Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates only and should not be considered financial or tax advice. Always consult with a qualified tax professional or accountant before making investment decisions. This tool does not constitute advice from the Australian Taxation Office. Evercend Pty Limited does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.
CGT Calculator inputs and results
Asset Details
Enter your asset details and click Calculate to see all three scenarios.
Market value at 1 July 2027 is the method the law sets for splitting the gain. Leave this blank and the calculator spreads the gain across the days held instead, which is its own estimate and not a method available under the law.
Used for incremental CGT calculation. Leave blank to assume $0 base income.
Adds an extra HELP repayment line to results.
Enter your asset details above
Fill in prices and dates, then click Calculate CGT to see all three scenarios side by side.
Understand the rules behind this calculator
How the 50% CGT discount works, who qualifies, and what the 2027 transitional rules mean for assets you hold today.
How capital gains tax works in Australia
Capital gains tax, or CGT, is not a separate tax. When you sell an asset such as an investment property, shares or units for more than it cost you, the profit is a capital gain. That gain is added to your taxable income for the year and taxed at your marginal tax rate. A capital loss can only reduce capital gains, not your other income.
For assets held at least 12 months, an Australian resident individual currently reduces the taxable gain by the 50% CGT discount, so only half the net gain is taxed. This calculator estimates the CGT on a sale and compares the current rules with the new rules that start on 1 July 2027. It is a model and general information, not tax advice.
The rules are changing. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 became law on 26 June 2026. From 1 July 2027, the 50% discount is replaced for individuals, trusts and partnerships by cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax rate on capital gains. Gains that accrued before that date are worked out under the old rules when you later sell. The calculator models all three of these situations.
How to use this calculator
Enter the purchase and sale details
Add what you paid for the asset, the costs of buying and selling, and the sale price.
Add the dates and your income
Enter the purchase and sale dates and your other taxable income for the year of sale.
Capital losses
This calculator does not take capital losses. Enter the gain before any losses, and apply your own losses to the result.
Compare the scenarios
The calculator shows the CGT under the current rules, the new rules from 1 July 2027, and the transitional split for assets held across that date.
How this calculator works
The calculator first works out your capital gain, which is the sale price less the cost base. The cost base is what you paid for the asset plus eligible costs of buying, owning and selling it. This calculator does not model capital losses, so the gain it uses is before any losses. Under the current rules, if you are an individual who held the asset for at least 12 months, it reduces the gain by the 50% discount, adds the discounted gain to your other income, and taxes the difference at your marginal rate plus the Medicare levy.
Assumptions used
Assumptions used: Capital losses are applied to the gain before the 50% discount under ATO rules. This calculator does not model capital losses, so every figure it produces is before losses. The 12-month holding period excludes the day you acquired the asset and the day of the sale, so an asset must be held for 12 months and a day to qualify for the discount. The CGT event is taken as the contract date, not the settlement date. The tax effect uses the marginal method, comparing the tax on your income including the gain against the tax on your income alone, using the 2026-27 income tax rates and the 2025-26 Medicare levy thresholds, the latest published. The estimate assumes you are an Australian resident individual for the full period, that the asset is not exempt such as a main residence, and that the costs entered have not already been claimed as tax deductions. The 30% minimum tax is modelled as a flat floor on the gain after indexation. The calculator does not apply the exemption in section 119-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 for a person receiving social security, income support, veterans' or military compensation payments, and it does not apply the exclusions in section 119-5(2) for new residential dwellings and affordable housing. Anyone covered by one of those will see a figure that overstates the tax. It is general information, not tax advice.
Worked example
An investor buys shares for $20,000, including brokerage, and sells them more than 12 months later for $32,000, with $200 brokerage on the sale. The cost base is $20,000 and the capital proceeds are $31,800, so the capital gain is $11,800. There are no capital losses.
Under the current rules, the 50% discount halves the gain to $5,900. That $5,900 is added to the investor's other income and taxed at their marginal rate plus the Medicare levy. For an investor whose marginal rate plus the Medicare levy totals 32%, the CGT on the sale is about $1,888.
Figures are an example only. Your result depends on your income, your costs and the sale date, which the calculator uses to produce your own numbers.
What changes your capital gains tax
Several things change how much capital gains tax you pay. The main ones are:
How long you held the asset
Holding an asset for at least 12 months lets an individual apply the 50% discount under the current rules. Under 12 months, the full gain is taxed.
Your cost base
A higher cost base means a smaller gain. The cost base includes the purchase price and eligible buying, owning and selling costs you have not claimed as deductions.
Your other income
The gain is added to your other income, so your marginal tax rate for the year sets how much tax the gain attracts.
Capital losses
Under ATO rules capital losses are applied to the gain before the 50% discount, so the order changes the result. This calculator does not model losses, and its figures are before any losses are applied.
Exemptions
Some assets are exempt, such as a main residence in many cases. Exempt gains are not counted in the calculation.
The sale date
Sales up to 30 June 2027 use the current rules. Sales from 1 July 2027 use cost base indexation and the 30% minimum tax rate.
Rates and assumptions used
| Item | Value used | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CGT discount for individuals (current rules) | 50% for assets held at least 12 months | ATO, How to calculate your CGT |
| Minimum holding period for the discount | 12 months and a day, excluding the buy and sell days | ATO, How to calculate your CGT |
| Order of capital losses | Applied to the gain before the 50% discount under ATO rules. Not modelled by this calculator. | ATO, How to calculate your CGT |
| Cost base elements | Five elements: purchase price, incidental costs, owning costs, capital improvement costs and title costs | ATO, Cost base of assets |
| Medicare levy | 2% of taxable income, subject to thresholds | ATO, What is the Medicare levy |
| New rules start date | 1 July 2027 | ATO, Reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax |
| New rules for individuals, trusts and partnerships | 50% discount replaced by cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax rate on capital gains | ATO, Reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax |
| How the gain is split at 1 July 2027 | A CGT asset held at the end of 30 June 2027 is treated as sold just before 1 July 2027 and bought back at market value, so the gain up to that date is worked out under the old rules and the gain after it under the new rules. Sections 112-155, 112-165 and 112-175 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. New residential dwellings and affordable housing sit outside this under section 112-155(1)(e), and section 112-155 also does not apply where section 115-105 for foreign or temporary residents would apply to the gain. | ATO, Reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax |
| Legislation | Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, assented 26 June 2026 | Federal Register of Legislation, C2026A00049 |
Figures checked against the sources above on 11 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
No. A capital gain is added to your taxable income for the year and taxed at your marginal tax rate. There is no separate CGT rate. A capital loss can only offset capital gains, not other income.
Under the current rules, an Australian resident individual who holds an asset for at least 12 months can reduce the taxable gain by 50%. The 12-month period excludes the day of acquisition and the day of the CGT event, so the asset must be held for 12 months and a day.
For a sale, the CGT event usually happens on the date the contract is signed, not the settlement date. This can affect which financial year the gain falls in.
Under ATO rules, capital losses, from the current year or carried forward from earlier years, are subtracted from your capital gains before the 50% discount is applied, and losses can only reduce capital gains, not other income. This calculator does not model capital losses, so apply your own losses to the gain it produces before working out the discount.
From 1 July 2027, the 50% CGT discount is replaced for individuals, trusts and partnerships by cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax rate on capital gains. Indexation lifts the cost base with the Consumer Price Index, so only the real gain above inflation is taxed.
Yes, but not to the whole gain. Most CGT assets held at the end of 30 June 2027 are treated as sold just before 1 July 2027 and bought back at market value on that date. Nothing is actually sold and no tax is payable then. The gain up to 1 July 2027 is worked out under the old rules, including the 50% discount where the asset qualified, and the gain after that date is worked out under the new rules. The date that matters for this test is 1 July 2027. The Budget night timestamp of 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 relates to the negative gearing changes in Schedule 2 of the Act and does not affect how a capital gain is split.
Yes. A new residential dwelling keeps the 50% discount under section 115-102, and affordable housing keeps its own discount under section 115-125, which is the 50% discount plus a further 10% pro-rated by the share of days the dwelling was used to provide affordable housing, so up to 60%. In each case the owner may choose to index the cost base instead. Separately, section 119-15 excepts an individual who receives a social security, social support, veterans' or military compensation payment at any time during the income year from the 30% minimum tax. This calculator models the general position and does not apply those exceptions.
A main residence is usually exempt from CGT, though the exemption can be reduced if the home was used to produce income or was not your home for the whole period. This calculator is for assets that are subject to CGT.
No. It is general information and an estimate only. Evercend Pty Limited does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence. For your own situation, consult a registered tax agent.
Related calculators and guides
Sources
- •ATO, How to calculate your CGT
- •ATO, Cost base of assets
- •ATO, What is the Medicare levy
- •ATO, Reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax
- •Federal Register of Legislation, Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (C2026A00049)
Content reviewed and figures checked against the sources above on 11 October 2026.