Deceased Estate Property Valuations | CGT Valuations
When property passes through an estate, the ATO needs its market value on the date of death. That figure resets the cost base for the beneficiary, supports the probate application, and underpins any later sale by the executor. It is a retrospective valuation with a fixed, non-negotiable effective date — and it has to be defensible years after the fact.

Why the date of death matters

Division 128 of the ITAA 1997 governs what happens to a CGT asset when someone dies. For a property acquired by the deceased on or after 20 September 1985, the beneficiary inherits the deceased's cost base. For a pre-CGT property, the beneficiary is taken to have acquired it at market value on the date of death. In both cases an independent valuation at the date of death is what makes the position provable — and it is the figure the Supreme Court expects in a probate application.

"Where a market valuation is required for taxation purposes, the Commissioner expects the valuation to be undertaken by a person with the relevant qualifications, experience and knowledge."

When executors engage us

Estate work reaches us at several stages, and the sooner the better — evidence is easier to assemble while the property is still in the estate.

Valuing as at the date of death

We treat the date of death as the effective date and build the report around contemporaneous evidence. Where the property has since been cleared, renovated or sold, we reconstruct its condition at that date from records.

Reports built for executors

We can address the report to the executor, the estate solicitor or the accountant, and send it to all parties at once. It is formatted so it can be attached to a probate application without further work.

How it works — five steps

Email the property address, the relevant date, and a short note on the purpose. We return a fixed quote within 2 business hours. A Certified Practising Valuer (CPV) attends the property for an internal and external inspection. Kerbside inspections are coordinated directly with the occupier. We research settled sales using RP Data, Pricefinder, APM and council records, applying the direct comparison and, where relevant, capitalisation approaches. The report is drafted to API Professional Practice Standards and the ATO Market Valuation Practice Instruction (MVPI), with full comparable schedules and signed certification. The signed PDF is delivered to you and, if requested, directly to your accountant, solicitor or auditor within 5 business days of inspection.

FAQs

Deceased estate valuation questions, answered.

The questions clients, accountants and solicitors ask us most often.

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Establish market value at any historical date — pre-CGT, deceased estate, or change-of-purpose dates from 1985 onwards. Today's market value for transfers between related parties, SMSF in-specie contributions and family law settlements. Apportionment valuations for properties partially used to produce income or moved in/out of main residence status.
Fixed fees, reports addressed to the executor, solicitor and accountant.