Capital gains tax · updated for the 1 July 2027 reform
Capital gains tax calculator
Selling for $700,000 an asset that cost $500,000, held 3.63 years, on other income of $90,000: the gain is $200,000, the 50% discount halves it to $100,000, and the tax is $35,850.00, an effective 17.9% of the gain.
Capital gains tax
$35,850.00
17.9% of the gain · 2026-27 rates
| Capital gain | $200,000.00 |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2027 value | $0.00 |
| Gain to 1 July 2027 | $0.00 |
| Less capital losses | $0.00 |
| 50% CGT discount | −$100,000.00 |
| Gain from 1 July 2027 | $0.00 |
| CPI indexation | $0.00 |
| Taxable gain | $100,000.00 |
| 30% minimum tax top-up | $0.00 |
| Tax on the gain | $35,850.00 |
| Under the old 50% discount | $0.00 |
| Held for | 3.63 years |
Holding for 12 months is the single biggest lever
The discount applies only if you held the asset for more than 12 months. From 1 July 2027 the same test decides whether the cost base is indexed. On the same $200,000 gain, selling too early costs you $47,000.00 more tax.
| Held | Taxable gain | Tax | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 12 months | $200,000 | $82,850.00 | 41.4% |
| Over 12 months discount | $100,000 | $35,850.00 | 17.9% |
What changes on 1 July 2027
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (Act No. 49 of 2026) and the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (Act No. 50 of 2026) received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026. The ATO confirms that from 1 July 2027 the 50% CGT discount for individuals, trusts and partnerships is replaced by cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax, and that the reforms "will only apply to gains that accrue after 1 July 2027".
| Rule | To 30 June 2027 | From 1 July 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals, trusts, partnerships | 50% discount after 12 months | CPI indexation of the cost base after 12 months |
| Minimum tax | None, marginal rates | 30% of the real gain (income support recipients exempt) |
| Complying super funds | 33⅓% discount | Unchanged |
| Companies | No discount | Unchanged |
| Eligible new builds | 50% discount | Choice of 50% discount or indexation |
| Main residence, small business concessions | Exempt / concessions | Unchanged |
| Qualifying affordable housing | 60% discount | 60% discount retained |
| Assets bought before 20 Sept 1985 | Exempt | Gains to 1 July 2027 stay exempt; later gains taxed |
An asset you already own is split at its 1 July 2027 value
Under the Budget 2026-27 tax explainer, the 50% discount applies to the difference between your cost base and the asset's value on 1 July 2027. That value then becomes the cost base for the new rules, so only growth after the date is indexed and subject to the minimum tax. You set the value in the tax return for the year you sell. You can get a valuation (for shares, the quoted price), or you can use an apportionment formula based on the asset's growth rate over the whole holding period.
What this calculator uses: your valuation if you enter one. Otherwise it estimates the value at a constant growth rate across the holding period. That is the method in Treasury's worked example, where an asset bought for $800,000 in July 2022 and sold for $1,600,000 in July 2032 was worth $1,131,371 on 1 July 2027. The Minister will set the formal apportionment formula in a legislative instrument, and we will switch to it once it is published.
Same asset, sold in January 2030
Take the example above and sell for $800,000 on 15 January 2030 instead. It was bought for $500,000 in January 2023. At an estimated $674,453 on 1 July 2027, $174,453 of the gain keeps the 50% discount. The remaining $125,547 is indexed down to $81,847. The tax is $68,314.73, compared with $59,350.00 if the 50% discount still applied to the whole gain.
The calculator reproduces the Treasury worked examples
Every figure below is computed live by this page's engine from the inputs in the Budget explainer, which assumes 2.5% inflation. Our test suite fails if any of them drifts from the published figure.
| Treasury example | Published | Payko |
|---|---|---|
| Zoe: shares $100 to $125, 2027 to 2032. Taxable gain | $12 | $12 |
| Jane: value at 1 July 2027 | $1,131,371 | $1,131,371 |
| Jane: total taxable gain | $485,643 | $485,643 |
| David, 5% growth: taxable gain (old rules) | $174,405 ($157,224) | $174,405 ($157,224) |
| Ben, 2.5% growth: taxable gain (old rules) | $0 ($70,021) | $0 ($70,021) |
| Kate, 7.5% growth: taxable gain (old rules) | $390,474 ($265,258) | $390,474 ($265,258) |
| Jack: minimum tax top-up on a $10,000 gain | $1,600 | $1,600 |
Losses come off before the discount, not after
Capital losses are applied to the gross gain, and only then is the 50% discount taken. Doing it the other way around, discounting first and then subtracting losses, understates the tax, and it is a common mistake. You can choose which gains your losses reduce. Where a sale straddles 1 July 2027, this calculator applies them to the undiscounted post-2027 gain first, because that saves the most tax. A capital loss can never reduce your salary or other income. It only offsets capital gains, and carries forward until it does.
Common questions
Is the 50% CGT discount being removed?
For individuals, trusts and partnerships, yes, for gains that accrue from 1 July 2027. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026. It replaces the discount with CPI indexation of the cost base plus a 30% minimum tax on the real gain. Complying super funds keep their one-third discount, and companies are unchanged.
What happens to an asset I already own?
Gains up to 1 July 2027 keep the 50% discount. The asset's value on 1 July 2027 becomes the cost base for the new rules, so only growth after that date is indexed and subject to the minimum tax. You set the value when you sell, either with a valuation (or a quoted price for shares) or with an apportionment formula based on the asset's growth rate over the whole time you held it.
How does the 30% minimum tax on capital gains work?
Your real capital gain from 1 July 2027 is treated as the last slice of your income for the year. If the ordinary tax on it is less than 30%, you pay the difference. In Treasury's example, Jack earns $25,000 and makes a $10,000 gain. Ordinary tax on the gain is $1,400, so he pays an extra $1,600. Anyone who receives a means-tested income support payment, such as the Age Pension or JobSeeker, in the year of sale is exempt.
Will I pay more or less CGT under indexation?
It depends on how fast the asset grows compared with inflation. Treasury's ten-year examples assume 2.5% inflation. At 2.5% growth the taxable gain falls from $70,021 to nil. At 5% it rises from $157,224 to $174,405, and at 7.5% it rises from $265,258 to $390,474. Slow-growing assets do better under indexation, and fast-growing ones do worse.
Do new builds still get the 50% discount?
Yes. An investor who buys an eligible new build can choose either the 50% discount or indexation with the minimum tax when they sell. The calculator works out both and uses the lower one. Later buyers of the same dwelling do not get that choice.
Is my home affected?
No. The main residence exemption is unchanged. So are the four small business CGT concessions and the 60% discount for qualifying affordable housing.
Not covered here
- Partial main residence exemptions and the six-year absence rule.
- Small business CGT concessions, which can reduce or eliminate the gain entirely.
- Pre-1985 assets, the 60% affordable housing discount, and the start-up concessions still under consultation.
- Foreign and temporary residents, whose access to the discount is restricted or apportioned.
- Tax offsets that can reduce the minimum tax, and the actual CPI figures the ATO will publish for indexation.
- Company tax at the 25% base rate entity rate.
Government sources
- ATO: Tax reform, reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax (last updated 29 June 2026)
- Treasury: Budget 2026-27 tax explainer, Negative Gearing and Capital Gains Tax Reform (PDF)
- Budget Paper No. 2, Budget 2026-27
- Parliament of Australia: Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, Act No. 49 of 2026
- Parliament of Australia: Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, Act No. 50 of 2026
- ATO: CGT discount
- ATO: Individual income tax rates
Estimate only, not tax advice. CGT is one of the areas where individual circumstances change the answer most. Post-2027 indexation uses your inflation assumption until the ATO publishes the actual CPI factors. Rules checked against the sources above on 23 September 2026. Methodology. See also the guide to the 2027 CGT changes and the negative gearing calculator.