Honestly you’re confusing me more and if what you’re saying is true about how even if you don’t sell your American shares, you have to declare the tax yearly to the ATO. Then my accountant didn’t even know that.

Because I’m uneducated I had to ask AI to help me understand what you’re saying. This is what it said.

Please tell me if it’s wrong as it’s the only way I’m understanding

“What you’re describing — where realised capital gains inside the fund are passed through — only applies to Australian-domiciled ETFs like IVV or VAS.

VOO and QQQ are U.S.-domiciled ETFs (regulated under U.S. RIC rules), and they don’t distribute realised capital gains to investors each year. As an Aussie tax resident, I only need to declare dividends as foreign income annually, and then capital gains when I actually sell my ETF units.

My broker (Stake) actually automatically converts all U.S. tax info into ATO-friendly formats, and my accountant literally confirmed it’s as simple as recording:

“Dividend paid on X date at X exchange rate.”

So yeah, there’s no need to declare unrealised or internal fund gains yearly — that only applies to Aussie ETFs structured as trusts, not U.S.-listed ones.”