New calculator highlights downsides of CGT changes

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

11 May 2026

Expected Federal Budget changes to the Capital Gains Tax rules could materially reduce long term after tax returns across major investment categories, according to digital investment adviser and platform, Stockspot.

The company has pointed to the potential outcome at the same time as launching a new CGT calculator that allows investors to compare the current 50% CGT discount against a possible move to an inflation indexation model and estimates the impact on after tax returns across shares, investment properties and business ownership.

Stockspot founder and chief executive, Chris Brycki said most Australians had little understanding of how significant the changes could be to their long term wealth.

“Most people still don’t understand what these changes could mean for their own investments, retirement and future financial security,” Brycki said. “We built the calculator to make the impact tangible. Once people see the difference in dollars and long-term returns, the consequences become much clearer.”

He said the calculator highlights how the proposed rules could materially reduce long term after tax returns across major investment categories.

For a typical ETF investor who invests $100,000 into diversified ETFs and achieves a 10.3% annual return over 10 years, based on the prior 10 year market average, the calculator estimates the investor would end up with around $25,844 less after tax under the proposed rules. Their annual after tax return falls from 8.7% p.a. to 7.4% p.a.

For a property investor purchasing a $500,000 investment property using $100,000 of equity that later sells for $1 million, the estimated reduction in after tax wealth is even larger at around $51,670.

The biggest impact is on business owners and startup founders. A founder who invests $25,000 and years of hard work into building a business that later sells for $1 million would keep approximately $225,833 less after tax under the proposed system.

Brycki said the proposed changes risked fundamentally altering the incentives to invest, build businesses and take long term risks in Australia.

“The problem with these changes is that they don’t just affect wealthy investors. They affect anyone trying to build wealth outside the family home or superannuation,” he said.

“If you reduce the after tax reward for investing, people change their behaviour and less money will flow into those areas.”

Brycki warned the changes could have broad consequences across the economy by discouraging investment into productive assets.

“Over time, more Australians will decide it’s safer to park more money in the family home, leave it sitting in the bank, or simply spend more today instead of investing for the future.”

He said that shift could have unintended consequences for productivity, entrepreneurship and economic growth.

“Australia already has a productivity problem and a housing shortage. Policies that reduce long term investment incentives risk making both worse,” Brycki said.

“There’s also a broader behavioural effect. If people feel they keep less of the upside from investing, consumption becomes relatively more attractive. That may boost short term spending and inflation, which could ultimately put further upward pressure on interest rates.”