Capital gains tax in Australia
Capital gains tax (CGT), in the context of the Australian taxation system, is a tax applied to the capital gain made on the disposal of any asset, with a number of specific exemptions, the most significant one being the family home. Rollover provisions apply to some disposals, one of the most significant of which are transfers to beneficiaries on death, so that the CGT is not a quasi estate tax.
CGT operates by treating net capital gains as taxable income in the tax year in which an asset is sold or otherwise disposed of. If an asset is held for at least 1 year then any gain is first discounted by 50% for individual taxpayers, or by 33.3% for superannuation funds. Capital losses can be offset against capital gains. Net capital losses in a tax year cannot be offset against normal income, but may be carried forward indefinitely.
Personal use assets and collectables are treated as separate categories and losses, which are quarantined so they can only be applied against gains in the same category, not other gains. This works to stop taxpayers subsidising hobbies from their investment earnings.
History[edit]
A capital gains tax (CGT) was introduced in Australia on 20 September 1985, one of a number of tax reforms by the Hawke/Keating government. The CGT applied only to assets acquired on or after that date, with gains (or losses) on assets owned on that date, called pre-CGT assets, not being subject to the CGT. In calculating the capital gain, the cost of assets held for 1 year or more was indexed by the consumer price index (CPI), which meant that the part of the gain which was due to inflation was not taxed. Indexation was not used if an asset was held for less than 12 months or a sale results in a capital loss. Also, an averaging process was used to calculate the CGT. 20% of a taxpayer's net capital gain was included in income to calculate the taxpayer's average tax rate, and the average rate was then applied to all the taxpayer's gross income (i.e., including the capital gain in full). So if a large capital gain were to push a taxpayer into a higher tax bracket in the tax year of sale, the brackets was stretched out, allowing the taxpayer to be taxed at their average tax rate.
From 20 September 1999, the Howard government discontinued indexation of the cost base and (subject to a transitional arrangement) introduced a 50% discount on the capital gain for individual taxpayers. Assets acquired before 21 September 1985 continued to be CGT-free. For assets acquired between 20 September 1985 and 20 September 1999, the taxpayer had an option of using indexation (up to the CPI as at 30 September 1999) or using the 50% discount method. Also from 21 September 1999, small business CGT concessions were introduced (below), reducing tax on small business owners retiring, and on active assets being sold, and allowing a rollover when selling one active asset to buy another. The 50% CGT discount is not available to companies. Superannuation funds are entitled only to a 33% CGT discount.
The law is framed so as to apply to all assets, except those specifically exempted. It applies both to assets owned outright and to a partial interest in an asset, and to both tangible and intangible assets. Current exemptions, in approximate order of significance are:
Trading stock is not regarded as an asset and instead comes under ordinary income tax. Items of plant being depreciated are subject to CGT, but only in the unusual case that they are sold for more than original cost (see Depreciating assets below)