Capital gains and losses, and rental property profits, losses and deductions of individuals for each income year since 1986–87 are published by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Capital gain/loss refers to the difference between what a capital asset cost to acquire and what was received when it was disposed of.

The ATO produces annual taxation statistics providing an overview of the income tax status of Australian individuals, companies, partnerships, trusts and funds. Individual capital gains and rent statistics were sourced from individual income tax returns processed by 31 October of the following year. For example, data for the 2020–21 income year includes data processed up to 31 October 2022. The statistics are therefore not necessarily complete.

Data presented at the postcode and state/territory levels are related to the residential postcode and state/territory of the individual claiming a capital gain, and are as recorded in the individual's tax return form. The geography is not related to the location of the capital gain asset. Where residential postcode was not provided, the postal address postcode of the individual has been used.

ATO data are also used in the following dashboard menu option: Capital gains from real estate by entity.

See ATO Taxation Statistics 2020–21  (https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/taxation-statistics-2020-21)

Source reference tables: for historic Australia only data 1986-87 to 2009-10, Taxation Statistics 2020–21, Individuals – Table 1, table 1A; for state/territory and postcode data 2010–11 onwards, Taxation Statistics - postcode data, 2010–11 to 2020–21 income years – all individuals tables, Individuals – Table 6, table 6B.