CGT discount
A 50% reduction in the capital gain you declare, available to individuals who held the asset for more than 12 months.
When you sell an investment for more than you paid, the profit is a capital gain and it gets added to your taxable income. The CGT discount halves the gain you have to declare, provided you owned the asset for at least 12 months plus one day.
The discount is 50% for individuals and trusts, and 33.33% for complying superannuation funds. Companies get no discount at all.
The 12-month clock runs from the contract date of purchase to the contract date of sale — not settlement. Selling even a day early costs you half the discount, so the timing of a contract is worth checking carefully.
Selling shares at a $20,000 profit
Held for 13 months, you declare only $10,000 of the gain. On a 37% marginal rate that is about $3,700 of tax instead of $7,400 — a $3,700 saving from waiting past the 12-month mark.
The bit people get wrong
The discount applies to the gain, not to the tax. A 50% discount does not mean you pay half the tax rate — it means half the profit is added to your income and taxed at your normal marginal rate.
Common questions
Do I get the CGT discount if I held the asset for exactly 12 months?
No. You need more than 12 months — at least 12 months and one day between the purchase contract date and the sale contract date.
Does the CGT discount apply to my family home?
Your main residence is generally fully exempt from CGT, so the discount is not needed. The discount matters for investment properties, shares, crypto, and other assets held outside super.
Can I use the discount if I made a capital loss elsewhere?
Yes, but the order matters. You subtract capital losses from your gross gain first, then apply the 50% discount to what remains.
Run your own numbers
Related terms
Source: Australian Taxation Office