The Australian Tax Office expects your records to be complete and accurate when you lodge your return. If you're holding crypto, that means every transaction, every exchange, every wallet needs to be accounted for. The good news: if you haven't sorted this yet, there's still time. Here's what you need to do.

1. Transaction data: is everything imported?

Start by listing every exchange and wallet you've used between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. Write it down. This includes the obvious ones (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance) and the ones you forget about (that exchange you used once for a specific trade six months ago).

Import the transaction data from each into your tax software. If you're using Summ, you can connect exchange APIs directly or upload CSV files. For on-chain activity, import your public wallet addresses and let the software pull the blockchain data automatically.

Don't skip DeFi platforms, NFT marketplaces, or staking services. Every protocol where you've moved assets or earned rewards generates tax events.

The ATO has already received data from major Australian exchanges. Your records should match theirs. Gaps or inconsistencies invite questions.

2. The 12-month discount: check your holding periods

Assets held for 12 months or longer qualify for a 50% capital gains tax discount. If you bought something on July 15, 2025 and sell it before July 15, 2026, you pay tax on the full gain. Sell it on July 16, 2026, and you pay tax on half. The difference is substantial.

Review any assets you're considering selling before June 30. If they're approaching their 12-month anniversary, waiting a few weeks could save thousands in tax. This applies to any asset: crypto, shares, property. The ATO's stance is clear on this rule, so use it.

3. Tax loss harvesting: what's sitting at a loss?

Identify any assets that have dropped below your cost base. Selling these before June 30 creates a capital loss that offsets your capital gains for the year, dollar for dollar.

There's one critical rule: wash sales. Selling an asset purely to crystallise a loss, then rebuying the same asset within a short timeframe, is treated as a wash sale. The ATO actively targets this and may disallow the losses and add penalties. Only harvest losses if you're genuinely exiting the position or rebalancing your portfolio based on actual investment decisions.

If your gains are substantial, discuss this with an accountant before executing. It's worth getting right.

4. Cost base accuracy: is yours correct?

Trading across multiple exchanges and wallets creates messy cost bases. Assets bought during the 2020-2021 bull run, when prices were volatile, are particularly prone to errors.

The ATO's default method is FIFO (first in, first out). Most tax software, including Summ, applies this automatically. If you've been using FIFO all year, make sure it's applied consistently across all your transactions.

Mistakes in cost base calculations flow through to mistakes in your tax liability. Review the cost base for your major holdings before you file.

5. Staking and DeFi income: is it all captured?

Staking rewards are ordinary income at market value when you receive them. If you've been staking all year, that's potentially hundreds of income events. Each one is taxable.

Airdrops of established tokens are also ordinary income at market value on the day you received them. DeFi activity (lending, liquidity provision) creates both income and capital gains tax events depending on what you did.

When you import your wallet data into Summ, the software categorises all of this automatically. You won't miss anything because the blockchain doesn't lie.

Get ahead

The financial year ends June 30, 2026. Individual tax returns are due October 31, 2026. If you're using a tax agent, follow their lodgment program dates.

This checklist is designed to get you across the finish line. Work through it section by section. If you're not using dedicated crypto tax software, start now. The difference between guessing and knowing what you owe is the difference between filing with confidence and filing with fear.

Get everything organised in minutes. Summ automatically imports your transactions from exchanges and wallets, calculates your tax position, and generates a report you can give to your accountant. Start your free account and have your EOFY sorted before the deadline.