FY25/26 crypto tax: the disposal events multi-wallet traders keep missing

FY25/26 crypto tax prep starts now, and if you only think about it when you cash out to AUD, you are probably already behind.

In Australia crypto is generally treated as a CGT asset, so the taxable point is usually disposal, not the moment fiat hits your bank. If you traded, swapped, staked, bridged, wrapped, or spent crypto this year, you may already be sitting on multiple reportable events. Common situations people often overlook:

• Swapping one token for another counts as a disposal, regardless of AUD involvement.
• Spending crypto on goods or services is also a disposal.
• Gifting crypto is treated as a disposal.
• Certain DeFi interactions, such as wrapping, liquidity provision, and specific lending or borrowing activities, can trigger CGT or income treatment.
• Fees paid in crypto may constitute taxable events.

A few things worth remembering:

• Transfers between your own wallets are generally not disposals.
• Staking rewards and some airdrops can be assessable income when received, valued in AUD at that point.
• If you held an asset for more than 12 months, the CGT discount may apply.

If your year is spread across multiple exchanges, self-custody wallets, and DeFi protocols, the hard part is not knowing the rules. It is reconciling the data: AUD value at the time of each transaction, dates, wallet addresses, and counterparties where relevant. That is where most of us lose hours.

So, genuine question for the room: how are you handling multi-wallet record keeping and DeFi events this year? Manual spreadsheets, a specific tracker, exchange exports, something else? What has actually held up and what has broken?

Digital Assets are highly volatile. You may lose some or all of your investment.