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This article covers three situations where shares move out of or between portfolios without a standard market sale: company buybacks, transfers between people, and transfers between brokers.

Sharesight does not handle any of these automatically.

Share buyback (share repurchase)

A share buyback occurs when the company itself offers to buy back shares from existing shareholders at a fixed price. If you choose to participate, you are selling your shares back to the company.

1. Open your portfolio and navigate to the holding.
2. Go to Trades & income > Add trade or adjustment.
3. Trade type: Sell
4. Trade date: The buyback date (the date shares were transferred to the company).
5. Unit/price: The buyback price per share as stated in the company's announcement.
6. Quantity: The number of shares you tendered into the buyback.
7. Click Add.

Note: Only record the shares you actually tendered. If you chose not to participate, no changes are needed. If the buyback was scaled back and you received fewer buybacks than requested, only record the quantity accepted.

Shares transfer

A shares transfer involves moving shares from one person or entity to another — for example, gifting shares to a family member, transferring to a joint account, or moving shares into a company or trust.

The key rule: does the beneficial owner change? Under Australian tax law, the ATO treats any transfer where the beneficial owner changes as a disposal (CGT Event A1), triggering a capital gain or loss — even if no money changes hands. The simple test is:

• Beneficial owner changes → CGT event applies, use market value
• Beneficial owner does not change → No CGT event, carry over the original cost base

The market value substitution rule

When you gift shares or transfer them to a related entity without receiving full market value in return, the ATO applies the market value substitution rule:

• The sender is deemed to have received market value — even if they received nothing. This is the figure used to calculate any capital gain or loss.

• The recipient inherits that same market value as their new cost base.

Market value is typically the closing share price on the day the transfer is executed.

Important: Transferring shares to your own company is almost always a CGT event. Even though you own the company, it is a separate legal entity under Australian law. You will be taxed on any capital gain as if you sold the shares to an unrelated party at market price.

When does a cost base rollover apply? True rollovers — where CGT is deferred and the original cost base transfers to the new owner without triggering a gain — are only available in specific legal circumstances:

• Relationship breakdown — transfers resulting from a court order or formal separation agreement

• Deceased estates — inheriting shares generally involves a rollover of the deceased's cost base (unless they are pre-CGT shares acquired before 20 September 1985)

• Certain company restructures — such as scrip-for-scrip takeovers or demergers with ATO rulings

In all other cases, assume a CGT event applies. Confirm with your accountant.

For step-by-step guidance specific to relationship breakdowns, see Recording share transfers following divorce or separation. For inherited shares, see Recording inherited shares in Sharesight.

How to record a CGT transfer in Sharesight

Use this approach for: gifts, transfers to a company, transfers to a joint account (for the disposed portion), arm's-length sales to another person.

In the sender's portfolio:

1. Open your portfolio and navigate to the holding.
2. Go to Trades & income > Add trade or adjustment.
3. Trade type: Sell
4. Trade date: The date of transfer.
5. Unit/price: The market value per share on the transfer date.
6. Quantity: The quantity being disposed of — for a joint account transfer, this is only the portion you are giving up (e.g. 50% of the shares if the account will be 50/50).
7. Click Add.

In the recipient's portfolio:

1. Open the recipient's portfolio. If the stock is not already held, click Add investments, search for it and add it.
2. Go to Trades & income > Add trade or adjustment.
3. Trade type: Opening balance
4. Opening balance date: The same transfer date as the sender.
5. Total cost base: Set the total cost base to equal the market value used in the sell trade above.
6. Quantity: The quantity received.
7. Click Add.

Joint account example: You transfer 1,000 BHP shares from your individual name into a 50/50 joint account with your partner. You are disposing of 500 shares (your partner's new 50% share). Record a Sell of 500 shares at market value. The joint portfolio's opening balance covers all 1,000 shares — 500 at market value (your partner's cost base) plus 500 at your original cost base per share.

How to record a rollover (no CGT event) in Sharesight

Use this approach for: broker transfers to yourself, court-ordered transfers, inherited shares.

In the sender's (or old) portfolio:

1. Open your portfolio and navigate to the holding.
2. Go to Trades & income > Add trade or adjustment.
3. Trade type: Sell
4. Trade date: The transfer date.
5. Unit/price: The average cost base per share (not market value — this ensures no gain or loss is recorded).
6. Quantity: The full quantity being transferred.
7. Click Add.

In the recipient's (or new) portfolio:

1. Click Add investments and search the stock.
2. Trade type: Opening balance.
3. Opening balance date: Enter the same transfer date.
4. Quantity: The full quantity being transferred.
5. Total cost base: Set the total cost base equal to the sell value from the previous step — this preserves the original cost base.
6. Click Add.

Note: Using the average cost base per share as the sell price means no capital gain or loss is recorded at the time of transfer. The original acquisition date and cost base carry through to the new portfolio, which matters for the 12-month CGT discount. Always confirm the correct approach with your accountant before recording.

Broker transfer

A broker transfer moves your holdings from one broker to another without selling on the market. Because you remain the beneficial owner throughout, no CGT event occurs — this is a rollover.

One broker per portfolio If you maintain a separate Sharesight portfolio for each broker, follow the rollover steps above (Sell at average cost base per share in the old portfolio → Opening balance at the same value in the new portfolio). The original acquisition date and cost base are preserved.

Multiple brokers in one portfolio If you track all holdings in a single Sharesight portfolio regardless of broker, no changes are needed.

Broker transfer before you set up Sharesight If a broker transfer happened before you started using Sharesight, you need to bring in all historical trades from the previous broker so your cost base history is accurate. Options:

1. Add trades manually
2. Import a CSV file
3. Use a broker file import
4. Upload trade confirmation PDFs
5. Add an opening balance if you only have the total cost base and not individual trade history

For help importing historical trades, see the Sharesight import guide.

Disclaimer

The guide above is a suggestion on how to handle corporate actions in Sharesight and is not financial or tax advice. We advise you to consult your financial advisor or accountant. We also encourage you to review any official transfer documentation for full details.