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CGT Cost Base

Education and guides

Understand your CGT cost base reset on 1 July 2027.

Plain-English mechanics and a real worked example of the 1 July 2027 cost-base reset — so you can prepare records and ask your accountant the right questions.

See the worked example
Property records, calculator and chart for CGT cost base education

From 1 July 2027 your property’s cost base resets to its market value on that date. An understated or poorly evidenced cost base is hard to correct later — see how the reset works, and how accurate, dated evidence protects you.

On-site from $690

Full inspection, the level to use where the ATO may test a cost base. Desktop from $299.

Valuer-signed

Every report names the independent valuer who signed it, with the evidence behind the figure.

Dated 1 July 2027

Market value as at the end of 30 June 2027, recorded when it exists rather than reconstructed later.

See the worked example

The mechanics
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Gains up to 1 July 2027 keep the old 50% discount; gains after are taxed under indexation + a 30% minimum, measured from your 1 July 2027 value. An accurate, well-evidenced value protects you from an understated cost base — and which evidence method you use can change your tax materially. General information, not tax advice — confirm with your accountant.

Valuation vs the Treasurer’s apportioning method
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Two evidence paths can set your 1 July 2027 value:

Treasurer's apportioning method

Free and generic: apportions your gain over the holding period rather than measuring your property's actual 1 July 2027 value. Simple where growth was even — but it may result in more tax where your property outperformed, and a reconstructed figure is easier to contest later.

Dated, independent valuation

Property-specific and contemporaneous: an independent, valuer-signed market value as at the end of 30 June 2027, prepared to be ATO-acceptable. Usually cheaper and easier to defend than reconstructing a value years later.

Ask your accountant which method applies to your circumstances.

What counts in your cost base
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The reset changes the base date, not what belongs in a cost base. Keep records for:

  • acquisition costs (price, stamp duty, legal fees);
  • capital improvements (renovations, extensions — with dates and invoices);
  • holding and ownership costs your accountant treats as third/fourth element costs;
  • rental- and use-history (when the property earned income and when it didn’t).

Organised records make either evidence path stronger.

Worked example
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See the reset in your own numbers. Enter what you paid and the estimated market value on 1 July 2027 — add an expected sale price to see the pre- vs post-2027 taxable-gain split.

Illustrative general information, not tax advice. Excludes buying/selling costs, the CGT discount calculation, indexation, exemptions and your marginal rate; SMSFs and companies are excluded from the reform for property acquired on or after 20 September 1985 (pre-CGT property is deemed sold whoever holds it). Confirm with your accountant.

Pricing
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  • On-site, full inspection, the one to use where the figure will be tested, including by the ATO: from $690
  • Desktop, no inspection, for monitoring or updating an earlier figure, not a CGT cost base: $299 unit / $349 house
  • Complex properties, desktop: from $399

Every report names the valuer who signed it. A 1 July 2027 valuation done later is retrospective (quoted separately).

Ready to secure dated, defensibility-first evidence? Reserve at CGT Valuation Ready.

Accountants reviewing a client book? Wholesale volume pricing and batch submission are available — register at the Valuation Ready partner portal.

Register interest
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We use your details to prepare your quote, and to arrange and deliver your valuation. If you engage us, we also create and keep a long-term record of the property's documents and condition as at 30 June 2027, so that you, your accountant, or a valuer you appoint can use it when the property is eventually sold. We keep property information after your personal details are removed, to improve our valuation reference data. We do not sell your personal information. Your details are handled by our email provider, Brevo, which stores data in the EU. See our Privacy Policy.

We use your details to prepare your valuation and to contact you about it. If you engage us, we also create and keep a long-term record of the property's documents and condition as at 30 June 2027, so that you, your accountant, or a valuer you appoint can use it when the property is eventually sold; and we keep property information after your personal details are removed, to improve our valuation reference data. See our privacy policy; you can ask us to delete your details at any time.

Common questions
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What is the cost-base reset?
Assets held on 30 June 2027 are treated as sold just before 1 July 2027 at their market value at the end of 30 June 2027, and reacquired on 1 July 2027 for that amount — that value becomes the new cost base for gains after that date. Gains up to then keep the old rules.
How does the estimator help?
Enter your original cost and estimated 1 July 2027 value to see how the reset lifts your cost base and how the pre- and post-2027 gain splits. Illustrative only, not tax advice.
Are SMSFs affected?
For property acquired on or after 20 September 1985, under the enacted reform (Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No.1) Act 2026) SMSFs sit outside the 1 July 2027 changes — but they have a separate annual valuation obligation (SIS Reg 8.02B): see SMSF Property Valuation Ready.
Do I need a valuation for the 1 July 2027 reset?
If a property may face CGT, a dated independent valuation is the cleanest evidence of the new cost base. Ask your accountant about your situation.
What does it cost?
On-site (full inspection) from $690 — the level to use for a 1 July 2027 cost base, where the ATO may test the figure. Fixed desktop price (no inspection): $299 (unit) / $349 (house); complex properties from $399 — suits monitoring or updating an earlier figure, not a CGT figure. A 1 July 2027 valuation done later is retrospective (quoted separately).
What about property bought before 1985 (pre-CGT)?
Under the 2026 reform, now law (Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026), the blanket exemption for assets acquired before 20 September 1985 ends for gains after 1 July 2027 — those properties receive a deemed cost base equal to market value at the end of 30 June 2027, which makes dated valuation evidence especially important. Confirm treatment with your tax professional.
How do I calculate the cost base of my property?
Start from what you paid, add eligible purchase costs, capital improvements and selling costs, and keep the records to prove each element - see what counts in your cost base. Where the 1 July 2027 reset applies, the market value on that date becomes the new starting point - compare the valuation vs the apportioning method.

General information only — not tax, financial or legal advice. Any indicative appraisal is automated and is not a certified or ATO-suitable valuation; the signed valuation is provided separately.