ATO eyes cryptocurrency activity in annual tax returns

An ATO spokesman said increased investor transparency had been created through changes to Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, including by requiring digital currency exchanges to register with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.

Exchanges are required to verify the identity of their customers and report suspicious transactions over $10,000.

“While there is no specific label on the capital gains schedule or income tax return to identify how many people have invested in cryptocurrency we are still looking at lodgement activity this year to determine any significant impact of cryptocurrencies,” the spokesman said.

“However, we have observed through our ATO community channel and advice areas an increase in questions relating to tax obligations of cryptocurrency activity, which we see as a positive in people wanting to do the right thing in meeting their obligations.”