I am a US citizen and have shares in the US. I live in Sydney with my Australian wife. We are both considered Australian taxpayers. I want to gift shares to my wife and want to know if this triggers a CGT on her when she sells?
Yes, any disposal of shares is a CGT event. Your transfer of the shares to your wife is also a disposal, so this too is a CGT event.
CGT events | Australian Taxation Office
I am assuming you are not a foreign resident.
Yes, I am an Australian resident. I seem to get mixed answers. Some say she get the cost basis at the time of transfer and some say she carries over my cost basis. Can someone clarify this?
Further to that last comment from @Taxduck, I presume you already know, @psher , that you are unfortunately, as a US citizen living in Australia, invariably BOTH an Australian tax resident AND a US tax resident.
The gift to your wife will be considered to be a transfer at market value on the day, and that will be a CGT event (perhaps with a 50% discount) for your ATO 30 June return. In turn, you'll include the gain (but no 50% discount allowed) in the relevant 31 December IRS return, claiming credit for any Australian tax paid.
Your wife's cost base is the same market value you used, perhaps increased by any fees she paid, e.g. $54 from the broker I use. She doesn't have anything to declare on her ATO return until she sells them. (If you're "married filing jointly" with the IRS, good luck!)
21 May 2026 · 4 min read time
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