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Capital gains tax in Australia 2026
Australia has no separate capital gains tax rate: net gains are added to your income. The lever that matters is time — hold qualifying assets more than 12 months and only 50% of the gain is taxed, halving the effective top rate to about 23.5%.
Your main residence is exempt entirely, assets bought before 20 September 1985 are outside the system, and death defers rather than triggers the tax.
At a glance
- top rate
- ≈ 23.5% effective on long-held assets (45% + levy on half the gain)
- entry band
- Marginal rates on the full gain if held under 12 months
- tax year basis
- 1 July – 30 June
- filing deadline
- 31 October return
- residency basis
- Residents: worldwide gains
- regime flag
- Small business concessions can eliminate gains entirely
Rates
Capital gains treatment (2025/26)
| Rate | Base | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Marginal rates on 50% | Half the net gain | Assets held more than 12 months by residents |
| Marginal rates on 100% | Full net gain | Assets held 12 months or less |
| 0% | — | Main residence; assets acquired before 20 September 1985 |
| 0% – reduced | Business asset gains | Small business concessions (turnover under AUD 2 million or net assets under AUD 6 million): retirement exemption, 15-year exemption, 50% active-asset reduction |
Thresholds & allowances
- Loss rulesCapital losses offset capital gains only
Carried forward indefinitely; applied before the 50% discount
- Death rolloverNo tax at death
Heirs inherit the deceased's cost base and holding period
Residency
Residency trigger
Residents are taxed on worldwide gains. Leaving Australia triggers a deemed disposal of assets other than Australian real property — you can elect to defer by keeping assets inside the Australian net.
Non-resident treatment
Non-residents are taxed only on 'taxable Australian property' — real estate, big indirect property stakes and branch assets. They get no 50% discount (for periods after May 2012) and no main-residence exemption, and buyers withhold 15% of the sale price of Australian property from non-resident sellers.
Notes
- The 50% discount plus negative gearing is the engine of Australian property investing — losses offset salary during ownership, half the gain is taxed at exit.
- Temporary residents are outside Australian tax on foreign gains entirely.
- The 15% withholding on property sales by non-residents applies from the first dollar since January 2025 (the old AUD 750,000 threshold is gone).
- Crypto follows the same rules — see the Australia crypto tax page.
FAQ
What is the capital gains tax rate in Australia?
Your marginal income tax rate — but on only half the gain once you've held the asset more than 12 months, giving an effective maximum of about 23.5% including the Medicare levy.
Is my home exempt from Australian capital gains tax?
Yes — fully, for the period it was your main residence. Non-residents lost access to this exemption in 2017, a trap for expats selling after leaving.
Figures: tax year 2025/26 (July–June basis), compiled from public sources. Not tax advice.