What is the cost base of employee shares after tax in Australia?

The ATO says that for an employee share scheme interest on which tax is deferred, the interest is taken to have been acquired again immediately after the deferred taxing point. That resets the cost base to the market value at that time. For an interest taxed up front, you are taken to have acquired it for its market value on the day you acquired it. Extra costs can be added to that amount. A start-up concession is different. The discount is not included in your income, and the cost base of a share is the market value when you acquired it. If you exercise a right under that concession and sell the share, the amount you paid to exercise is added to the cost base. Example only. In the ATO example, shares worth $4,000 at acquisition start with a cost base of $4,000. This page does not work out your tax.

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