Sell on the anniversary instead
Change only the sale date to 1 July 2025. The discount does not apply. After the A$1,000 loss, all A$1,386 is taxable, giving A$415.80 at 30%. Selling on 2 July passes the holding test.
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Capital Gains Tax Calculator for Australian Shares
Enter what you paid, what you sold for and your tax rate. You get the capital gain, the 50% discount if you held for 12 months, the tax on it, and how many days you would need to wait if you are not there yet.
Enter valid values to calculate.
Calculating…
| Capital proceeds | |
| Cost base, with brokerage both ways | |
| Capital gain | |
| Carried-forward losses applied | |
| 50% CGT discount | |
| Net capital gain, added to your income | |
| Estimated tax | |
| Capital loss to carry forward |
Worked out with the same parcel matching, loss order and discount test as the AllInvestView Australian filing pack.
Worked example: a partial sale, losses, then the discount
You buy 500 shares on 1 July 2024 at A$40 each, with A$10 brokerage. On 2 July 2025 you sell 200 at A$52, paying another A$10. You have A$1,000 of capital losses carried forward.
- Proceeds: A$10,400. That is 200 × A$52.
- Cost base: A$8,014. The sold shares take 200/500 of the A$20,010 purchase cost, or A$8,004, plus A$10 sale brokerage.
- Capital gain: A$2,386. Deduct the A$1,000 loss before applying any discount, leaving A$1,386.
- Net capital gain: A$693. The parcel passes the 12-month test, so the 50% discount removes A$693. At a selected 30% marginal rate, the estimated tax is A$207.90.
The remaining 300 shares keep A$12,006 of purchase cost. Selling part of a parcel does not use up the cost base of the shares you still own.
Choose between two purchase parcels
Suppose you also bought 200 of the same shares on 1 March 2025 at A$48, with A$10 brokerage. Selling those 200 on 2 July 2025 for A$52 with A$10 sale brokerage gives an A$780 gain, with no discount. The A$1,000 loss covers it, leaving A$220 to carry forward.
Compare each parcel separately in this calculator. The Australian report combines your sales and applies losses to gains without the discount first.
How CGT on shares works in Australia
A capital gain is not taxed on its own. It is added to your taxable income for the year you sign the sale contract and taxed at your marginal rate. What gets added depends on four things, in this order.
- The cost base. What you paid for the shares plus brokerage on the purchase and on the sale. A higher cost base means a smaller gain.
- Capital losses. Losses from other sales this year, then losses carried forward from earlier years, come off the gain first. They cannot be skipped to save them for later.
- The 50% discount. If you held the shares for at least 12 months, half of what is left is not taxed. Losses come off before the discount, never after.
- Your marginal rate. The net capital gain is taxed at the rate for the bracket it lands in, plus the Medicare levy.
A loss works the other way. It is not deductible from your salary, but it carries forward with no time limit and comes off your next capital gains.
Why a few weeks can halve the tax
The 12-month line
The discount needs 12 months of ownership, not counting the day you buy and the day you sell. Shares bought on 1 January qualify on a sale from 2 January the following year. Selling on the anniversary itself is one day too early.
Use the contract dates on your confirmations for the holding test and the income year.
What waiting is worth
On the example the calculator opens with, a A$5,980 gain sold at month ten is taxed in full. Sold after the 12-month mark at the same price, only half of it is added to your income, and the tax halves with it.
Waiting only pays if the price holds, so weigh the tax saved against the risk of the next few weeks.
Questions about CGT on shares
How is capital gains tax on shares calculated in Australia?
Capital proceeds minus the cost base gives the capital gain, and the cost base includes brokerage on both the purchase and the sale. Capital losses come off next, the gain is halved if you held the shares for at least 12 months, and what is left is added to your taxable income and taxed at your marginal rate.
How does the 12-month rule work exactly?
You must hold the shares for at least 12 months, not counting the day you buy or the day you sell. Shares bought on 1 January qualify on a sale from 2 January the following year. The dates that count are the contract dates, not settlement.
Do capital losses come off before or after the discount?
Before. Losses reduce the gain first and the 50% discount applies to what remains, so A$1,000 of loss removes A$1,000 from a gain without the discount but only A$500 from a discounted one. That is why losses go against gains that do not get the discount first.
Can a capital loss reduce tax on my salary?
No. Capital losses only offset capital gains. A loss you cannot use this year carries forward with no time limit, and it must be used against your next capital gains.
Which shares count as sold when I bought in several parcels?
You can choose, as long as your records identify the parcels you sold. Without that, first in first out is the default. Selling a parcel held for more than 12 months, or one with a higher cost base, can change the tax a lot.
Do companies and super funds get the same discount?
No. Individuals and trusts get 50%, complying super funds get one third, and companies get no discount at all. This calculator uses the rules for an individual.
Every sale of the year, every parcel, in one report
Keep the purchase parcels behind every sale, even when the trades sit with different brokers. AllInvestView imports your trades and the Australian filing pack works out item 18 for the whole year with the same rules as above, next to franked dividends at item 11 and foreign income at item 20.
- First in, first out by default, or choose the parcels you sold
- Losses netted before the discount, and the rest carried forward
- Overseas trades converted to AUD on each trade's own date
Start free. No card required.
AllInvestViewAustralian filing pack
Keep going
Sources: ATO, choosing the CGT calculation method, resident tax rates. This calculator uses the discount rules for sales before 1 July 2027 and does not model the later indexation rules. The tax shown applies one marginal rate to the whole net gain for an Australian resident individual; a large gain can cross into a higher bracket, and other sales in the same year change the netting. This is an estimate, not tax advice.