Crypto Tax Planning Strategies for the End of the Financial Year

The end of the Australian financial year, 30 June, is not just an administrative deadline for crypto investors: it is a genuine planning opportunity. The decisions you make in the weeks and months leading up to 30 June can legitimately and materially reduce your crypto capital gains tax liability for the year. Unlike many aspects of tax planning that require complex structures or specialist advice to implement, several EOFY strategies are accessible to everyday Australian crypto investors and can be executed with straightforward trades and record-keeping actions.

Effective Australian crypto tax planning at the end of the financial year requires understanding your current position: how much capital gains you have crystallised so far in the year, which holdings have unrealised losses that could offset those gains, which assets are approaching the 12-month mark for the CGT discount, and what your total taxable income looks like before the addition of any crypto gains. With this picture clear, you can make informed decisions about what to do before 30 June.

 

Understand Your Position Before Making Moves

Before implementing any EOFY strategy, you need to know where you stand. Your crypto tax software should be able to produce a mid-year or year-to-date capital gains summary showing your realised gains and losses to date, and your current portfolio value compared to cost base for unrealised positions. This gives you the full picture of your tax exposure for the year and the opportunities to adjust it before 30 June.

Key questions to answer before 30 June planning: What is my total realised capital gain so far this financial year? Which holdings are currently at a capital loss (current market value below my cost base)? Which of my holdings cross the 12-month mark within the next few weeks (making me eligible for the 50 per cent CGT discount if I wait before selling)? What is my total taxable income this year from all sources, including crypto income from staking and yield farming?

The answers to these questions determine which strategies are worth implementing. An investor with large realised gains and significant unrealised losses has strong incentive to harvest those losses before 30 June. An investor who has held assets for just under 12 months and has large unrealised gains has strong incentive to wait until after the 12-month mark before selling. An investor with a high income from other sources may benefit from superannuation contributions to reduce assessable income. Understanding your specific position is the prerequisite for choosing the right strategies.

 

Tax Loss Harvesting Before 30 June

Tax loss harvesting is the practice of selling holdings that are currently trading below your cost base to crystallise a capital loss, which can then be offset against capital gains you have realised in the same year. If you have realised AUD 20,000 in capital gains from selling crypto earlier in the financial year, and you currently hold other crypto positions with unrealised losses totalling AUD 8,000, selling those loss-making positions before 30 June reduces your net capital gain for the year to AUD 12,000.

The rules for capital losses under Australian tax law are relatively straightforward: capital losses must be offset against capital gains in the same year first, before being used to reduce income. Any net capital losses that cannot be offset in the current year can be carried forward indefinitely to offset future capital gains, as detailed in the guide to capital losses from crypto. You cannot, however, offset a net capital loss against ordinary income such as salary, wages, or crypto staking income.

One important caution with tax loss harvesting is the “wash sale” concept. While Australian tax law does not have a codified wash sale rule equivalent to the US rule, the ATO has indicated that it may apply general anti-avoidance provisions to arrangements where assets are sold to generate a loss and then repurchased immediately with the dominant purpose of obtaining a tax benefit. Selling at a loss and repurchasing the same asset within a short timeframe carries some risk of ATO scrutiny. Seeking advice on the appropriateness of specific loss harvesting strategies before implementing them is prudent, particularly for large loss amounts.

 

Timing Disposals Around the 12-Month CGT Discount

The 50 per cent CGT discount is available to Australian individuals and eligible trusts who have held an asset for more than 12 months before disposal. For crypto investors, this discount can be worth a significant amount of money on large positions. If you have a position worth AUD 100,000 that you acquired at AUD 60,000 (a AUD 40,000 gain), the difference between selling before and after the 12-month mark is AUD 20,000 in taxable gain: the full AUD 40,000 is taxable if sold within 12 months, while only AUD 20,000 is taxable if sold after 12 months.

In the weeks leading up to 30 June, check which of your holdings are approaching the 12-month acquisition anniversary. If you are planning to sell a position with a significant unrealised gain, and that position crosses the 12-month mark in July or August, the benefit of waiting the additional few weeks to access the CGT discount can substantially outweigh any other considerations. This requires knowing your precise acquisition dates for each asset, which is another reason why maintaining accurate crypto tax records throughout the year is so important.

The 12-month discount only applies to the gain: if you are holding an asset at a loss, there is no discount applicable and the timing of the sale relative to the 12-month mark is irrelevant for CGT purposes. Similarly, assets acquired as income (such as staking rewards or airdropped tokens) have a cost base set at their AUD value on the date they were received, and the 12-month period runs from that receipt date, not from any earlier date.

 

Superannuation Contributions as a Tax Offset Strategy

For Australian crypto investors with significant capital gains, making additional concessional superannuation contributions before 30 June can reduce assessable income in a way that partially offsets the tax impact of those gains. Concessional contributions (contributions made from pre-tax income, including salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions) are taxed at 15 per cent within the superannuation fund rather than at your marginal rate, and they reduce your total assessable income.

The concessional contributions cap for the 2025-26 financial year is AUD 30,000 per person. If you have not used your full cap for the year (including employer contributions), making additional deductible contributions before 30 June reduces your assessable income by the contribution amount. For someone in the 37 per cent or 45 per cent marginal tax bracket, the tax saving compared to having that income assessed at the marginal rate can be substantial.

For investors whose crypto portfolio is held within an SMSF, the superannuation contribution strategy intersects with the SMSF’s own investment and contribution rules. The SMSF crypto tax guide covers the specific rules that apply to crypto held within a self-managed superannuation fund, including the concessional tax treatment within the fund and the restrictions on contributions.

 

Deferring Disposals to the Next Financial Year

Where you have significant unrealised gains and no offsetting losses available before 30 June, deferring planned disposals to the next financial year can provide meaningful tax deferral benefits, even if it does not reduce the overall tax owed. Deferral pushes the tax liability into the next year’s return, potentially giving you more time to plan, access higher contribution caps, or benefit from changed personal circumstances.

Deferral also makes sense when you are in an unusually high-income year due to other factors: a one-off bonus, a business sale, or other non-recurring income events that push you into a higher marginal tax bracket. Deferring crypto gain realisation to a year when your total income is lower means those gains are taxed at a lower effective rate.

However, deferral is not always beneficial. If you hold an asset that you believe will decline significantly in value and the AUD gain will be smaller if you wait, the tax benefit of deferral may be outweighed by the investment loss. Deferral decisions should balance investment judgement about the asset’s prospects with the tax timing benefit. This is where understanding the interaction between your investment strategy and your tax position becomes important for building a balanced crypto portfolio.

 

Organising Records Before Tax Time

Regardless of the planning strategies you implement, the weeks before 30 June are the right time to ensure your crypto tax records are complete and up to date. Export transaction history from all exchanges and wallets, reconcile against your tax software, and identify any gaps or unresolved transactions that need attention before the financial year ends.

Ensure all crypto income events, including staking rewards, yield farming returns, and airdropped tokens, are captured with their AUD values at the date of receipt. Income events are taxable in the year they are received, so a staking reward received on 29 June must be included in the current year’s income regardless of whether you realise any capital gains in that year.

If you use a registered tax agent, providing them with well-organised, complete records before the end of the financial year allows them to give you accurate advice on the most beneficial strategies before the window closes. The crypto tax filing checklist provides a comprehensive reference for what records and information to prepare for your annual crypto tax return.

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Australian crypto tax laws are complex and subject to change. Always consult a registered tax agent or accountant for advice tailored to your specific circumstances.