Syla offers an extensive classification system to ensure you achieve accurate tax outcomes while gaining a clear understanding of your transaction data.
Where possible, Syla automatically applies these classifications for you. However, it’s important to understand the classifications, especially if you need to make manual adjustments.
Classifications
Tax Notes
Each classification includes relevant tax notes based on Australian tax law. These notes are applicable to individual taxpayers holding crypto for investment purposes and focus on the tax treatment when crypto is the asset involved.
Ultimately, the tax treatment of each transaction type will vary based on the following factors:
entity type.
tax settings that have been applied.
the asset involved in the transaction.
the other ledgers present in the transaction.
For example, if the transaction type is Commission and the asset received is AUD, Syla will record the amount as Ordinary Income. However, if the asset received is BTC, Syla will record both the Ordinary Income and track the cost base of the BTC. Additionally, if the activity type is set to Trading, Syla will also record the Purchase Cost of the BTC for use in Trading Stock calculations.
Syla automatically considers all these factors to ensure accurate tax calculations. You can review the tax outcomes of any transaction by navigating to the Transactions page in Syla and clicking on a transaction to view its detailed breakdown.
Transactions
Icon | Name | Description | Tax Notes |
 | An asset is bought, sold or swapped for another asset. | Any assets that were disposed will trigger a CGT event. | |
 | The same asset is updated to a new ticker symbol. | Non-taxable. The cost base will be carried over to the new asset. | |
 | Wrap | An asset is wrapped to an alternative representation of the same asset on a different blockchain. | The tax treatment is the same as a Trade. |
 | Liquidity In | One or more assets are contributed into a liquidity pool and an LP token is received. | Any assets that were disposed will trigger a CGT event. |
 | Liquidity Out | An LP token is disposed and one or more assets are removed from a liquidity pool. | Any assets that were disposed will trigger a CGT event. |
| Mint | A new token is minted. | Any assets that were disposed will trigger a CGT event. |
Positive Ledgers (increase your balance)
Icon | Name | Description | Tax Notes |
 | An unknown deposit of an asset, you can provide a more specific reason for the deposit. | Acquisition of a CGT asset at market value. | |
 | Internal transfer from another location. | Non-taxable.
This ledger type does not affect the overall portfolio balance, as it's assumed you still own the asset.
A Transfer In must always have a matching Transfer Out of the same asset and amount.
We don't recommend manually applying this classification. Instead, Syla will automatically change the classification of a Deposit to a Transfer In when it detects a match. | |
| Acquisition | An asset is acquired by purchasing the asset. | Acquisition of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Profit from a genuine game of chance. | Not taxable. However it will still result in the acquisition of a CGT asset at market value. | |
 | Initial funding for the activity from a bank account. | Not taxable if AUD. | |
 | A new blockchain is branched off from an existing one, resulting in a new asset being created. | The CGT asset will receive a cost base of zero. | |
| Acquisition at Market Value | An asset is acquired at the specified market value. | Acquisition of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Acquisition at Zero Cost | An asset is acquired for nothing in return. | The CGT asset will receive a cost base of zero. |
 | Gift received with no obligation to repay. | Acquisition of a CGT asset at market value. | |
 | Borrow | An asset is borrowed, there is an obligation to repay the asset back at some point in the future. | Acquisition of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Payment Reversal | A payment for goods and services was sent, but it was later reversed. | Acquisition of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Airdrop of an asset. | Ordinary income. | |
 | Commission | Referral or affiliate commissions earned. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Promotions | Rewards from a giveaway promotion or signup bonus. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Distribution | An asset is received as a distribution. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Reward | A reward or payout that has been received. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Interest Received | Interest earned. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Mining Income | Reward earned for mining crypto. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Staking Income | Reward earned for staking crypto. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Lending Interest | Interest payment received on an asset that was lent out. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
| Lend Repaid | A loan you made to someone else is repaid. | Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Dust | Negligible amount of an asset received, often due to spam. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Fee Refund | Refund on fees that were previously paid. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Payment Received | Received a payment for providing goods or services. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Cashback | Cashback reward for using a debit or credit card. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Trade Rebate | A rebate received for executing a trade. This is the opposite of a Brokerage Fee. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Derivatives Profit | Realised profit from a derivatives contract. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Futures Profit | Realised profit from a futures contract. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
 | Futures Funding Rate Profit | A form of profit that occurs in perpetual futures contracts. | Ordinary income. Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
| Remove Liquidity | Liquidity is removed from a liquidity pool. | Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
| Take LP Token | An LP Token is received when adding liquidity into a liquidity pool. | Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
| Mint | A new NFT is minted. | Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
| Rebase In | An asset is received as part of a redenomination or ticker change. | When part of a valid Rebase, the cost base will be carried over to the new asset. |
| Wrap In | An asset is received as part of a Wrap. | Acquisition of CGT asset at market value. |
Negative Ledgers (decrease your balance)
All ledgers that decrease balance will result in a CGT event if the asset is a CGT asset.
Icon | Name | Description | Tax Notes |
 | An unknown withdrawal of an asset, you can provide a more specific reason for the withdrawal. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. | |
 | Internal transfer to another location. | Non-taxable.
This ledger type does not affect the overall portfolio balance, as it's assumed you still own the asset.
A Transfer Out must always have a matching Transfer In of the same asset and amount.
We don't recommend manually applying this classification. Instead, Syla will automatically change the classification of a Withdrawal to a Transfer Out when it detects a match. | |
| Withdrawal of capital back to a bank account. | Not taxable if AUD. | |
| Disposal | An asset is disposed by selling the asset. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Asset is gone and can not be recovered due to a scam, insolvency or lost access. | Disposal of a CGT asset for zero proceeds. | |
 | Gift sent with no obligation to be repaid. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. | |
 | Loss due to a genuine game of chance. | Not taxable. However it will still result in the disposal of a CGT asset at market value. | |
 | Disposal at Market Value | An asset is disposed for the market value of the asset. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
| Lend | You lend an asset to someone else. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Borrow Repaid | A prior borrowed asset is repaid to the lender. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
| Borrow Interest Paid | Interest is paid on a loan. | Expense. |
 | Payment Sent | Sent a payment for goods or services. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Payment Reverted | A payment for goods and services was received, but it was later reversed. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Derivatives Loss | Realised loss from a derivatives contract. | Revenue loss. Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Futures Loss | Realised loss from a futures contract. | Revenue loss. Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Futures Funding Rate Loss | A form of loss that occurs in perpetual futures contracts. | Revenue loss. Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Other Loss | Any other revenue loss. | Revenue loss. Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
 | Disposal at Zero Value | An asset is disposed with nothing received in returned. | Disposal of a CGT asset for zero proceeds. |
 | Brokerage Fee | Fee charged on executing a trade. | Where attached to a Trade, the brokerage fee will be capitalised into the cost base of the CGT assets. |
 | Deposit Fee | A fee incurred due to a deposit. | Expense. |
 | Withdrawal Fee | Fee incurred due to a Withdrawal. | Expense. |
 | Network Fee | Fee paid to transfer crypto on-chain. | Expense. |
 | Service Fee | Service fee charged. | Expense. |
 | Statement Fee | Fee charged by a platform for generating an account statement or report. | Expense. |
 | Payment Fee | Fee on a payment sent. | Expense. |
 | Liquidation Fee | Fee charged when a derivatives position is liquidated. | Expense. |
 | Derivatives Fee | Fee charged in relation to derivatives trading. | Expense. |
 | Futures Fee | Fee charged in relation to futures trading. | Expense. |
 | Other Fee | Any other fee. | Expense. |
| Slashing Penalty | Slashing penalty incurred when staking or validating | Expense. |
| Add Liquidity | Liquidity is added into a liquidity pool. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
| Return LP Token | An LP token is returned to a liquidity pool so the tokens in the pool can be removed. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
| Mint Cost | The cost incurred to mint a token. | Disposal of a CGT asset at market value. |
| Rebase Out | An asset is sent as part of a redenomination or ticker change. | When part of a valid Rebase, the cost base will be carried over to the new asset. |
| Wrap Out | An asset is sent as part of a Wrap. | Disposal of CGT asset at market value. |
Detailed explanation of classifications
Trade
A Trade involves at least one Disposal ledger and one Acquisition ledger.
Any Brokerage Fee ledgers are capitalised into the CGT assets involved in the Trade.
Where possible, Syla will automatically ensure the market value of the Disposal asset is equal to the market value of the Acquisition asset, to ensure consistent tax outcomes.
Syla also supports trade's involving multiple Disposal and/or Acquisition ledgers.
Rebase
Intended for when tokens are re-branded as part of a marketing exercise. It transfers the cost base from one asset to another without immediate tax consequences This classification is commonly used for ticker code changes or re-denominations.
Deposit and Withdrawal
Default classifications for unexplained increases or decreases in balance. These should be reclassified for accuracy, such as changing a Deposit to Airdrop if applicable, to ensure correct tax outcomes
Capital Invested / Returned
Represent movements of AUD into or out of investment activity, such as from a bank account
These classifications can also be used for crypto assets in which case the tax treatment is either an acquisition or disposal of the CGT asset at market value.
Transfer In / Transfer Out
Transfer In and Transfer Out should be used for transfers when ownership of the asset has not changed, such as a transfer from one exchange platform to another. Transfer In and Transfer Out are not taxable events, and ensures there are no CGT events when moving assets.
While Transfer In and Transfer Out do affect the balance of the data source they occur on, they don't affect the overall portfolio balance. When using these ledger types, it's assumed that you still own the asset that was transferred.
Note: It's important to ensure that a Transfer Out always has a matching Transfer In of the same amount and asset.
e.g. if you have a Transfer Out of 1 ETH from one data source, there should be a corresponding Transfer In of 1 ETH to another data source.
Chainsplit
Occurs when a new blockchain splits from an existing one, automatically granting holders an equal quantity of new tokens. The new tokens have a cost base of zero, and no Ordinary Income is declared.
Airdrop
Airdrops are assets that are normally received either for free or for participating in an Airdrop program or other activity. They are often used as a way to promote a new blockchain project.
An airdrop differs from a chainsplit as it does not affect the underlying blockchain. It is achieved by issuing new tokens on an existing blockchain. Airdrops are treated as Ordinary Income.
Gambling Profit / Loss
Although relatively rare, you are able to classify transactions as Gambling Profit and Gambling Loss. These gambling profits are non-assessable and gambling losses are non-deductible in Australia.
Although gambling profits are non-assessable, the acquisitions will be recorded and disposals of CGT assets are still taxable, and will be tracked in Syla.
Important: investing in crypto is not considered gambling for tax purposes.
Gift Received / Sent
Gifts received are tracked as a CGT asset that was acquired at market value on the day it was received.
Gifts that are sent result in a CGT disposal that will have proceeds calculated at the market value on the day it was sent.
Unrecoverable
Used for assets written off with zero proceeds, such as those lost to theft, scams, or delisting.