Complete this section if a capital gains tax (CGT) event happened in 2019–20. You may have made a capital gain or capital loss. For most CGT events, you make a:
- capital gain if the amount of money and property you received, or were entitled to receive, from the CGT event was more than the cost base of your asset; you may then have to pay tax on your capital gain
- capital loss if the amount of money and property you received, or were entitled to receive, from the CGT event was less than the reduced cost base of your asset.
Don't show at this section a 'listed investment company capital gain amount' included in a dividend paid by a listed investment company. See Dividend deductions.
Things to know
Did you have a capital gains tax event in 2019–20?
There is a wide range of CGT events. The most common CGT event happens when you sell or give away a CGT asset, such as:
- real estate, including your family home, holiday home, investment property, hobby farm or vacant block of land
- shares
- units in a unit trust or managed investment fund
- forestry managed investment scheme interests (as a subsequent participant)
- cryptocurrency
- collectables, for example, jewellery
- personal use assets.
Other CGT events occur. Examples are:
- an asset you owned was lost or destroyed
- you received an amount for entering into an agreement, for example, you agreed not to work in a particular industry for a set period of time
- you entered into a conservation covenant over land that you owned
- you received a non-assessable payment from a trust or company.
You may also have made a capital gain if:
- you were a beneficiary of, or had money invested in, a trust (including a managed investment fund), and
- the trust made a capital gain.
If you are not sure whether a CGT event happened in 2019–20, see 'Appendix 1: Summary of CGT events' in Guide to capital gains tax.
See also:
- Events affecting shareholders for some major share transactions that took place during 2019–20 that affected Australian shareholders
- Relationship breakdown
- Did you receive, or were you entitled to receive, a share of the income of a trust or managed fund?
- Did you sell a property you inherited?
- Employee share schemes (ESS) and capital gains tax where you dispose of shares, stapled securities or rights acquired under an ESS
- Norfolk Island residents – capital gains tax
- Foreign residents and temporary residents
- Foreign residents and main residence exemption
- Capital gains withholding: Impacts on foreign and Australian residents
You can't deduct a capital loss from your assessable income, but in most cases it can be used to reduce a capital gain you made in 2019–20. If you made no capital gain in 2019–20, defer the capital loss until you make a capital gain.
Generally, you disregard a capital gain or capital loss on:
- disposal of your main residence, if you were an Australian resident for tax purposes when you signed the sale contract. For more information, see Your main residence
- assets you acquired before 20 September 1985
- cars, motorcycles and similar vehicles
- compensation you received for personal injury
- personal use assets such as boats, furniture, electrical goods and household items used or kept mainly for personal use or enjoyment which you acquired for $10,000 or less. If you acquired it:
- for more than $10,000, you disregard only capital losses
- for $10,000 or less, you disregard both capital gains and capital losses.
- collectables, for example an antique or jewellery, which you acquired for $500 or less
- compensation you received for personal injury
- the exchange of shares or units you owned in a company or trust under a takeover, if certain conditions were met
- shares in a company, or interests in a trust, where there was a demerger and certain conditions were met
- disposal of shares in a pooled development fund
- shares in a qualifying early stage innovation company (ESIC) held for less than 10 years and, in the case of capital gains, the shares were also held for at least 12 months; see Tax incentives for early stage investors.
- disposal of certain investments by
- a venture capital limited partnership
- an early stage venture capital limited partnership
- an Australian venture capital fund of funds
- disposal of an asset to which the small business 15-year exemption applies
- transfer of an asset where the Small business restructure roll-over is available (gains or losses are deferred until the asset is disposed of).
If you are a foreign resident beneficiary of a trust, and if 'managed-investment trust withholding tax' is payable on an amount that you received from that trust (other than in the capacity of a trustee), do not include any part of that amount on your tax return.
Completing this section
Before completing this section, you may wish to read What you may need.
We have shown any:
- capital gains you have at the Managed fund distributions section
- shares or real estate disposal information provided to us
- we may provide a link to additional shares and units records unable to be displayed in myTax. This link will open a new window. When you have finished reviewing those records go back to myTax, which will be open in another tab or window
- capital loss carried forward from your 2018–19 tax return, and
- indicator that you may have a capital gains tax event for a cryptocurrency.
Check for any other CGT event information not pre-filled, and include it all when calculating your capital gain or loss.
If you have a capital gain in the Managed fund distributions section, see Capital gains and managed funds.
To personalise your return to show capital gains or losses, at Personalise return select:
- You had Australian interest, or other Australian income or losses from investments or property
- Capital gains or losses that are not from a managed fund
To show your capital gains or losses, at Prepare return select 'Add/Edit' at the Capital gains or losses banner.
At the Capital gains or losses heading:
- Work out the capital gains or loss amounts to show at this section using the CGT record keeping tool, or manually calculate your capital gains or loss.
The CGT record keeping tool can help work out basic gain or loss events. CGT pre-fill data shown in myTax will be transferred to the tool.
If you do use the CGT record keeping tool, go to step 5.
Otherwise, if you manually calculate your capital gain or loss, read on. - Enter your Total current year capital gains.
This is calculated by adding all your capital gains for 2019–20 (except those that are disregarded). Do not apply capital losses, any CGT discounts or the small business concessions yet (other than the 15-year exemption). - Enter your Net capital gain.
This is the amount remaining after applying to your current year capital gains, whichever of the following items are relevant to you (in the order listed):- 2019–20 capital losses
- unapplied net capital losses from earlier years
- any CGT discounts
- the small business 50% active asset reduction
- the small business retirement exemption or rollover.
If you have capital losses to apply, you will find it to your advantage to apply them first to any capital gains that do not qualify for the CGT discount.
If you have a discount capital gain, you may not be entitled to the maximum CGT discount percentage of 50% if you are an individual (including a beneficiary of a trust) and:
- a foreign or temporary resident, or
- an Australian resident with a period of non-residency after 8 May 2012.
See also:
If the total amount remaining is positive or zero, enter the amount. If you have a negative amount, enter zero. You have net capital losses to carry forward to later income years.
You can only use capital losses from collectables to reduce capital gains from collectables. You must disregard capital losses from personal use assets.
- Enter your Net capital loss carried forward to later income years.
If you have a negative amount from your calculation of Net capital gain at step 3, you have a net capital loss to carry forward to later income years. You can use net capital losses from earlier years that you have not yet used to reduce a capital gain in later years. - Answer the question Have you applied an exemption or rollover?
If No, go to step 7.
If Yes, go to step 6. - Select the Capital gains tax exemption or rollover type code.
For more information about CGT exemptions and rollovers, see Guide to capital gains tax. - Enter the amount of the credit you are entitled to claim under the foreign resident capital gains withholding rules.
- If your current year capital gain or loss is more than $10,000, complete the Capital gains tax schedule.
- Select Save and continue when you have completed the Capital gains or losses section.
Capital gains and managed funds
How you complete this section will depend on your circumstances:
- If your only capital gains are from a managed fund and, at the Managed fund distributions section, your share of the current year capital gains is $10,000 or less, you do not need to complete the Capital gains or losses section.
- If your only capital gains are from a managed fund and, at the Managed fund distributions section, your share of the current year capital gains is more than $10,000:
- myTax will prompt you to complete the Capital gains or losses section
- myTax will complete Total current year capital gains and Net capital gain in the Capital gains or losses section from the information shown in the Managed fund distributions section, and.
- you will need to complete the Capital gains tax schedule.
- Go to step 5 in Completing this section.
- If you have capital gains from a managed fund and a separate capital gains tax event during the year, when completing the Capital gains or losses section:
- the capital gains amounts shown in the Managed fund distributions section will be automatically carried over to the Capital gains or losses section for you to review, and
- you will need to ensure that all your capital gains, including those from managed funds, are included in what you show at Total current year capital gains and Net capital gain.
- Go to step 1 in Completing this section.
- If you have capital gains from a managed fund, no other capital gains tax event during the year but have a carried forward capital loss from a prior year:
- myTax will prompt you to complete Capital gains or losses section
- the capital gains amounts shown in the Managed fund distributions section will be automatically carried over to the Capital gains or losses section for you to review, and
- you will need to ensure that your capital gains from managed funds are included in what you show at Total current year capital gains and Net capital gain.
- Go to step 1 in Completing this section.
CGT exemption and roll-over type codes
Using the table below, choose the exemption or rollover code that best describes your circumstances. If more than one code applies, choose the code that applies to the largest amount of capital gain.