One sale can draw on shares bought on several dates. Add partial exits, fees and foreign currency, and an annual broker total no longer explains how you calculated each gain. A useful CGT report keeps the calculation tied to each parcel and disposal.
What an Australian CGT report needs
The ATO requires records of matters that affect capital gains and losses. For a share disposal, keep enough evidence to identify:
- the asset and quantity
- the acquisition and disposal dates
- capital proceeds
- the cost base or reduced cost base
- brokerage and other relevant incidental costs
- the resulting capital gain or loss
- any capital losses applied
- the basis for any CGT discount
Keep the contract notes and source statements behind the report. The ATO says CGT records generally need to be kept for at least five years after the relevant event. Records supporting a carried-forward net capital loss may need to be kept longer.
These CGT rules concern shares held on capital account. If you carry on a business of share trading, the ATO may treat shares as trading stock and profits as ordinary income. A high number of trades does not decide the classification by itself.
Record separate parcels and partial exits
Treat purchases on different dates as separate parcels. If you buy 1,000 units and sell 400, the report needs the disposal details and allocated cost for those 400 units. A later sale of the remaining 600 is another disposal.
For the purchase-to-sale record routine behind those parcels, read How to Track Capital Gains on Shares in Australia.
Consider this hypothetical example:
- Buy 1: 600 units at $8 = $4,800
- Buy 2: 400 units at $10 = $4,000
- Sale: 400 units at $12 = $4,800 proceeds before sale costs
The gain depends on which shares the records identify as sold and how relevant costs are allocated. An average price may help display a portfolio, but it does not establish the parcel selected for CGT.
Apply losses before the CGT discount
The ATO calculation applies current-year and unapplied prior-year capital losses before the discount. Australian resident individuals may qualify for a 50% discount on an eligible gain when they acquired the shares at least 12 months before the CGT event. The date rule requires disposal after the 12-month anniversary, and companies cannot use the CGT discount.
Check every parcel separately because the acquisition dates can differ. A sale can include one parcel that meets the period and another that does not.
Convert foreign currency transaction by transaction
Australian tax calculations report amounts in Australian dollars. Foreign share records therefore need the currency amount and the conversion used for each relevant transaction. Keep the rate, its source and the transaction date with your working papers. Do not replace transaction records with a single year-end conversion unless the tax rule for your circumstances permits it.
Reconcile more than one broker
Export data from each broker, then compare it with contract notes and your own register. Check:
- Opening quantities plus purchases minus sales equal closing quantities.
- Each partial sale links to an identified parcel.
- Brokerage and other costs appear once.
- Corporate actions and dividend reinvestment purchases are included.
- Foreign currency amounts retain their conversion evidence.
- The report separates capital gains, capital losses and any discount calculation.
A quarterly reconciliation is a workflow choice rather than an ATO deadline. It can reduce the number of missing records you need to resolve at year end.
Check the financial-year boundary
Group disposals by the financial year in which the relevant CGT event occurred. A position can open in one year and close in another, so an acquisition-date filter does not produce the disposal report you need.
Reconcile positions that remain open at 30 June without treating their unrealised movement as a share disposal. Then check sales around year end against their contract dates and the rule that applies to your transaction.
Common CGT report errors
Missing sale costs
A report can overstate a gain when sale brokerage or another relevant incidental cost is missing. Compare the cash movement and contract note with the disposal row.
Duplicate imported trades
Combining broker exports can load the same transaction twice. Compare transaction dates, quantities and reference numbers before accepting the report totals.
Lost acquisition history after a transfer
Moving shares between brokers does not create a new purchase history. Carry the original parcel dates and costs into the combined record.
Discount applied before losses
The ATO order uses capital losses before the CGT discount. Check the summary calculation rather than applying 50% to every longer-held gain line first.
One currency rate for the whole year
Foreign acquisitions and disposals can require conversions tied to their transaction dates. Keep the original currency amounts so an accountant can review the Australian dollar figures.
Prepare an accountant handover
Give your accountant the report and the evidence needed to test it:
- disposal detail by parcel
- broker statements and contract notes
- carried-forward capital-loss records
- corporate-action and dividend-reinvestment statements
- foreign currency values and rate sources
- a list of transfers between brokers
- notes explaining any manual adjustment
Flag uncertainty instead of hiding it in a total. A short list of unmatched parcels or missing costs gives the accountant a concrete starting point.
What Swingfolio's CGT report shows
Swingfolio brings your financial-year CGT figures together in an Australian Tax Report and a MyTax Fields view. Review each disposal's dates, proceeds, cost base, gain or loss, holding period and discount status. Export the Tax Report workbook to support your tax preparation.
The calculation uses your recorded trade and portfolio data to track holding periods and apply losses before an estimated 50% discount. It also keeps the currency conversion details used in the report. Review those figures against broker records and ask your accountant whether the tax treatment fits your circumstances.
Import your trades from a CSV, match the columns and review the transactions before saving. If you import from more than one account, confirm portfolio assignment and reconcile totals before relying on the tax view.
This workflow replaces repeated spreadsheet calculations, but it does not replace your source documents. The report is strongest when every disposal can be traced back to a contract note and an identified parcel.
See the Australian tax report feature for the product workflow. The Navexa comparison discusses another tracking option, but verify each provider's current product documentation before choosing one.
Start with one financial year and reconcile every disposal back to its contract note. To organise the source trades and generate a report for review, Start the 30-day trial.
This article is general information and not tax advice.