Record keeping for capital gains tax (CGT)

As the ATO's data-matching capabilities increase, they are paying close attention to capital gains made on shares, property and cryptocurrency.

Keep good records in relation to your assets, as this will help in working out a capital gain or loss correctly when you dispose of one. 

Your records must be in English or readily translatable to English, and must show:

• the nature of a transaction, event or set of circumstances
• the date it happened
• how it is relevant to working out the capital gain or loss
• the parties involved.
• If the asset is jointly owned, evidence of each owner's interest is also required.

Additionally:

• you generally need to retain records relating to a capital gains tax (CGT) event for at least five years after the year in which the event occurred
• there is no time limit on how long you can carry forward a net capital loss, but you must have records of the relevant CGT event in order to offset the loss against a capital gain in a later year.

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