CGT valuation questions

No. Most gains are worked out from what you paid and what you sold for. Market value usually comes in only where the law replaces a price, or where there was no price at all, for example when a home is first rented out, when some property is inherited, or when property is given away or sold to someone you are not dealing with at arm’s length. Your accountant can tell you whether a valuation may be useful.

The date the tax law sets for your situation, which your accountant gives you. Common ones are the day a home was first rented out, the date of death, the date of a transfer, and just before 1 July 2027. Find your date.

Yes. A retrospective valuation values the property as it was at the past date, using sales from around then. Tell us the date and anything that has changed since, such as renovations or an extension. See retrospective valuations.

As far back as reliable sales evidence allows. Older dates have less evidence, so the valuer may need to look wider for comparable sales, and the report says so.

The date of the transfer. For a gift, or a sale to someone you are not dealing with at arm’s length (often a family member) for more or less than market value, the seller is generally treated as having received market value. Family transfers are quoted: see family transfers.

If you still hold it on 30 June 2027, it is treated as sold and bought back just before 1 July 2027, the gain up to then is disregarded, and that value becomes its cost base. If you inherited it from someone who acquired it before that date, its market value at the date of death generally becomes your cost base. See property bought before 1985.

Yes. A second valuation date in the same report is $149 including GST, and it is only included if you choose it.

For a sale under a contract, the CGT event generally happens when the contract is made, not at settlement (section 104-10). If there is no contract, it happens when ownership changes. Some rules look at settlement instead, such as the two-year rule for inherited homes, so your accountant confirms. See contract or settlement date.

The time of the transfer, which your accountant confirms: generally the contract date for a sale under a contract. If nothing is paid, or you are not dealing at arm’s length and the price is more or less than market value, capital gains tax generally uses market value instead (section 116-30). These transfers are quoted: see company or trust transfers.

A desktop valuation uses sales evidence and your records without a visit, and is designed for standard houses, units, townhouses and vacant lots. An inspected valuation adds a visit by the valuer and adds weight for unusual, renovated or higher-value homes, or a recent date. Your accountant has the final say, and we tell you if we think an inspection would suit your property better. See desktop or inspected.

The ATO’s guide says that where a valuation is straightforward, the report and records may be brief. The Australian Property Institute, a professional body for valuers, describes a desktop report as an indicative value only, not a valuation report, and recommends a comprehensive inspection valuation report where the tax system relies on the value. Your accountant chooses which suits your return.

An inspection shows the property as it is today, not as it was, so for a past date the valuer relies on records either way. An inspection adds most when the building is largely unchanged since the date, or when the date is recent.

Someone has to give the valuer access. It can be you, a tenant, an agent or anyone you nominate.

Yes. Both are reviewed and signed by a property valuer, named on the report, and sent as a PDF by email.

Choose Not sure on the request form and we recommend one. We tell you if we think an inspection would suit your property better before anything is booked or charged.

The address, the date your accountant gives you and the reason, then anything that shows the property as it was on that date: photos, plans, renovation dates and invoices, rental history and anything unusual. If something cannot be found, the report states what the valuer has assumed. See what the valuer needs.

$149 including GST for a desktop CGT valuation and $495 for an inspected one. A second date in the same report is $149. Commercial, rural and development property, family transfers and anything likely to be worth more than $3 million are quoted. See pricing.

Only after you accept. We confirm the valuer, fee and timing in writing first, and nothing is booked or charged until you accept.

It depends on why you got the valuation and how the tax law treats it, so ask your accountant. We value property and do not give tax advice.

It depends on the property, the date, whether it is inspected and how quickly records arrive. We confirm the timing in writing before you commit. See how long a CGT valuation takes.

Give the date and the reason clearly, send plans, photos and a list of changes since the date early, and answer the valuer’s questions promptly. See records to keep.

We do not offer fixed-fee valuations for stamp duty, valuations for lending, or family law and court work. Family transfers for capital gains tax are quoted before anything is booked.

In some cases. If the person who died acquired it before 20 September 1985, or it was their home just before they died and was not being used to earn income, its market value at the date of death generally becomes the beneficiary’s cost base. Otherwise the beneficiary usually takes over the deceased’s cost base, which does not normally involve a valuation, but a date-of-death value can still matter for an inherited home. See inherited property.

Yes. The property is valued as it was at the date of death, using sales evidence from around that date, whenever the report is prepared.

The owner, or someone acting for the owner such as an executor, can request one online, and so can an accountant or adviser. Your estate lawyer or accountant advises on probate and tax.

Generally when the person who died acquired the property before 20 September 1985, or it was their home just before they died and was not being used to earn income: its market value on the date of death then becomes the cost base for the estate and for the beneficiary it passes to. It is also used where property passes to a charity or a complying super fund. See deceased estates.

It changes who makes any gain. If the property passes to a beneficiary, a gain or loss the executor would otherwise make is disregarded, and the beneficiary takes on the cost base. If the executor sells it, the normal rules apply to the estate’s gain or loss. A home that qualifies may be exempt either way. The estate’s accountant advises.

The ATO says it is important for a beneficiary to keep records of when the deceased acquired the property, its value or cost, and costs incurred by the beneficiary and the executor. If the deceased acquired it before 20 September 1985, the ATO says the beneficiary will need to know its market value at the date of death, and the ATO suggests asking the executor for a copy of any valuation report. See the executor’s property checklist.

It is valued as it was at the date of death. Tell us about changes since, such as renovations or repairs, and send any photos or listings from around the date.

Sometimes, if the report states each purpose and the same date suits them all. The ATO’s guide warns that difficulties are likely when a valuation prepared for a different purpose is relied on, so tell us every use at the start.

A beneficiary, or the trustee of the estate, may be able to disregard the gain on an inherited home if the person who died acquired it before 20 September 1985, or it was their home just before they died and was not being used to earn income, and the sale settles within two years of the death or a longer period the Commissioner of Taxation allows (section 118-195). Other conditions apply. See the two-year rule.

It can. If the sale is fully exempt there may be no gain to work out, but the ATO suggests keeping a record of the home’s market value at the date of death until you are sure of the circumstances. If the sale turns out to be only partly exempt, and the home was the deceased’s main residence just before they died (and not used to produce income) or they acquired it before 20 September 1985, that value generally becomes the first element of the beneficiary’s cost base. Your accountant confirms.

In some cases. The ATO says the period is extended if the sale is delayed by exceptional circumstances outside your control. Some extensions apply automatically when set conditions are met, and otherwise you can ask the ATO for one.

They are separate taxes. Capital gains tax generally uses market value for a gift, or for a transfer not at arm’s length (section 116-30). Stamp duty is assessed by the revenue office of the state or territory where the property is, under its own law. We do not offer valuations for stamp duty assessment. See family and company transfers.

For capital gains tax it can. If nothing is received, or you are not dealing at arm’s length and the price is more or less than market value, market value generally replaces the price (section 116-30), and the company or trust generally takes market value as the start of its cost base. Roll-overs apply to some transfers to companies, so ask your accountant.

The fund reports its assets at market value in its accounts every year. The ATO’s guide says a fund with a valuation from a “qualified independent valuer” does not have to get a new one each year, but the trustees must consider whether it still supports the value, and should get a new valuation or other evidence if it has become materially inaccurate. See for SMSF trustees and auditors.

The fund’s approved SMSF auditor, as part of the annual audit. The ATO says the trustees value the assets and the auditor’s role is not to value them, but to check the valuation and whether its basis suits the type of asset. The auditor can ask for the documents behind it.

Generally a fund must not acquire an asset from a related party, such as a member, and the ATO says that includes in-specie contributions. One exception is business real property, which a fund with no more than six members may acquire at market value (section 66 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993). Ask the fund’s accountant or adviser.

The ATO’s guide lists an appraisal from an independent real estate agent among the factors that may be relevant for real property, but says that unless the fund bought the property recently, trustees should consider a variety of sources. If one report is the only evidence, it should set out the supportable data, such as the comparable sales. The auditor decides what evidence they ask for.

If you first rented out your home after 20 August 1996, and a later sale would only be partly exempt, you are generally treated as having bought it on the day it was first used to produce income, at its market value then. Your accountant confirms the date. See home becomes a rental.

A choice that may let you keep treating a former home as your main residence for up to six years while it is rented out. Conditions apply, and your accountant confirms whether it fits your situation.

The ATO’s guidance is to get a market valuation of your home when you first use it to produce income, and it says you can arrange one later if necessary.

The property is valued as it was on the day it was first rented out. Plans, invoices and photos help the valuer show what was there then and what was added later.

Yes, with notice to the tenant. In New South Wales and Victoria the notice for a valuation is at least 7 days, and a tenant can agree to an earlier time. A desktop valuation has no visit.

No. The main residence exemption for your home is not changed by the reforms that start on 1 July 2027.

Generally the day it was first used to produce income, not the end of the six years. The ATO says that once the six-year limit is exceeded, the cost base is the market value of the home when you first used it to produce income, plus allowable costs since. Your accountant confirms. See the six-year rule.

While you treat a former home as your main residence, you generally cannot treat another property as your main residence, except for up to six months when moving house. Which one to treat as your home is a choice to make with your accountant.

It can. The ATO says you are not entitled to the full main residence exemption if you rent out part of your home or run a business from it, though you may get a partial one based on the floor area used and the period. See renting part of your home and valuing part of a home.

Generally not, if you use a home study for work you would usually do at your workplace: the ATO says that does not give an interest deduction. It can if part of your home is set aside exclusively as your principal place of business and is not readily adaptable for private use, such as a doctor’s surgery. Your accountant confirms.

The figure a capital gain is measured from: generally what the property cost you to buy, plus other costs of buying, owning, improving and selling it, in five elements set by section 110-25. Costs you can claim as a tax deduction are not included. Your accountant works it out. See cost base and capital improvements.

Capital spending to increase or preserve a property’s value, such as an extension, can form part of the cost base, unless it can be claimed as a deduction. Keep dated invoices. For a valuation at a past date, renovations after that date are left out of the value.

The 50 per cent CGT discount is generally replaced, for Australian resident individuals, trusts and partnerships, by indexation of the cost base and, for individuals, a 30 per cent minimum tax on certain capital gains. Gains that built up before then keep the discount. See the change explained.

Australian resident individuals and trusts are generally treated as having sold and bought back their CGT assets just before 1 July 2027, at market value. That value becomes the dividing line between the old and new rules when the property is eventually sold.

Not necessarily. The law also allows for a government-set apportioning method as an alternative to market value, but it has not been finalised yet. Your accountant can tell you whether a valuation may be useful for your property. See the apportioning method.

No. A value at 30 June 2027 relies on sales up to that day, so it is prepared after it, and the ATO has said clients should not get one before then. You can register free now, and we get in touch after 30 June 2027.

Nothing. Registering is not a booking and you are not committing to a valuation. After 30 June 2027 we get in touch to say whether we can take it on and, if we can, to confirm the valuer, fee and timing. Nothing is charged until you accept.

The discount change does not: companies never had the 50 per cent discount, and the new indexation and the 30 per cent minimum tax do not apply to them. The exception is property acquired before 20 September 1985, which is treated as sold and bought back just before 1 July 2027 and is not limited to individuals and trusts, so a company that holds one should ask its accountant.

New residential dwellings and affordable housing keep a discount of at least 50 per cent. What counts as a new residential dwelling is not settled: a Bill introduced on 14 October 2026 would put the test in the Act. One condition is a certificate of occupancy first issued at or after 7.30 pm (ACT time) on 12 May 2026, and there are other conditions. It is not law. Your accountant can confirm whether your property qualifies.

APA is Australian Property Assessment Pty Ltd (ABN 98 703 476 797), the company behind CGT Property Valuations by APA. We value property. We do not give tax advice: your accountant decides which rules apply and which date to use.

A property valuer reviews and signs every report, and their name is on it. We confirm the valuer to you in writing before anything is booked.

The market value at your date, current or past, the comparable sales it rests on, and the method and assumptions, set out plainly. It is reviewed and signed by a property valuer and sent as a PDF by email, ready for your accountant.

Nobody can promise how the ATO will treat a valuation. The ATO looks for a valuation that is objective and supported by evidence, and our report sets out the date, the sales evidence and the method.

New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT and the Northern Territory. We are not able to take requests for Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia or Tasmania.

Online, in about two minutes, with the address, the date and the reason. We confirm the valuer, fee and timing in writing, and nothing is booked or charged until you accept. Get a valuation.

Yes. An accountant or adviser can request a valuation for a client on the request form. See our page for accountants.

What it is for, which date it is at, how the value is worked out and from which sales, whether the valuer is independent and the fee is fixed whatever the value, whether it is desktop or inspected, and who signs it. See what to ask before ordering.