using a crypto accounting app such as CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla which also allows for CoinJar transactions to appear in the BGL’s Simple Fund 360 - SMSF Administration Software, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker or Accointing. These programs allow you to keep track of all your transactions in real-time, irrespective of where and when they take place. At the end of the financial year they’ll compile your transaction history into a single document that sets out your capital gains and losses in Australian dollars, allowing you to quickly and easily assess your tax obligations while also monitoring your overall portfolio performance.

CoinJar now offers full, secure transaction integration with CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla, BGL’s Simple Fund 360 - SMSF Administration Software,  CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker and Accointing. This means that whenever you buy, sell or trade a cryptocurrency on CoinJar, the transaction will be ported directly to your preferred crypto tax software account, ready for the end of the financial year.

Disclaimer: CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla, BGL, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker and Accointing are not CoinJar services. If you use these services you’ll be subject to the applicable terms and conditions of use for these products, including a separate privacy policy, which may differ from CoinJar’s privacy policy. You should read and understand all applicable terms for CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla, BGL, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker and Accointing before using them.

Links to third-party websites will open new browser windows. Except where noted, CoinJar accepts no responsibility for the content on third-party websites.

Special offer for CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla, CoinLedger, CoinTracker & Coinpanda

CryptoTaxCalculator

CryptoTaxCalculator is an Australian-made tax package that offers an annual plan that covers every financial year from 2013–2024. So, if you need to amend your tax return for previous years. CryptoTaxCalculator has you covered. They offer a 30-day money back guarantee and you can cancel your subscription at any time.

CryptoTaxCalculator has partnered with CoinJar to provide the following discount. Simply enter your code at checkout:

COINJAR30 will give users 30% off their first year with us. Users can redeem this coupon code until August 20, 2023.

Koinly

Koinly offers Australia-specific tax functionality and also lets you generate income reports from mining, staking, airdrops and more.

Koinly is offering 30% off your first Koinly tax report using the code COINJAR23 at checkout. Offer is valid until October 31, 2023.

Syla

Meet Syla - Australia’s crypto tax software, created by a team of Australian tax professionals, exclusively for Australian crypto investors. Whether you’re an individual or SMSF, you can easily generate ATO-compliant tax reports that are optimised to save you tax.

You or your accountant can also use Syla to instantly sync your CoinJar transactions with BGL’s Simple Fund 360 - SMSF Administration Software.

Save tax with Syla. Use the code COINJARSAVE on checkout to save 30%. There is no expiry date.

CoinLedger

CoinLedger is used by thousands of Australians to automate all of their cryptocurrency tax reporting. You can sign up, generate reports, and test out the product completely for free! Only pay when you want to download your gains, losses, and income tax reports. No credit card required.

CoinLedger is also offering 40% off your first tax report when using the code JAR at checkout until 31/7/23.

There is also an ongoing 25% discount for new customers when using this link: https://coinledger.io/australia-crypto-tax-software?fpr=coinjar

Coinpanda

Coinpanda is a cryptocurrency tax calculator built to simplify and automate the process of calculating your taxes and filing your tax reports.

CoinJar has partnered with Coinpanda to provide 40% off all plans for any tax year using the code COINJAR40 at checkout. Offer is valid until December 1.

CoinTracker

CoinTracker is free for up to 25 transactions per year, which should cover the hardcore HODLers out there.

CoinTracker has partnered with CoinJar to provide the following discount. Simply enter your code at checkout:

COINJAR20 will give users 20% off. Users can redeem this coupon code until the 1st of January 2024.

If you have a load of CoinJar Rewards points burning a hole in your account, you can use them to pay for a subscription to CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly or CoinTracker.

Check out the CoinJar Rewards Store to see our full range of available packages.

Disclaimer: CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla, BGL, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker and Accointing are not CoinJar services. If you use these services you’ll be subject to the applicable terms and conditions of use for these products, including a separate privacy policy, which may differ from CoinJar’s privacy policy. You should read and understand all applicable terms for CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla, BGL, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker and Accointing before using them.

Links to third-party websites will open new browser windows. Except where noted, CoinJar accepts no responsibility for the content on third-party websites.

Tips for minimising your crypto tax

While we’re firm believers in full tax compliance – both because it’s the right thing to do and because the ATO is currently sending warning letters to 350,000 cryptocurrency users – there are still things you can do to ensure you’re not overpaying. These include:

  • Be a HODLer: keep hold of your crypto for more than 12 months and you can take advantage of the 50% long-term CGT discount.
  • Make your intentions clear: is the crypto you’re buying intended as an investment or are you keeping it for trading or personal use? Keeping different wallets for different purposes can help prove your intention to the ATO.
  • Track your transactions: the longer you wait to account for your crypto transactions the messier it’s going to be. Start using crypto accounting software like CryptoTaxCalculator, Koinly, Syla which also allows for CoinJar transactions to appear in the BGL’s Simple Fund 360 - SMSF Administration Software, CoinLedger, Coinpanda, CoinTracker or Accointing to ensure you’re ready to go the moment tax season rolls around.
  • Deduct away: if you’re a trader or are running a crypto business, you could be eligible to claim significant deductions on your regular income.
  • Disclose everything: people think that because bitcoin is anonymous their transactions can’t be tracked, but in fact the opposite is true – on the blockchain everything can be tracked. Reddit is filling up with stories of people getting letters from the ATO for trading tiny amounts of bitcoin years ago, so never assume that your transactions are untraceable. If the ATO feels you’ve been deliberately hiding your crypto trading, you could be liable for severe fees and penalties.
  • Talk to an expert: crypto taxation is confusing and rapidly changing territory. If you’re uncertain where you stand or what your obligations might be, then talk to an expert.

References


Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high‑risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more: www.coinjar.com/uk/risk-summary.

Cryptoassets traded on CoinJar UK Limited are largely unregulated in the UK, and you are unable to access the Financial Service Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service. We use third party banking, safekeeping and payment providers, and the failure of any of these providers could also lead to a loss of your assets. We recommend you obtain financial advice before making a decision to use your credit card to purchase cryptoassets or to invest in cryptoassets. Capital Gains Tax may be payable on profits.​​

CoinJar’s digital currency exchange services are operated in Australia by CoinJar Australia Pty Ltd ACN 648 570 807, a registered digital currency exchange provider with AUSTRAC; and in the United Kingdom by CoinJar UK Limited (company number 8905988), registered by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Cryptoasset Exchange Provider and Custodian Wallet Provider in the United Kingdom under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, as amended (Firm Reference No. 928767).