What triggers a CGT event in Australia — what counts as a disposal?

A CGT event is any event that can give rise to a capital gain or capital loss. There are over 50 CGT events defined in Australian tax law, but the most common is CGT event A1 — the disposal of a CGT asset. Understanding what counts as a disposal is essential because many taxpayers miss taxable events.

Common CGT events include:

• Selling shares, property, crypto, or other assets
• Gifting an asset (market value is used as the disposal proceeds)
• Transferring an asset to someone else
• An asset being lost, destroyed, or stolen (you may still have a CGT event)
• Crypto-to-crypto swaps (each swap is a disposal of the first asset)
• Abandoning an option
• Company buybacks of shares
• A trust distributing a CGT asset to a beneficiary

What is NOT a CGT event: Merely holding an asset (even if its value rises) is not a CGT event. Borrowing money against an asset is not a disposal. Moving assets between your own wallets or accounts (for crypto) is not a CGT event, though records of the move must be kept.

Timing matters: For CGT event A1 (disposal), the CGT event happens when you enter into the contract of sale, not when settlement occurs. For shares traded on an exchange, the trade date (not settlement date) is used. The timing determines which financial year the gain is assessable in, and whether the 12-month discount applies.