NFT taxes in Australia: complete guide 2026

How the ATO treats NFTs

The ATO confirmed its position on NFTs in 2022: non-fungible tokens are capital gains tax assets, the same as cryptocurrency. This means every time you dispose of an NFT — by selling it, swapping it, gifting it, or using it in a transaction — you trigger a CGT event and must calculate a capital gain or loss.

Being a unique digital asset rather than a fungible token does not change the tax treatment. Whether the NFT is digital art, a gaming item, a virtual land parcel, or a membership pass, the ATO applies the same CGT rules. The only question is whether the activity is investment or business — and that distinction changes how the income is taxed.

NFT investors vs NFT creators

The ATO draws a clear line between collecting and trading NFTs as an investor, and creating or dealing in them as a business.

Investors buy and hold NFTs with the expectation of a capital gain. Each disposal is a CGT event. If you hold the NFT for 12 months or more, the 50% CGT discount applies. Capital losses from NFT sales can offset other capital gains in the same financial year or be carried forward.

Creators and business traders who mint NFTs for sale, or who operate as professional NFT traders at sufficient volume and commercial intent, are treated differently. The proceeds from minting or selling NFTs in a business context are ordinary income, not capital gains. You cannot apply the 50% CGT discount to business income, but you can deduct business expenses including minting costs, platform fees, and equipment. The ATO considers factors such as regularity of activity, commercial intent, and whether you operate in a business-like manner when making this determination.

If you are unsure which category applies to you, the volume and frequency of your activity, and whether you operate with a genuine profit motive and business structure, are the key factors. An accountant familiar with crypto can help clarify your position before you lodge.

CGT events for NFTs: what triggers tax

The following activities all trigger CGT events for NFT investors:

Selling an NFT for AUD or crypto. This is the most straightforward CGT event. Your capital gain is the sale proceeds in AUD minus your cost base. If you receive crypto as payment, convert the proceeds to AUD at the market rate on the day of sale.

Swapping one NFT for another. Trading one NFT for another NFT is a disposal. You calculate the gain or loss on the NFT you gave up, using the AUD market value of what you received as your proceeds.

Gifting an NFT. Giving an NFT away triggers a CGT event at the market value on the date of the gift. If your cost base was $500 and the NFT is worth $3,000 on the day you give it away, you have a $2,500 capital gain — even though you received nothing in return.

Receiving an NFT as a gift. No CGT event on receipt, but your cost base for the NFT is its market value on the day you received it (not what the giver paid).

NFT airdrops. If you receive an airdrop of an NFT from a project already trading on the open market (an established NFT), the ATO treats it as ordinary income at the market value on the date you received it. If the airdrop is from a brand new project with no established market value, your cost base is zero and you do not declare income on receipt. When you later sell it, the full proceeds are a capital gain.

Using an NFT in DeFi or gaming. If you retain ownership — for example, staking an NFT and receiving it back — there is no CGT event. If the NFT is consumed, burned, or permanently transferred in any process, that is a disposal and triggers a CGT event.

Lost or stolen NFTs. You can claim a capital loss if your NFT is genuinely lost or stolen. The ATO requires evidence: proof of ownership, the date of loss, wallet address details, and a police report where the theft can be reported. Loss of private key access or control is also a relevant factor. The standard of evidence is higher than most people expect — keep records at the time of the loss rather than reconstructing them later. In Summ, flag the transaction as Lost or Stolen, and Summ will calculate the capital loss and include it in your tax report.

Calculating NFT capital gains

The formula is: capital gain = sale proceeds in AUD minus cost base.

Your cost base includes everything you paid to acquire the NFT: the purchase price, gas fees, platform fees, and any other transaction costs directly related to the acquisition. These are all added to your cost base, which reduces your eventual capital gain.

Example: You buy an NFT for 0.5 ETH when ETH is worth AUD $4,000. Your cost base is AUD $2,000 plus any gas fees paid. You sell the NFT 14 months later for 5 ETH when ETH is worth AUD $5,000, receiving AUD $25,000. Your capital gain before discount is AUD $23,000. Because you held for more than 12 months, you apply the 50% CGT discount, leaving AUD $11,500 as your taxable gain.

Capital losses work the same way. Buy an NFT for AUD $2,000, sell for AUD $800, and you have a AUD $1,200 capital loss to offset against other gains.

The 50% CGT discount

If you hold an NFT for 12 months or more before selling, only 50% of your capital gain is taxable. This discount applies to individuals and some trusts — it does not apply to companies, and it does not apply to income from NFT creation or business trading.

The holding period starts on the date of acquisition and must be unbroken. If you transfer an NFT between wallets, that does not reset the clock — it is not a disposal. But if you sell and rebuy the same NFT, the period resets from the new acquisition date.

Minting NFTs

Minting an NFT is not a taxable event for investors — you are simply creating an asset. Your cost base is the total cost of minting: gas fees, platform fees, and any design or creation costs directly attributable to the NFT.

For creators minting to sell, the situation is different. If minting is part of a business activity, the mint and sale proceeds are ordinary income and must be declared in the year they are received.

GST for NFT creators

If you are running a business creating or trading NFTs and your annual turnover crosses AUD $75,000, you must register for GST and charge 10% GST on NFT sales to Australian buyers. If you are below the threshold or collecting NFTs as an individual investor, GST does not apply. This is an area where the rules can be complex — get specific advice if your NFT income is approaching the threshold or if you are selling internationally.

Stablecoins and NFT trading

Many NFT platforms price assets in stablecoins like USDC or USDT. The ATO treats stablecoins as CGT assets — not as cash. This catches many investors off guard.

When you swap crypto for a stablecoin to then buy an NFT, you trigger a CGT event on the crypto you sold. The stablecoin is your new CGT asset. When you then use the stablecoin to buy the NFT, you trigger a second CGT event on the stablecoin disposal (the gain or loss is typically negligible if the stablecoin held its peg, but it must still be recorded).

Stablecoin interest or yield earned on a lending platform is ordinary income at the AUD value on the date of receipt. For more detail on stablecoin tax treatment, see our AU crypto tax guide.

Record keeping for NFTs

NFT traders often have dozens or hundreds of transactions. The ATO requires you to keep records for five years from the date you lodge your return. For each transaction, you need the date, the AUD value at the time of the transaction, a description of what was bought or sold, the wallet addresses involved, and any associated costs.

AUD conversion for NFT purchases made in ETH, SOL, or other tokens requires the AUD spot price at the exact time of the transaction — not the price at end of day or an approximation. Tools like Summ handle this automatically when you connect your wallet, pulling historical prices and calculating AUD values for every transaction.

From January 2027, CARF (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework) comes into effect. Australian exchanges and custodians will be required to report transaction data directly to the ATO, including NFT-related activity conducted through centralised platforms. If your NFT activity runs through on-chain wallets only, CARF does not capture it directly — but the ATO's existing data matching program covers exchange withdrawals and deposits that could be linked to on-chain activity.

Common mistakes NFT investors make

Not counting gas fees in the cost base. Every gas fee paid to acquire or transfer an NFT adds to your cost base, reducing your eventual capital gain. Missing these understates your cost base and overstates your gain.

Treating NFT-to-NFT swaps as non-events. Every swap is a disposal of the first NFT. You must calculate the gain or loss on what you gave up, even if you never converted to AUD.

Assuming the 50% discount always applies. It only applies to individuals and only after 12 months. Business traders and companies do not qualify.

Missing airdropped NFTs. If you received a project airdrop from an established collection and it had a market value, the ATO expects you to declare it as income. Many investors are unaware this is a taxable receipt.

Using approximate AUD values. The ATO requires accurate AUD conversion at the time of each transaction, not estimates. Import your wallet data into Summ and let it source the historical price data automatically.

How to report NFT gains in your tax return

NFT capital gains are reported in the capital gains section of your individual tax return (myTax), alongside any other CGT events for the year. There is no separate NFT category — they fall under the same capital gains reporting as shares, property, and cryptocurrency.

Income from NFT creation or business trading is reported as business income. If you operate as a sole trader, this goes in the business and professional items section. Lodge by 31 October 2026 if self-lodging, or follow your tax agent's schedule if using one.

Summ generates an ATO-ready capital gains report and income report from your wallet and exchange data. You can hand this directly to an accountant or use the figures to complete your return in myTax. For the full process, see our tax season preparation guide.

What changes in 2026 and beyond

The core NFT tax rules have not changed for FY2026 — NFTs remain CGT assets and the established framework applies. What has changed is the enforcement environment.

The ATO's crypto data matching program continues to expand, with data collected from approximately 1.2 million Australian crypto investors. From 2027, CARF reporting adds another layer: centralised exchanges and custodians will submit transaction data directly to the ATO. NFT sales conducted through centralised platforms will be visible in this data.

If you have had active NFT years in FY2024 or FY2025 and have not lodged correctly, the window to rectify is narrowing. Voluntary disclosures made before the ATO contacts you attract substantially lower penalties than those made after.

Get your NFT transactions into Summ, generate your report, and review it with an accountant if the numbers are material. The EOFY 2026 checklist covers the key steps before 30 June.

This article is general information only and does not take your personal circumstances into account. For advice specific to your situation, speak to a registered tax agent.