ARTICLE · 04 JUNE 2021

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Tax impact on cryptocurrency

McCarthy Durie Lawyers

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The ATO announced that it has been cracking down on the profits made from cryptocurrency investing and trading.

AustraliaTax

Hall Chadwick

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Recently the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has announced that it has been cracking down on the profits made from cryptocurrency investing and trading. This along with the growth in popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as an investment choice mean we need to consider the tax impact of trading and investing in these products.

In the ATO's view, cryptocurrency transaction are subject to both income and capital gains taxes in Australia. So, with that in mind let us take a look at some of the main things we need to consider:

Transacting with Cryptocurrency

In the ATO's view a digital currency is an asset and therefore a capital gains tax (CGT) event occurs when you dispose of cryptocurrency. A disposal occurs when you:

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