Selling Cards Overseas: Multi-Currency and Australian CGT
Buy in USD or JPY, sell in AUD, and the exchange rate quietly becomes part of your tax. Here's how FX affects your cost base — and how to keep it straight.
Last updated 24 June 2026 · This page tracks the proposed legislation as it progresses.
Foreign exchange is part of your cost base
Australian CGT works in Australian dollars. When you buy a card in USD or JPY, your cost base is the AUD value at the time you acquired it; when you sell, your proceeds are the AUD value at sale. That means currency movement is baked into your gain, even if the card’s price barely moved in its home currency.
Illustrative only
You buy a US$1,000 card when the exchange rate makes it A$1,500. Later you sell it for A$2,000. Your capital gain is roughly A$500 — driven partly by the card and partly by the AUD/USD move. The exact figures depend on the rates on each date.
Record the original currency — and the conversion
For every overseas purchase, keep the original-currency amount, the AUD conversion, and the date (which fixes the rate). Reconstructing exchange rates years later is painful and error-prone.
Why it matters
Get the FX wrong and your cost base is wrong, which means your gain — and your tax — is wrong. It is also the part most spreadsheets (and most trackers) simply don’t handle.
Built for multi-currency collectors
MyCardTracker stores each card’s purchase in its original currency with FX handling to your display currency, so your AUD cost base holds up. Pair it with tidy records and the sale side is already done.
Frequently asked questions
I bought a card in US dollars — how is CGT calculated?
Generally your cost base is the AUD value at the time you acquired the card and your proceeds are the AUD value at sale, so exchange-rate movements between those dates form part of your capital gain. A registered tax agent can confirm the method for your circumstances.
Do I use the exchange rate on the purchase date or the sale date?
Broadly, the rate on the acquisition date sets your cost base and the rate on the sale date sets your proceeds. Keeping the original-currency amount and the date lets you apply the correct rate at each end.
Does MyCardTracker handle foreign-currency purchases?
Yes — purchases are stored in their original currency with FX conversion to your display currency, so your AUD cost base and profit figures stay accurate.
Keep reading
Track your collection the tax-smart way
Record cost base, hold periods and values as you go — so tax time, and the 2027 transition, are already handled.