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Note: This report is only available in Australian tax residency portfolios

Available on Sharesight Starter, Standard, Premium, Tax Pack, and Sharesight Business plans.

The Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Report in Sharesight calculates capital gains made on shares as per Australian Tax Office rules. The report may be run over any date range.

The report is based on the 'discount method' for shares that were held for more than 1 year and the 'other method' for shares held for less than one year. The discount rate used can be set within the Tax setting (the default rate is 50%). Information on the 'discount method' and 'other' method on the ATO website.

For more detail about Australian Capital Gains tax rules, please refer to the ATO website.

Jump to:

• Report overview
• Running the CGT Report
• Editing sale allocation methods
• Foreign exchange rates and CGT
• Xero users

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Report Overview

Navigate to the Tax tab and click the Capital Gains Tax Report tile.

Use the date range selector to choose your reporting period — it defaults to the current Australian financial year (1 July to 30 June). An Export button in the top-right lets you download the report.

Losses carried forward

The Losses carried forward shows the losses applied for the selected financial year. Click Edit to enter any capital losses carried forward from a previous financial year. These will be offset against your gains for the selected period.

Note: Sharesight does not automatically carry forward losses from previous years. You need to enter these manually each time you run the report.

Sale allocation method

The Sale allocation method shows the allocation method currently assigned to the reporting period. This is FIFO (First in, first out) by default. Click Optimise to change the method for the period.

For a full explanation of each method and how locking preserves your CGT positions across financial years, see Sale Allocation Method.

Capital gains or losses

The Capital gains or losses shows three figures:

Total current year capital gains (18H)

The gross capital gain for the period before losses or discounts are applied. Click View calculation to see the breakdown:

• Short-term capital gains (held < 12 months)
• Long-term capital gains (held ≥ 12 months)
• Non-discounted capital gains distributions
• Discounted capital gains distributions

Net capital gain (18A)

Your final taxable capital gain after all offsets and discounts are applied. Click View calculation to see the full calculation:

• Short-term component: short-term capital gains + non-discounted capital gains distributions − capital losses (including any losses carried forward)
• Long-term component: long-term capital gains + discounted capital gains distributions − any remaining losses not absorbed by the short-term component, with a 50% CGT concession applied
• Net capital gain (18A) = net short-term gains + discounted long-term gains

Net capital loss carried forward to later income years (18V)

If your total losses exceed your total gains for the period, the excess is shown here as the amount available to carry forward to future years. This figure is greyed out when zero.

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Breakdown

This shows a holding-level summary of gains, losses, and distributions. Use the tabs to view the parcel-level details such as purchase date, gain date, cost base and sales value.

All holdings

All holdings with gains, losses or distributions for the period. Each holding shows the instrument code, market, sold quantity, short-term gains, long-term gains, non-discounted distributions, discounted distributions (gross), total gains, and losses. Zero values are greyed out. A Total row at the bottom sums each column.

Short-term gains

Parcels sold that were held for less than 12 months and are not eligible for a CGT discount.

Long-term gains

Parcels sold that were held for 12 months or more and may be eligible for a CGT discount.

Losses

Parcels sold for less than their cost base resulting in a capital loss, and losses carried forward from previous years.

Non-discounted distributions

Capital gains from trust distributions such as ETFs that are not eligible for a CGT discount.

These are gains generated by rebalancing activity within the fund — see why ETFs can show capital gains even if you haven't sold any shares.

Discounted Capital Gains Distribution

Capital gains from trust distributions with a CGT discount already applied that will need to be grossed up.

These arise from rebalancing within the fund — see why ETFs can show capital gains even if you haven't sold any shares.

Exemptions

Parcels sold that are exempt from CGT calculations, including assets acquired before 20 September 1985.

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Locking your CGT positions

Once you are satisfied with the sale allocation method for the period, click Lock for period at the bottom of the report. Locking preserves your sale allocation settings so that changes made in a future period do not alter the CGT result for a prior year.

Note: CGT positions must be locked in chronological order. Lock each financial year before moving to the next.

A lock notice at the bottom of the report shows the date through which sale allocations are locked. Click View all locks to see a history of locked periods.

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Foreign exchange rates and CGT

For holdings traded in a foreign currency, Sharesight converts the purchase and sale prices to AUD to calculate your capital gain or loss. The exchange rate used matters — different rates will produce different CGT figures.

Which exchange rate does Sharesight use?

Sharesight applies rates in this order of priority:

1. Broker-provided rate — if your broker supplies an exchange rate via API integration or trade confirmation email, Sharesight uses that rate for the trade.
2. Open Exchange Rates — if no broker rate is available, Sharesight uses end-of-day market rates from Open Exchange Rates, its FX data provider.

What rate can I use for ATO tax reporting?

The ATO does not mandate a single exchange rate. For CGT purposes on foreign share transactions, you may use:

• Spot rate — the actual rate at the time you converted funds (e.g. when you transferred AUD to USD to fund the purchase)
• Sharesight's rate — the end-of-day rate from Open Exchange Rates
• ATO / RBA monthly rate — published at ato.gov.au/Rates/Foreign-exchange-rates/

Is the ATO/RBA rate mandatory?

No. The ATO publishes monthly RBA rates as a convenience, but does not require their use. The ATO states that you may use an alternative rate if:

"it is a reasonable approximation of the exchange rates that would otherwise be applicable...you can use appropriate exchange rates provided by another reliable external source."

Open Exchange Rates collects data from multiple public-facing APIs. Sharesight considers this to satisfy the ATO's criteria of a "reliable external source" providing a "reasonable approximation."

It is also worth noting that there is no single "true" exchange rate — rates change constantly, meaning even the RBA's monthly average is itself an approximation of the rates that applied on any given day. The key is using a credible, consistent source.

What if I want to use a different rate?

You can manually override the exchange rate on any buy or sell trade. Edit the trade and enter your preferred rate in the Exchange Rate field — Sharesight will recalculate the CGT figures accordingly.

Note: This is general information only and not tax or financial advice. If you are unsure which exchange rate to use for your tax return, consult a registered tax agent or accountant.

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For Xero users

The specified sale allocation method is used when calculating the realised gain component and cost base reduction on sell trades that are synchronised to Xero.

If the sale allocation method is altered within the CGT report after you have synchronised sell trades to Xero, you will be presented with an option to resynchronise any transactions that have altered line item amounts.

Note: The total invoice value will not change, but the split between capital gain and the reduction of the asset cost base may be different.

Additional Resources, watch the using Sharesight to complete your tax return webinar recorded 24 June 2020. Learn how to use Sharesight to make completing your tax return quicker, easier and more accurate by Ben Clendon, Sharesight Product Manager.