Which Date Does a CGT Property Valuation Use?

Capital gains tax uses market value only in some situations, and each one comes with its own date. The valuation has to be at that date, not the day you happen to order it. This guide lists the dates the law sets for property, what each value is used for, and how a valuer deals with a date in the past.

Most capital gains are worked out from what you paid and what you sold for, with no valuation involved. Market value usually comes in only where the law replaces a price, or where there was no price at all.

Which date applies to your situation?

Section numbers refer to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 unless another law is named. Conditions and exceptions apply to each case. Your accountant decides which rule applies to you and at which date, and we value at the date your accountant gives you.

The day a home was first used to produce income

If you first rented out your home, or used it for a business, 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 (section 118-192). That value, rather than the price you paid, becomes the starting point when your accountant works out the gain.

It can apply when only part of a home earns income, such as a rented room or a business area: see renting part of your home. The ATO’s guidance is to get a market valuation of your home at the time, and it says you can arrange one later if necessary.

If you keep treating a former home as your main residence under the six-year rule and the sale ends up fully exempt, the ATO says this rule does not apply. If the home is rented for longer than six years, the value is still taken at the day it was first used to produce income, not at the end of the six years. See the six-year rule and home becomes a rental.

The date of death

For inherited property, section 128-15 sets the beneficiary’s cost base. If 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 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.

A date of death value can still matter for an inherited home, for example when a sale is not fully covered by the two-year rule. For an inherited home that was the deceased’s main residence, the ATO suggests keeping a record of its market value at the date of death until you are sure of the circumstances. See inherited property.

The time of a gift or a transfer not at arm’s length

If you give property away, you are generally treated as receiving its market value (section 116-30). The same goes for a sale or transfer to someone you are not dealing with at arm’s length, such as a family member or a related company or trust, where the price is more or less than market value. The market value is worked out at the time of the CGT event.

For a sale under a contract, that is generally when the contract is made. If there is no contract, it is when the change of ownership happens (section 104-10). For the person receiving the property, the same market value generally becomes the starting point of their cost base (section 112-20).

See family transfers and company or trust transfers. Stamp duty on these transfers is assessed separately by each state or territory revenue office, so we quote them first.

Just before 1 July 2027

From 1 July 2027 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.

To separate the two parts of a gain, 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. You keep the property. The value at that moment becomes the dividing line when the property is eventually sold.

Property acquired before 20 September 1985 and still held on 30 June 2027 is also 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 from then on. See property bought before 1985.

The law also allows for a government-set apportioning method as an alternative to market value, but it has not been finalised yet. A valuation at 30 June 2027 relies on sales evidence up to that date, so it is prepared after it. The ATO has said clients should not get one before then, because a valuation cannot be forward-looking.

On 14 October 2026 the government introduced a further Bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 3) Bill 2026, which would adjust some of these rules. It is not law, and this guide describes the law as it stands. Your accountant decides how the rules apply to you. See the 30 June 2027 change explained, and register free.

The 30 June a self-managed super fund reports at

A self-managed super fund must value its assets at market value when it prepares its accounts and statements for each year (regulation 8.02B of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994). The ATO’s guide to valuing SMSF assets says the market value of assets supporting members’ accounts on 30 June each financial year is important, because members’ total super balances are worked out from it.

When a fund acquires an asset from a related party in one of the limited cases super law allows, the ATO says it must be acquired at market value, so the value at the date of acquisition can matter too. See SMSF property.

Past dates are normal

Most of these dates are in the past by the time anyone orders a valuation. A retrospective valuation values the property as it was on the date, using sales from around then. The ATO’s guide says the market is judged as it stood on the valuation date, not with the benefit of hindsight. Later renovations are left out, and so is a rezoning or price boom that nobody could have known about on the day.

The one date a valuation cannot be at is a future one. The ATO’s guide says market value for tax is at the date the law specifies, and a valuation for a future date will not be considered reasonable or acceptable.

Contract date or settlement date?

For a sale under a contract, the CGT event happens when you enter into the contract, not at settlement. If there is no contract, it happens when the change of ownership occurs (section 104-10). The ATO gives the example of a contract made in June and settled in October: the gain is made in the income year of the contract.

That matters for a sale to family, or to a related company or trust, because market value under section 116-30 is worked out at the time of the event. Some rules look at settlement instead, such as the two-year rule for inherited homes. If there is a contract and a later settlement, tell us both dates, and your accountant confirms which one to use. See contract or settlement date.

How do you find your date?

1. Work out what happened: a home first rented out, an inheritance, a gift or transfer, property held across 30 June 2027, or property in a self-managed super fund.
2. Ask your accountant which rule applies and which date to use. We value property and do not decide the date.
3. Gather records of the property as it was on that date: see what the valuer needs.
4. Request a valuation with the address, the date and the reason, or find your date first.

A Desktop CGT Valuation is $149 and an Inspected CGT Valuation is $495, both including GST, at a current or past date. Transfers to family or to a company or trust are quoted. See pricing, and the glossary for terms such as cost base.