Capital Gains Tax Calculator
CGT on selling property or shares in 2026–27: cost base, capital gain, the 50% discount after 12 months, losses and the tax at your marginal rate.
Capital gains tax
$50,275.00Selling for $900,000 with a cost base of $645,000 makes a capital gain of $255,000; after the 50% discount, $127,500 is added to taxable income of $100,000, and the capital gains tax is $50,275 at 2026–27 resident rates plus Medicare levy.
| Cost base | $645,000 |
|---|---|
| Capital gain | $255,000 |
| 50% discount | −$127,500 |
| Net capital gain (added to income) | $127,500 |
| Marginal rate on the gain | 45% + 2% Medicare |
| Capital gains tax | $50,275.00 |
| Tax as a share of the gross gain | 19.7% |
| Net proceeds after CGT | $204,725 |
How this was calculated
| Capital proceeds (sale price) | $900,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Cost base: $600,000 purchase + $25,000 buying costs + $0 improvements + $20,000 selling costs | -$645,000.00 |
| Capital gain | $255,000.00 |
| 50% CGT discount (held more than 12 months) | -$127,500.00 |
| Net capital gain added to taxable income | $127,500.00 |
| Tax on other income of $100,000 (incl. Medicare) | $22,520.00 |
| Tax on $227,500 with the gain | $72,795.00 |
| Capital gains tax (the difference) | $50,275.00 |
Individual resident rates plus 2% Medicare levy. Main residence exemption, the six-year rule, indexation for pre-1999 assets, company and trust rates, and the small business concessions are not applied.
Selling for $900,000 with a cost base of $645,000 makes a capital gain of $255,000; after the 50% discount, $127,500 is added to taxable income of $100,000, and the capital gains tax is $50,275 at 2026–27 resident rates plus Medicare levy.
Source: ATO Last verified How we keep this accurate
How capital gains tax works in Australia
There is no separate CGT rate. The net capital gain is added to your taxable income in the year the contract is signed and taxed at your marginal rate, so the tax depends on your other income and on whether the discount applies. The gain is the sale price less the cost base, which includes what you paid, the costs of buying (stamp duty, conveyancing, inspections), capital improvements and the costs of selling. Repairs and interest are not in the cost base for an investment property because they were deducted against rent.
The 50% discount
Individuals (and trusts) who held the asset for more than 12 months, measured from purchase contract to sale contract, halve the gain after applying losses. Companies get no discount; complying super funds get one third. Assets bought before 20 September 1985 are exempt, and your main residence is exempt for the period you lived in it, with a six-year absence rule if it was rented.
Worked example
An investment property bought for $600,000 with $25,000 of purchase costs sells for $900,000 with $20,000 of selling costs, held three years, owner’s salary $100,000. Cost base $645,000; gain $255,000; discounted gain $127,500; taxable income becomes $227,500. Tax including Medicare rises from $22,520 to $72,795, so the CGT is $50,275, about 19.7% of the gross gain. Sell in a year when your other income is lower, or split ownership with a spouse on a lower income, and the same gain attracts less tax.
Shares and other assets
The same method applies to shares, managed funds, crypto and collectables: brokerage is part of the cost base, and the 12-month rule runs from trade date to trade date. Losses on shares can offset a property gain and vice versa, but a loss on a personal-use asset cannot.
Frequently asked questions
How much capital gains tax will I pay on a $300,000 gain?
For an individual who held the asset more than 12 months, the taxable gain is $150,000 after the 50% discount. On top of a $100,000 salary that adds $60,850 of tax including Medicare (the gain is taxed at 30%, 37% and 45% as it passes through the brackets); on top of $60,000 of other income it adds $54,950; with no other income $39,570. The calculator works it out for your exact figures.
Do I pay CGT when I sell my home?
Not if it was your main residence for the whole time you owned it, on up to two hectares of land. If you rented it out for part of the ownership period, a proportion of the gain is taxable unless the six-year absence rule applies: after moving out you can keep treating the home as your main residence for up to six years while it is rented (indefinitely if it is not rented), provided you do not treat another property as your main residence, and the six years restart if you move back in. A home first used to produce income is deemed acquired at its market value on that date.
When does the 12 months for the CGT discount start?
From the date of the contract to buy to the date of the contract to sell (not settlement). The asset must be held for more than 12 months, so buying on 1 March and signing a sale contract on 1 March the next year misses the discount by a day. Inherited assets carry the deceased’s acquisition date for the 12-month test.
Can capital losses reduce my tax?
Only against capital gains, never against salary or other income. Losses are applied before the discount (which is why they are worth twice as much against a discounted gain) and unused losses carry forward indefinitely. A loss on shares in the same year as a property gain reduces the property gain dollar for dollar.
Is CGT payable at settlement?
No. The gain is reported in the tax return for the financial year in which the sale contract was signed, and the tax is paid with that return, which can be more than a year after settlement. For contracts from 1 January 2025 the buyer must withhold 15% of the price of any Australian real property at settlement, whatever its value, unless the seller provides an ATO clearance certificate; Australian residents obtain the certificate to avoid it, and the ATO expects the CGT itself to be set aside for the return.
How is the cost base different for an investment property?
It excludes amounts already claimed as deductions: interest, repairs, rates and insurance were deducted against rent, so they are not added. It is also reduced by capital works (Division 43) deductions claimed on buildings acquired after 13 May 1997. Stamp duty on purchase, legal fees, building and pest inspections, capital improvements and selling costs are all included.
Sources and assumptions
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