How One Australian Couple Saves Time and Money at Tax Time

Sam and Priya are in their late thirties, live in Brisbane, and have the classic two-career, two-kids problem: their money is busy, but they aren't free. Sam holds ASX ETFs and a handful of US tech shares split across two brokers — one for the long-term portfolio, one from his old employer's share plan. Priya runs a smaller satellite portfolio and a crypto allocation she rebalances a few times a year.

Between them: four account logins, three export formats, one shared Google Sheet with 14 tabs — and every July, a fight with the ATO pre-fill that never quite matched their records.

The spreadsheet was the second job

The sheet started simple. Ten holdings, a column for cost base, a column for dividends. Three years later it had formulas neither of them trusted, a "FIX LATER" tab, and no answer to the only questions that mattered: what are we actually up, and what will we owe the ATO if we sell?

Tax time made it worse. Their accountant billed by the hour, and most of those hours went to reconstruction — matching sell parcels to buy parcels across two brokers, chasing dividend statements for franking credits, and untangling Priya's crypto swaps (every one of which is a CGT event, which they learned the expensive way).

• Two brokers meant two CSV formats that never lined up
• Franking credits lived in statement PDFs nobody opened until July
• Crypto-to-crypto trades weren't in any spreadsheet at all
• Nobody knew which parcels to sell for the best tax outcome

Finding one place for all of it

Sam went looking for a portfolio tracker that understood Australian tax rules — not a US app with AUD bolted on. The shortlist came down to tools that could do three things: import from their actual brokers, track franking credits automatically, and calculate CGT the way the ATO expects.

They started an OpenFolio trial on a Sunday night. By Monday the whole history was in.

How they use OpenFolio

Import once, stay current

Sam exported CSVs from both brokers and dropped them into OpenFolio's importer — trades matched, cost bases built, splits handled. Priya connected her exchange, and her crypto history — including the swaps — landed as proper CGT events alongside the shares.

Dividends and franking credits, tracked automatically

Every dividend now lands against the right holding with its franking creditattached. At tax time the year's franking total is one number, not a folder of PDFs.

CGT before they sell, not after

The feature they didn't know they needed: OpenFolio's CGT engine shows what a sale would cost in tax before they place it — comparing FIFO, LIFO and minimise-gains parcel selection, with the 50% discount applied to parcels held over 12 months. Last November, that comparison changed which TQQQ parcels Sam sold — same proceeds, roughly $1,900 less taxable gain.

What changed at tax time

This year, tax prep was one export. OpenFolio's FY summarygave their accountant realized gains netted by parcel, dividend income with franking totals, and the carry-forward loss from Priya's 2023 crypto experiment — which the spreadsheet had quietly lost track of.

• Accountant time went from reconstruction to actual advice
• The forgotten carry-forward loss offset this year's gains
• Franking credits were claimed in full, first pass
• The 14-tab spreadsheet is now a museum piece

Their advice for other investors

Start before June. Most of the value isn't the July export — it's watching the CGT position all year and selling the right parcels at the right time. And import everything, including the embarrassing crypto trades: losses only work for you if they're recorded.

Illustrative scenario. General information only — not tax or financial advice. Consider your circumstances and consult a registered tax agent.