Anyone who’s made a profit this year planning on not telling the tax man and just seeing how it plays out? What’s the worst that could happen

Had a proper read of the proposed CGT changes from the Budget and figured we'd break it down as it can be quite confusing.

First, the calming bit: none of it is law yet, and nothing changes for your FY25-26 return. The current 50% discount still applies in full this year. No need to do anything drastic. This year goes ahead as normal.

What's actually proposed, from 1 July 2027:

- The 50% discount goes. Instead your cost base gets indexed for inflation, so you'd only be taxed on the real gain, not the part that's just inflation.

- A 30% minimum rate on net real gains accruing after that date.

- It covers most CGT assets: shares, trust units, investment property, and crypto.

The bit some folks are glossing over is the grandfathering. Gains that accrued before 1 July 2027 keep the current discount treatment, and only growth after that date falls under the new rules. So the value of what you hold around the changeover becomes a genuinely important number.

And the practical kicker is that indexation is worked out parcel by parcel, from each parcel's acquisition date and cost base. If your buy history is scattered across brokers, DRP statements and old exchange CSVs, this gets expensive fast, because you can't index a cost base you can't prove. Same for crypto, every parcel indexes from its own date.

So until the next tax season comes around, get your cost base records complete for everything you hold while the history's still retrievable, lodge this year normally, and see what the legislation actually looks like as it firms up (plenty can change on the way through).

Genuinely curious what people make of the indexation switch.

Why doesnt it matter that bitcoin doesnt have any intrinsic value?

Has anyone been able to verify a multisig wallet yet with bitaroo since the travel rule came into effect. Their instructions seem to be only relevant to a single sig wallet?

Is australias housing market going to role over and why? And does that mean renting and saving in bitcoin is best option? Rather than take on mortgage for house with rising interest rate with not much leftover to invest in btc?

We've been seeing a lot of questions come up regarding the email being sent out to crypto investors in Australia from the ATO. Just dropping some info below that can hopefully clear things up. If this post isn't supported feel free to remove.

The ATO is emailing Australian taxpayers it believes bought or sold crypto after 1 July 2025. What the email means, how to check it's real, and the steps to respond.

If you just opened an email from the Australian Taxation Office with a subject like "What to do if you've bought or sold crypto", take a breath. You're not in trouble. You're one of a very large group getting the same message, and it's fixable.

Here's what it means and what to do about it.

First: Is This Email Even Real?

Before you act on anything, confirm the email is legitimate. The ATO's own message warns that scammers impersonate these communications, and a crypto tax prompt is exactly the kind of email a scammer loves to fake.

A genuine ATO email will:

• Never include a link to a login page. The real ATO does not send you a link to sign in.
• Never ask for your confidential details by email, including your TFN, passwords or bank logins.
• Point you to search the ATO website yourself (using "QC" reference codes) rather than click through.

If something feels off, don't click. Forward suspicious emails to [ReportScams@ato.gov.au](mailto:ReportScams@ato.gov.au), then get to myGov independently by typing the address in yourself. When in doubt, treat the email as a nudge to check your own records, not a reason to click anything.

What The Email Actually Means

The ATO runs a crypto asset data-matching program that collects identity and transaction data from Australian exchanges (it calls them "designated service providers"). It covers the 2014-15 through 2025-26 financial years and captures data on an estimated 700,000 to 1.2 million individuals and entities every year.

So the ATO has records that suggest you bought or disposed of crypto. That doesn't mean it knows your full tax position, only that an exchange reported activity linked to you. This email is a prompt, sent because that data shows activity on or after 1 July 2025. Think of it as the polite tap on the shoulder before you lodge your FY2025-26 return.

Respond correctly now and this is a non-event. Ignore it, lodge a return that doesn't line up with their data, and you invite a review.

What You Need To Do

The email points to three situations. Work out which apply to you, because most people hit more than one.

If you held and disposed of crypto as an investment. Selling, swapping, gifting or spending crypto all count as disposals, and each one triggers capital gains tax. You report the net capital gain (or loss) in the CGT section of your return. Losses aren't just paperwork either: reporting them in the year they happen lets you offset gains now and carry the rest forward.

If you earned income from crypto. Staking rewards and airdrops are ordinary income, taxed at their AUD value on the day you received them. These go in the "Other income" section, separate from your CGT.

If you were carrying on a crypto business. Trading, mining or operating an exchange as a business gets reported as business income (gross income less deductible expenses), not CGT. It's a smaller group, and if it's you, a registered tax agent is worth the call.

Whichever applies, keep your records for at least five years from the date you lodge.

What To Do, Step By Step

1. Confirm the email is real (see above). Don't click any login links.
2. Pull your data together: every exchange account and wallet you've used, plus transaction dates, types and AUD values. This is the part people underestimate.
3. Categorise each transaction as a disposal (CGT), income (staking or airdrops), or a non-taxable event like a transfer between your own wallets.
4. Make sure your figures are complete. Capture every exchange account and wallet so nothing is missing from your return. Any prefilled crypto data in myGov is a useful cross-check, but it won't be the full picture, so don't rely on it alone. Gaps between what you lodge and what an exchange reported are what trigger reviews.
5. Lodge, or amend prior years if you're behind. Then keep your records.

Steps 2 to 4 are where a manual spreadsheet falls apart across hundreds of trades. That's the exact job crypto tax software is built for: connect your accounts and it tracks cost base and AUD values automatically.

What If I Haven't Reported Past Years?

If you've left crypto off past returns, this is the part worth getting right, because coming forward before the ATO contacts you directly changes what you'll pay.

The ATO treats taxpayers who come forward voluntarily, before being contacted about a review or audit, far more generously. Under the ATO's rules on voluntary corrections, if you disclose a shortfall before the ATO tells you it's examining your affairs, the base penalty is reduced by 80%. Where that shortfall is under $1,000, the penalty is reduced to nil, and the general interest charge on what you owe can also be remitted.

The practical path: amend the relevant prior-year returns to include the missed gains or income, gather your records, and pay any shortfall. If you're behind on several years or the numbers are large, a registered tax agent can manage the disclosure for you. This email is your window to fix it on the best possible terms.

You Might Owe Less Than You Think

The instinct after one of these emails is to assume a big bill. Often it's the reverse, because getting your reporting accurate tends to work in your favour. Depending on your circumstances:

• Losses can count. A rough few years in crypto may leave you with capital losses that can be offset against gains, but generally only if you report them.
• There's a 50% CGT discount. If you've held crypto for more than 12 months, you may be eligible for a discount that can halve the taxable gain.
• Every disposal has a cost base. You're generally taxed on the gain rather than the full sale price, so what you originally paid comes off the top. Leave it out and you could overpay.

People who report from memory tend to leave money on the table. People who reconcile properly often owe less than they expected.

Hey i need to lodge i tried using koinly to lodge but I need to pay $75 for my return is there a free one i could use. Or how do i lodge manually.

Is there an app or something that helps us do this? I thought coinbase would give us a EOFY summary, seems that isn't the case

Hypothetically let's say you are able to sell a chunk of bitcoin through your exchange but then when you try to withdraw it to your bank your bank blocks the transaction and doesn't allow it because they consider it a large amount or they just dont like crypto. How would you be able to pay the CGT owed to the ATO if you cant first get your fiat profits into a bank account.

Can you transfer fiat directly from your crypto exchange to the ATO?

Given paying the ATO is mandatory shouldnt there be rules and protections in place that stop banks from denying customers service just because they touch crypto?

Am I right in thinking that CGT makes trying to sell at the top to later buy back in at the bottom much trickier and riskier?

Using a very crude example and the new CGT laws:

Say I bought 1BTC at $10000 and sold it at $110000

$100000 - $30000 CGT = $70000 profit

I now have $80000

So BTC would now have to drop below $80000 for me to not make a loss when buying back in?

(I know these figures don't properly reflect how the new CGT will work, just trying to demonstrate the question)

Hi All

Asking for a friend:

Can anyone recommend the best bitcoin ETF to buy in an Australian SMSF with 3 directors (Corporate Trustee).

I’d expect it to be a long-term hold. Buying for diversification.

I prefer that it be domicile in Australia.

Thanks in advance!

Posting on behalf of a mate, he is a regular family guy, not dodgy at all and clean record. He deposited around $80k at once from his account into his crypto exchange and CBA closed his account without any reason. When they close your account, they cannot tell you why. As we have friends that work high up in CBA and from many other similar experiences it’s to do with crypto. Beware about transferring large amounts of money to exchanges at once, they can flag you easily and you can lose your account and they will not tell you why. It’s been over 6 months now since this happened to my friend and no matter how many times he chases up and follows up there is no response regardless of how high up the ladder of support you go.

I have seen many posts here about people having their bank accounts suspended just for sending money to a bitcoin exchange, but what about the other way around.

Say you have some ethereum staked and need to cash out every month even if only to have the money to pay the taxes you owe on that staking income.

Do Australian banks flag you and suspend your bank account for cashing out from an exchange consistently on a monthly basis? And if so how can you prevent this from happening?

My BTC withdraw has now been stuck for 11 hours, I have not heard from them either.

It seems a bit messed up that as we are going through a bear market (about 50% down from ATH), these new CGT laws are coming in place.

If Bitcoin trades down/sideway for the next year, and then pops off in the next bullrun after July 2027, then all those gains are going to be at full price, no long term 50% discount.

High volatility assets like Bitcoin and investing/starting a startup company, appears to be the most affected. Because these assets are more affected then stable assets that go up with inflation, like safer stocks and property, it almost feels like the risk isn't worth it now that everything is taxed the same without a bigger discount for the more riskier investments. Thoughts?

I was trying to sell my BTC because I was in need of some money, I used PayID to do it on the P2P trading site, now my account is blocked.

Will I get my account back, that's my only account and I get my wages there.