How to Report Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Correctly with Sharesight

Ever stared at the CGT section of your tax return, heart racing because you couldn’t work out the cost base? You’re not alone. In this guide, I’ll show you how to rebuild five years of share records and complete every step of the CGT checklist in under 10 minutes using Sharesight.

📥 Download my free CGT checklist below to follow along

FREE CGT checklist

🧾 Step-by-Step CGT Reporting Workflow

1. Gather Broker Records

Start with your broker statements. For example:

• Buy: 1,000 shares of VMI @ $525 USD on 15 June 2020

• Sell: 1,037 shares @ $78.98 USD on 20 June 2025

These figures form the foundation of your CGT calculation

2. Create Your Free Sharesight Account

• Set country: Australia

• Currency: AUD

• Portfolio name: e.g., “ETF Recovery”

3. Enter Trades and FX Rates

Sharesight auto-applies FX rates:

• Purchase cost base: ~$74,867 AUD

• Sale proceeds: ~$126,607 AUD

• Gross capital gain: $51,739 AUD

But we’re not done yet…

4. Don’t Forget DRPs (Dividend Reinvestment Plans)

DRPs affect your cost base. I logged into the Vanguard share registry and found:

• Joined: October 2020

• Opted out: March 2022

In Sharesight:

• Go to Trade & Income → Distributions

• Confirm each DRP and mark as reinvested

• Accept suggested share price and quantity

✅ This added 37 shares to my holdings and reduced my capital gain by over $3,000.

5. Calculate Final Capital Gain

After DRP adjustments:

• New cost base: $78,175 AUD

• Capital proceeds: $126,607 AUD

• Final capital gain: $48,432 AUD

6. Offset Capital Losses (if any)

I had no losses, but Sharesight lets you enter and track them easily.

7. Apply the 50% CGT Discount

Held the ETF >12 months and I’m an Australian resident:

• Net capital gain: $24,216 AUD

8. Report in Your Tax Return

In MyGov:

• Go to ATO Tax Return → Capital Gains or Loss

• Enter:

• Current year gain: $48,432

• Discount applied: $24,216

• Net capital gain: $24,216

• Losses carried forward: $0

Use the Sharesight CGT report to copy figures line-by-line.

📊 Why Sharesight Makes CGT Easy

• Auto FX conversion for foreign assets

• DRP tracking and reinvestment logic

• CGT discount and sale allocation methods

• Secure portfolio sharing with your accountant

🎥 Watch the Full Tutorial

Watch how I rebuilt 5 years of records step-by-step and saved thousands in CGT using Sharesight.