Reference material for accountants, trustees, executors and property owners working through a CGT position. Written by valuers, with the statutory references included so you can check them.

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CGT fundamentals

CGT fundamentals: events, dates and cost base.

Capital gains tax on property comes down to three questions: what event happened, on what date, and what was the asset’s cost base. Get those three right and the calculation follows. Get the date wrong and nothing downstream can be salvaged.

9 min read CGT events and valuation dates A reference table matching each common CGT event to the effective date a valuer must work to. 8 min read The five elements of a cost base What can and cannot be added to a cost base, and where a valuation fits into the calculation. 8 min read Transferring property to family Why the price you agree with a relative is not the figure the ATO uses.

Evidence & standards

Valuation evidence and standards for tax purposes.

The ATO does not test a valuation’s arithmetic. It tests whether the figure is supported — whether a qualified person inspected the property, researched genuine settled evidence, applied a recognised method and wrote down enough reasoning for a reviewer to follow it.

7 min read Appraisal vs registered valuation Why an agent appraisal is not substantiation, and what the difference costs when the ATO reviews a return. 8 min read What the ATO looks for The eight components of a report that withstands review, and the four reasons reports get questioned.

Exemptions & apportionment

CGT exemptions and apportionment on property.

Most of the money in a CGT position is decided by exemptions, not by the headline valuation. The main residence exemption, the six-year absence rule, pre-CGT status and the deceased estate rules each reduce or eliminate a gain — and each has a valuation requirement attached when it applies only partly.

9 min read Pre-CGT property and 1985 When a pre-CGT asset stays exempt, when it stops, and why 1985 valuations still get commissioned today. 9 min read The six-year absence rule How the absence rule works, how the six years reset, and the valuation needed when it runs out. 10 min read CGT on inherited property The two-year rule, the beneficiary’s cost base, and when a date-of-death valuation is required. 9 min read Renting out your former home Section 118-192 resets your cost base to market value on the day you first rent — and it is not optional.

Compliance calendars

SMSF and compliance valuations.

Some valuations are driven by a transaction. Others are driven by a date in the calendar, whether or not anything happened to the property. SMSF reporting is the main one, and from 1 July 2026 Division 296 adds a second.

8 min read SMSF 30 June checklist What trustees and auditors need for property at 30 June, and the eight events that trigger a valuation. 8 min read Division 296 valuations The transitional cost base reset is measured at 30 June 2026 — a date that has already passed.

Reference

The CGT valuation glossary.

32 terms that appear in a valuation report, a CGT calculation or an ATO query — defined plainly, with the statutory reference where one applies.

Open the glossary

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