Parcel selection methods (FIFO, LIFO, Min CGT)
When you sell shares or digital assets, ShareTax matches the disposal against the parcels held on that platform. FIFO (First In, First Out) is the ATO's default method under Taxation Ruling TR 96/4 when parcels are not specifically identified. ShareTax also supports alternative specific-identification strategies including LIFO, Min Gain (HIFO), and Min CGT (discount-aware optimisation) provided contemporaneous records are maintained.
Sells your oldest parcels first. The ATO's default when parcels can't be specifically identified.
| Parcel | Acquired | Cost/unit | Units sold | Gain | Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 10 Mar 2023 | $34.00 | 100 | $600.00 | 50% discount |
| B | 15 Jan 2024 | $22.00 | 100 | $1,800.00 | 50% discount |
| C | 5 Sep 2024 | $38.00 | 50 of 100 | $100.00 | full rate |
| D | 20 Feb 2025 | $28.00 | — | — | not sold |
| Gross capital gain | $2,500.00 | ||||
| Less 50% discount on long-term portion | −$1,200.00 | ||||
| Net capital gain | $1,300.00 | ||||
Method comparison summary
Same 4 parcels & 250-unit sale across all strategies| Method | Consumption sequence | Gross gain | Net taxable gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIFOActive | A → B → C(50) | $2,500.00 | $1,300.00 |
| LIFO | D → C → B(50) | $2,300.00 | $1,850.00 |
| Min Gain | C → A → D(50) | $1,400.00 | $1,100.00 |
| Min CGTLowest Tax | C → A → B(50) | $1,700.00 | $950.00 |
Key insight: Min Gain achieves the smallest gross gain ($1,400.00) but results in a higher net tax bill ($1,100.00) because it burns through short-term parcels that receive no 50% discount. In contrast, Min CGT achieves the lowest taxable gain ($950.00) by accounting for discount eligibility after Division 115 rules.
All calculations are executed in real time using the identical ordering algorithms as ShareTax's backend engine (cgt_methods.py) conforming to ATO TR 96/4 and ITAA 1997 s115-25.
12-month CGT discount
Under ITAA 1997 s115-25, individual Australian tax residents receive a 50% discount on capital gains from assets held for more than 12 months.
- Exact Day Arithmetic: The boundary is strictly 365 days (inclusive). An asset acquired on 28 Jan 2025 must be sold on or after 29 Jan 2026 to qualify for the 50% discount.
- ShareTax tracks acquisition and disposal timestamps per parcel automatically to determine discount eligibility.
Loss offset — ATO sequencing
Capital losses offset capital gains in the specific mandatory order prescribed by the ATO:
- Current-year capital losses are applied against non-discountable (short-term) gains first.
- Any remaining losses are then applied against discountable (long-term) gross gains.
- The 50% discount is applied only to the remaining net long-term capital gains.
- Carried-forward prior-year net capital losses are applied next.
This strict sequencing legally maximises the cash benefit of your 50% CGT discount.
FX (USD & foreign trades)
Stake US trades and any foreign-denominated transactions are converted to AUD using the FX rate from your broker statement:
- Broker Statement Rate (Primary): The exact exchange rate or AUD value reported on your trade confirmation (e.g. Stake US
AUD/USD rateor Generic CSVFX Rate) is preserved and used for all CGT cost base, proceeds, and brokerage calculations. - RBA Rate (Fallback / Unset FX): For foreign exports that do not supply an exchange rate (e.g. raw foreign crypto exports) or system-generated dividends, ShareTax automatically enriches the transaction with the official Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) daily rate for that trade date (with historical market spot fallback for older dates).
- On the Holdings page, US-listed positions display the original USD cost and live USD price beneath the AUD value for clear reconciliation against your broker statement.
Timezones & Same-day trades
ShareTax records transactions strictly by calendar date (using the local date supplied on your broker statement), purposefully avoiding UTC timestamp conversions that could artificially shift a trade across the 30 June / 1 July financial year boundary.
To maintain strict First-In-First-Out (FIFO) parcel sequencing for multiple trades of the same asset on the same day, ShareTax extracts the chronological sequence directly from your broker statement and assigns an internal sort_within_day index to each order.
Platform & FIFO scope (TD 33)
FIFO parcel pools are strictly isolated per platform. Each broker and exchange is treated as a separate, distinguishable parcel pool:
- A CommSec sale only draws from CommSec parcels.
- A Stake AU disposal cannot offset parcels held on Stake US, Betashares, or Coinbase.
- A disposal on Ethereum via MetaMask cannot draw from a Solana Phantom parcel.
This strictly conforms with the ATO's mandate in Taxation Determination TD 33 that assets held across separate brokers/custodians are distinguishable and do not pool together.