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Conversion of notes to shares

Last updated 3 March 2016

The tax treatment that applies when your convertible notes are converted to shares depends on when you acquired the convertible notes, the type of convertible note, when the conversion occurred and when the convertible note was issued.

Shares acquired by the conversion of a convertible note on or after 20 September 1985 will be subject to CGT when they are sold or disposed of as the shares are taken to be acquired when the conversion happens.

You may have acquired the convertible note on or after 20 September 1985 and, as a traditional security or qualifying security, the gain you made on the conversion of the note was already included on your tax return as income (or as a deduction if you made a loss).The way you calculate the cost base of the shares varies depending on whether the notes converted to shares before 1 July 2001 or on or after that date. The table below provides a summary.

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