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Cryptocurrency and capital gains tax: When do you pay tax?

August 11, 2022

If you acquire cryptocurrency to make a private purchase and don’t hold onto it, the crypto might qualify as a personal use asset. But in most cases, that is not the case and people acquire crypto as an investment, even if they do sometimes use it to make purchases.


Generally, a capital gains tax (CGT) event occurs when disposing of cryptocurrency. This can include selling cryptocurrency for a flat currency (e.g., $AUD), exchanging one cryptocurrency for another, gifting it, trading it, or using it to pay for goods or services.


Each cryptocurrency is a separate asset for CGT purposes. When you dispose of one cryptocurrency to acquire another, you are disposing of one CGT asset and acquiring another CGT asset. This triggers a taxing event.

A single bitcoin against a blurry background

Transferring cryptocurrency from one wallet to another is not a CGT disposal if you maintain ownership of the coin.


Record keeping is extremely important – you need to keep accurate and complete details of the following:

  • Receipts and details of the type of coin
  • Purchase price in Australian dollars
  • Date and time of transactions
  • Records of any exchanges, digital wallet and keys
  • What has been paid in commissions or brokerage fees
  • Records of tax agent, accountant and legal costs.


The ATO regularly runs data matching projects, and has access to the data from many crypto platforms and banks.


If you make a loss on cryptocurrency, you can generally only claim the loss as a deduction if you are in the business of trading.


Gifting an asset may still incur tax


Donating or gifting an asset does not avoid capital gains tax. If you receive nothing or less than the market value of the asset, the market value substitution rules might come into play. The market value substitution rule can treat you as having received the market value of the asset you donated or gifted for the purpose of your CGT calculations.


For example, if Mum & Dad buy a block of land then eventually gift the block of land to their daughter, the ATO will look at the value of the land at the point they gifted it. If the market value of the land is higher than the amount that Mum & Dad paid for it, then this would normally trigger a capital gains tax liability. It does not matter that Mum & Dad did not receive any money for the land.


Donations of cryptocurrency might also trigger capital gains tax. If you donate cryptocurrency to a charity, you are likely to be assessed on the market value of the crypto at the point you donated it. You can only claim a tax deduction for the donation if the charity is a deductible gift recipient and the charity is set up to accept cryptocurrency.


Investment questions?


If you have any questions about wealth creation or capital gains tax, please contact your Goodwin Chivas & Co. representative, email us or phone our friendly team on (02) 9899 3044.


 

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