Thanks Albo. See what the 2026 CGT reforms will cost you.
On 12 May 2026 the Australian federal government scrapped the 50% CGT discount, replaced it with CPI indexation and a 30% minimum tax rate, and ring-fenced negative-gearing losses on established property. This calculator models your after-tax outcome under both regimes for ETFs, stocks and investment properties.
What you'd net under the previous CGT rules — 50% discount on gains held > 12 months.
Under the 2026 Budget — CPI indexation, taxed at max of marginal rate or 30%.
After-tax value over time
Where every dollar ends up at sale
Year by year
| Year | Contributed | Pre-tax value | Net (old) | Net (new) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 0 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | +$0 |
| Year 2 | $22,000 | $24,695 | $24,264 | $24,172 | −$92 |
| Year 4 | $34,000 | $41,932 | $40,663 | $40,211 | −$451 |
| Year 6 | $46,000 | $62,148 | $59,564 | $58,497 | −$1,067 |
| Year 8 | $58,000 | $85,859 | $81,401 | $79,392 | −$2,009 |
| Year 10 | $70,000 | $113,669 | $106,682 | $103,319 | −$3,364 |
| Year 12 | $82,000 | $146,288 | $136,002 | $130,177 | −$5,825 |
| Year 14 | $94,000 | $184,546 | $169,690 | $160,269 | −$9,421 |
| Year 16 | $106,000 | $229,419 | $208,152 | $194,653 | −$13,499 |
| Year 18 | $118,000 | $282,049 | $252,859 | $231,542 | −$21,318 |
| Year 20 | $130,000 | $343,778 | $303,940 | $273,713 | −$30,228 |
| Year 22 | $142,000 | $416,180 | $362,148 | $322,024 | −$40,124 |
| Year 24 | $154,000 | $501,099 | $429,931 | $377,478 | −$52,453 |
| Year 25 | $160,000 | $548,915 | $467,920 | $408,243 | −$59,677 |
Common questions
1 July 2027. Both the removal of the 50% CGT discount and the new 30% minimum tax rate take effect from this date. The measures were announced in the 2026–27 Federal Budget on 12 May 2026 but are not yet legislated.
Until 1 July 2027, the existing 50% CGT discount continues to apply.
The reform is prospective — it does not retroactively change tax on gains already accrued. For assets you already own and later sell after 1 July 2027:
- The 50% discount still applies to the portion of the gain accrued before 1 July 2027.
- CPI indexation applies to the portion accrued after 1 July 2027.
The ATO will publish growth-rate formulas to apportion the gain across the cutoff, or you can use a market valuation at 1 July 2027.
No. The main residence CGT exemption remains in place. You won't pay CGT on your home whether you sell before or after 1 July 2027.
Indexation means your cost base (the amount you originally paid) is adjusted upward by inflation between purchase and sale. You only pay tax on the "real" gain — the part above what inflation alone would have produced.
Example: you buy shares for $10,000. After 5 years with cumulative inflation of 15%, your indexed cost base becomes $11,500. If you sell for $20,000, the taxable real gain is $8,500 (not the full $10,000).
This is the pre-1999 model that the 50% discount originally replaced.
Real gains (after indexation) are taxed at the higher of your marginal income tax rate or 30%. The floor prevents investors from sheltering large gains by realising them in low-income years, such as retirement.
For example, someone earning $40,000 (whose marginal rate is 14% from 1 July 2027) who realises a large gain would pay 30% on it, rather than 14%. Someone in the 45% bracket continues to pay 45%.
Yes. Investors in newly constructed residential property can:
- Elect either CGT regime (the 50% discount or the new indexation) — whichever produces less tax at sale.
- Retain full negative-gearing deductibility against all income, including salary.
The carve-out is intended to keep capital flowing into housing supply.
From 1 July 2027, losses on established residential property can only offset:
- Other residential property income, such as rent from another property, or
- Capital gains from residential property.
Losses can no longer reduce your salary or other income. Any unused losses carry forward indefinitely.
Two important exemptions apply. Investors who owned the property before 12 May 2026 (budget night) are grandfathered until they sell, and newly constructed properties retain full deductibility.
Small businesses: the four existing small-business CGT concessions (the 15-year exemption, the 50% active asset reduction, the retirement exemption, and the rollover) remain unchanged.
Pensioners and income-support recipients: exempt from the 30% minimum tax rate. Indexation still applies to their cost base, but real gains are taxed at their normal marginal rate.
Yes — by default, but with no crypto-specific provisions in the legislation. Budget Paper 1 Statement 4 (pp. 154-156) covers "assets held by individuals, trusts and partnerships", and the ATO has classified crypto as a CGT asset for individual investors since 2014. So every general CGT change applies to crypto:
- 50% discount removed from 1 July 2027.
- Cost base indexed to CPI for gains accruing from that date.
- 30% minimum tax on real (post-indexation) gains.
- Hybrid treatment for crypto held before 1 July 2027 and sold after.
- Income-support / pensioner exemption from the 30% floor still applies.
What does not apply: the negative-gearing changes are explicitly scoped to residential property, and the new-build CGT election only exists for newly constructed dwellings. Loan-financed crypto positions aren't subject to the new gearing restrictions.
Crypto tends to be the asset class most disadvantaged by the swap from a flat 50% discount to CPI indexation, because the discount halves tax on the whole nominal gain while indexation only strips out actual inflation. For a 10× return over five years, the new regime can roughly double the tax bill.
No. Superannuation has its own CGT rules, which are unchanged by this reform. Inside super:
- Accumulation phase — 15% tax on earnings; long-term capital gains receive a one-third discount (effective 10%).
- Pension phase — 0% tax on earnings, up to the transfer balance cap ($1.9M for 2024–25).
Separately, Division 296 (passed in 2025) adds 15% tax on the earnings attributable to the portion of a member's balance above $3M.
Not yet. As of May 2026, the measures have been announced in the 2026–27 Federal Budget but have not been passed into law. The legislative process will typically involve:
- Treasury releasing exposure drafts for public consultation
- Bills being introduced to and debated in Parliament
- Royal Assent before the 1 July 2027 commencement date
Details may change during this process. Check ato.gov.au and budget.gov.au for the latest information, and speak to a registered tax advisor before making decisions based on these projections.