The capital gains report is the report that most regular investors will use to fill in their tax returns.
But how do you use this information on your tax return?
At the top of the capital gains report, you will find the report summary, which will look similar to the above image.
This is a summary of all the capital gains/losses that you have made during the selected tax year.
Short Term Capital Gains
Short Term Capital Gains are calculated on gains that have been made on assets that you have held for a short term period. This threshold will be set to the default period of the country you have chosen and can be changed on the settings page.
Long Term Capital Gains
Long Term Capital Gains are calculated on the gains that had been held by you for longer than your chosen long term threshold. In Australia and the US for example this occurs when the asset is held for more than one year. As mentioned above this threshold can be changed on the settings page.
Total Capital Losses
Total Capital Losses are calculated on transactions that made a loss instead of a gain. This figure can then be used to offset the capital gain.
Net Total Capital Gains
Net Total Capital Gains is just the calculation of short/long term capital gains minus the total capital losses.
short term capital gains + long term capital gains - total capital losses = net total capital gains
Below the summary page, you will get down to the raw data that makes up this report.
This part of the report is called the Short-Term Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, and it will include all the data that makes up the report summary at the top.
Each of these rows will describe an individual capital gains taxable event that has occurred during the selected tax year. The data for these transactions will then be broken down into seven columns:
Currency
The currency that was responsible for the capital gain/loss
Bought
The date and time the asset was purchased.
Sold
The date and time the asset was sold.
Quantity
The amount of the asset that was sold.
Cost
The cost base of an asset is the cost associated with acquiring, holding, and disposal of the asset.
Proceeds
The total cost received or the market value of the asset received at the time of disposal.
Gain or Loss
Proceeds - Cost = whether you have made a gain or a loss on this trade. If the proceeds is greater than the cost, the difference between the two would be equivalent to your capital gains. Otherwise, if the cost is greater than the proceeds of what it was sold for, then this is a capital loss.
Adjusting Long Term Threshold
You can adjust the long term threshold on the Settings page. Go to your profile on the top right of the app -> Settings -> Portfolio & Tax, and you will see the long term threshold section.
The default setting is 12 months. You can choose 'Custom' to customize the threshold. This change might affect your Capital Gains Reports. Keep in mind that you should always consult with your accountant regarding any tax settings.