Is swapping crypto taxable? ATO rules for 2025

Swapping one crypto for another is a taxable event, and you must calculate the AUD value of your capital gain or loss to report on your taxes.

This guide explains exactly why swapping crypto is taxable, how to calculate your gains or losses, and where to report swaps on your tax return.

How crypto swaps are taxed

A cryptocurrency swap is any direct trade of one digital asset for another without first converting to Australian dollars.

For example, you might swap Bitcoin (BTC) for Ether (ETH), or trade an NFT for a stablecoin such as USDC.

Regardless of whether you see any actual cash from the transaction, the ATO treats cryptocurrency swaps as a taxable event, meaning you must account for any gains or losses that arise from the exchange.

Therefore, you need to calculate the AUD value of the profit or loss at the time you swapped the crypto you already held, for the new one.

It’s essential to remember that on-chain swaps (eg, using a decentralised exchange) are taxed the same way as swaps made on a centralised cryptocurrency exchange – although you will need to make additional calculations if gas fees were involved.

How to calculate taxes on crypto swaps

1. Determine your cost base

Cost base is typically the amount you paid when you acquired the crypto. This includes transaction fees. When you swap, you “sell” at fair market value. Subtract the cost base from the sale price to find your capital gain or loss.

• Formula: Capital Gain (or Loss) = Fair Market Value (at swap) – Cost Base

2. Determine the fair market value at the time of trade

You’ll need to determine the Australian dollar value of the coin you disposed of. Often, this is simply the market rate of the coins or tokens you receive, converted to AUD. For example, if you exchanged 1 ETH for 50 UNI, and 1 ETH was worth $2,000 at the time, then your proceeds from the swap are considered $2,000 for tax purposes.

3. Short-term vs. long-term gains

Short-term capital gains apply if you held the disposed asset for one year or less, taxed at your regular income tax rate. However, if you’ve held the disposed asset for more than one year, long-term capital gains apply and you can receive a 50% capital gains tax (CGT) discount.

Be mindful of this distinction, especially if you’re strategically timing your swaps for more favourable tax outcomes.

4. Report your crypto tax on MyTax

You’ll report your crypto gains and losses (including swaps) directly through the ATO’s myTax platform. Here’s how:

Step 1: Access myTax

1. Log into your myGov account and link it to the ATO.
2. Once logged in, select Tax → Lodgements → Income tax.

3. Click “Prepare” for your 2024-2025 individual income tax return.

Step 2: Personalise your return

1. On the Personalise return page, select the options relevant to your crypto activities.

For capital gains and losses:

• Tick 'You had Australian interest, or other Australian income or losses from investments or property'.
• Then select: 'Capital gains or losses that are not from a managed fund distribution!'.

Capital gains or losses that are not from a managed fund distribution

For other crypto income (such as staking, income, interest, or airdrops):

• Tick ‘You had other income not listed above’.
• For deductions (such as the subscription cost of Crypto Tax Calculator):
• Tick ‘You had deductions you want to claim’ and select the deduction type.

For deductions (such as the subscription cost of Crypto Tax Calculator):

• Tick ‘You had deductions you want to claim’ and select the deduction type.

Step 3: Enter your capital gains and losses, report crypto income, and claim any deductions

• Complete this in the ‘Prepare return’ section of myTax using information from Crypto Tax Calculator Reports.
• Report crypto income under ‘Other income’
• Report any deductions under ‘Deductions’
• Make sure to save all the info you input

Special consideration for DeFi swaps

Swaps on decentralised exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap or Raydium are treated the same as trades on centralised exchanges under ATO rules – it will trigger a CGT event. Each token swap is considered a disposal for capital gains tax purposes and you’ll need to record cost base, fair market value, and keep track of any gains or losses.

However, you also need to factor in gas fees into your taxes. Gas fees alone do not create a CGT event, however any gas fees that occur during the swap should be added to the cost base of the asset being disposed of, which will impact the overall capital gain or loss.

DeFi swaps and gas fees

When transacting on DeFi platforms, gas fees can add complexity. Paying a gas fee in cryptocurrency is itself a form of disposal. This means you might have a small additional gain or loss on the crypto used to pay that fee, though you can often treat the fee as a deductible expense that offsets proceeds.

Increased ATO scrutiny on Crypto

In March 2025, the Australian government announced that no new crypto-specific tax rules would be introduced – for now. But this isn’t a sign of regulations chilling out, instead it’s signalling a deliberate, long-term strategy.

Rather than rushing new legislation, the government is focusing on tightening enforcement around existing laws while laying the groundwork for future reform.

*“This latest update reaffirms what we’ve known for a while—crypto continues to be taxed under existing laws, and the ATO expects compliance to be taken seriously.” CEO of Crypto Tax Calculator, Shane Brunette, told Crypto News Australia. *

Although new crypto tax laws aren’t being implemented anytime soon, the ATO has signalled its intent to crack down and gain more guidance on unreported activity – particularly in areas such as bridging, wrapping, and DeFi. Just because DeFi is decentralised, it doesn’t mean it’s outside the tax net. Every DeFi transaction – including token swaps – can trigger a capital gains tax (CGT) event, and need to be reported correctly.

To enforce compliance, the ATO is focusing on expanding its data collection from crypto exchanges. In 2024, it launched a new crypto data-matching program requiring crypto exchanges to share transaction details for up to 1.2 million accounts, covering activity from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2026.

While 2025 may be a transitional year for crypto tax regulation in Australia, bigger changes are coming. From January, 2026, the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) is expected to come into effect, introducing new crypto tax reporting requirements and guidance that aims to improve compliance for users worldwide.

What makes a crypto swap taxable?

Because cryptocurrency in Australia is treated as a capital gains tax (CGT) asset – similar to property – exchanging crypto is akin to selling one asset and immediately acquiring another. Let’s say you trade an altcoin for an NFT, or swap BTC for ETH. The coin you give up is considered ‘sold’.

The coin or NFT you receive is considered ‘purchased’ at that exact moment, and the ATO calculates your tax based on the difference between the fair market value (FMV) of the asset you gave up and its original cost base.

What if you never convert to fiat?

Even if you never see a single dollar in your bank account, swapping one cryptocurrency for another still produces gains or losses in Australian dollar terms. This means you need to record the fair market value of the coin you got rid of (in AUD) at the moment of the swap, then figure out what you initially paid (in AUD terms). The difference is your capital gain or loss.

Examples of taxable crypto swaps

1. BTC swapped for ETH (profit scenario)

• Purchase: You buy 0.5 BTC for $10,000.
• Fair market value at swap: The 0.5 BTC rises to $15,000.
• Swap event: You exchange the 0.5 BTC for ETH.
• Result: You have realized a $5,000 gain ($15,000 – $10,000).

Since you disposed of the Bitcoin, you owe taxes on the $5,000 gain. The ETH you receive has a cost base of $15,000. Future gains or losses on that ETH will be calculated from the $15,000 baseline.

2. ETH swapped for SOL (loss scenario)

• Purchase: You buy 2 ETH for $8,000 (i.e., $4,000 each).
• Fair market value at swap: They drop in total value to $5,000.
• Swap event: You exchange the 2 ETH for SOL worth $5,000.
• Result: You have realized a $3,000 capital loss ($5,000 – $8,000).

You still must report this swap, but the upside of a capital loss is that it can offset other gains and potentially reduce your overall tax bill.

3. Crypto-for-stablecoin trades

Swapping to a stablecoin like USDC or USDT is taxable, just like any other swap. Even though stablecoins intend to maintain a 1:1 peg with the U.S. dollar, they remain classified as property for tax purposes under ATO rules. For instance, trading BTC worth $20,000 for 20,000 USDC triggers a capital gain or loss based on your BTC’s initial cost base.

4. NFT swaps**

NFT swaps also fall under cryptocurrency swap guidelines. If you trade an NFT for another NFT (or for a crypto token) you must calculate any gains or losses based on the NFT’s fair market value at the time of disposal. For example, if you originally purchased an NFT for $500 worth of ETH and later swapped it for an NFT worth $800, you have a $300 taxable gain.

Consequences of failing to report crypto swaps

The ATO increasingly uses blockchain analytics and exchange data to track taxpayers who fail to report crypto exchange taxes. In addition, over 100 countries work together as part of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) to share crypto transactions from foreign exchanges. If you neglect to include your swaps:

1. You could face a range of penalties, depending on the intent as the ATO uses a tiered system to approach non-compliance.

• If you’ve made a mistake but took reasonable care, penalties could be up to 25% of the underpaid tax.
• If you made a reckless mistake and clearly ignored reporting obligations – such as income through an airdrop – you can face penalties of up to 50%.
• If you intentionally and knowingly didn’t report your crypto tax, you could face serious penalties of up to 75%.

2. You could also face a general interest charge (GIC) that accrues daily on a compounding base.

Willful and severe negligence can lead to larger fines or, in extreme cases, criminal charges.

3. Willful and severe negligence can lead to larger fines or, in extreme cases, criminal charges.

Even if you took a loss, it’s still important to report. Reporting capital gains can be used to offset capital gains in both the present and future financial years. So, it’s important to report everything not only to avoid potential audits and fines, but also ensure you benefit from deductions on losing trades.

Sources

• CGT discount, Australian Taxation Office, 2025
• How to work out and report CGT on crypto, Australian Taxation Office, 2024
• Decentralised finance and wrapping crypto, Australian Taxation Office, 2024
• How gas fees + card cashbacks in the form of Crypto are classified for tax purposes, ATO Community, 2021
• Australia seeks client data from crypto exchanges in tax crackdown, Reuters, 2024
• ATO Scrutiny Could Increase for Everyday Investors: Crypto Tax Exec, Crypto News Australia, 2025
• Australia’s implementation of the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework and amendments to the Common Reporting Standard, Australian Government, 2024
• General interest charge, Australian Government, 2025
• Crypto to crypto exchange or swap, Australian Government, 2024