[{"content":"cgtcostbase.com.au explains one thing well: how an Australian property\u0026rsquo;s CGT cost base is worked out, and what the 1 July 2027 cost base reset does to it. The mechanics, the five cost base elements, the records to keep and worked examples are all here, written for owners and their accountants rather than for other tax professionals.\nWho runs it # This site is operated by Valuation Ready (ABN 65 397 914 685), an Australian property-valuation service that also operates valuationready.com.au and the sister sites named in the footer of every page. One operator, several doors: each site is written for one audience and one question, and all of them lead to the same service.\nHow a valuation is produced # Valuation Ready is building a national panel of independent qualified valuers so that a signed valuation can be arranged for a property in any state or territory through a valuer licensed there. Each report is prepared and signed by the valuer, who is responsible for the opinion of value. The valuer\u0026rsquo;s fee is for preparing the report and is not tied to the figure reached, so there is no incentive to arrive at a higher or lower number.\nIndependence and standards # A signed valuation gives you a documented market-value figure with an evidence trail: the comparable sales, the method, and the valuer\u0026rsquo;s signature and date. Reports are prepared to an ATO-acceptable standard for market-value evidence. There is no such thing as an \u0026ldquo;ATO-approved\u0026rdquo; valuation, and you will not read that phrase here.\nWhat we do not do # This site provides general information and service intake. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Ask a registered tax professional or licensed adviser how a valuation applies to your circumstances. A valuation dated 1 July 2027 is one way to evidence your reset cost base; the Treasurer\u0026rsquo;s apportioning formula is the other, and the mechanics section explains both without pretending one is compulsory.\nTalk to us # Questions about the content or the service go through the contact page.\n","date":"5 September 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/about/","section":"CGT Cost Base Reset 1 July 2027 - How It Works","summary":"cgtcostbase.com.au explains one thing well: how an Australian property’s CGT cost base is worked out, and what the 1 July 2027 cost base reset does to it. The mechanics, the five cost base elements, the records to keep and worked examples are all here, written for owners and their accountants rather than for other tax professionals.\nWho runs it # This site is operated by Valuation Ready (ABN 65 397 914 685), an Australian property-valuation service that also operates valuationready.com.au and the sister sites named in the footer of every page. One operator, several doors: each site is written for one audience and one question, and all of them lead to the same service.\n","title":"About CGT Cost Base","type":"page"},{"content":"Use one form and we will route it to the right person. You only need to tell us once.\nI am contacting about Select one Individual property owner valuation CGT, tax, land tax or SMSF valuation question Real estate agency partner enquiry Tax agent / accountancy partner enquiry Partner portal or bulk upload access Property valuer job opportunity Privacy or general support Name Email Phone Business / organisation Property address or coverage area Preferred next step Email me Call me Send partner pricing details Send bulk upload instructions Send job opportunity details Message I agree to be contacted about this enquiry. I understand Valuation Ready provides service intake and general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Send enquiry Where your enquiry goes Property owners and investors: valuation pathway and pricing. Accountants and tax agents: partner workflow and client-book requests. Content questions and corrections: the editorial queue for this site. Privacy and support: data requests and general follow-up. Prefer to email or call? Write to enquiries@valuationready.com.au or call 0411 547 901. We reply by email.\nWho you are contacting # This site is operated by Valuation Ready (ABN 65 397 914 685), an Australian property-valuation service that also operates valuationready.com.au and the sister sites named in the footer of every page. One operator, several doors: each site is written for one audience and one question, and all of them lead to the same service.\nImportant # This site provides general information and service intake. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Ask a registered tax professional or licensed adviser how a valuation applies to your circumstances.\n","date":"5 September 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/contact/","section":"CGT Cost Base Reset 1 July 2027 - How It Works","summary":"Use one form and we will route it to the right person. You only need to tell us once.\nI am contacting about Select one Individual property owner valuation CGT, tax, land tax or SMSF valuation question Real estate agency partner enquiry Tax agent / accountancy partner enquiry Partner portal or bulk upload access Property valuer job opportunity Privacy or general support Name Email Phone Business / organisation Property address or coverage area Preferred next step Email me Call me Send partner pricing details Send bulk upload instructions Send job opportunity details Message I agree to be contacted about this enquiry. I understand Valuation Ready provides service intake and general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Send enquiry Where your enquiry goes Property owners and investors: valuation pathway and pricing. Accountants and tax agents: partner workflow and client-book requests. Content questions and corrections: the editorial queue for this site. Privacy and support: data requests and general follow-up. Prefer to email or call? Write to enquiries@valuationready.com.au or call 0411 547 901. We reply by email.\n","title":"Contact CGT Cost Base","type":"page"},{"content":" How to take and send property photos Good photos help your valuer see the property's condition and features — and for CGT or SMSF valuations they become part of the evidence file. Follow these rules and our system does the rest automatically.\nThe golden rules Send the original photo file — not a WhatsApp or Messenger forward (messaging apps strip the hidden capture data), not a screenshot, and not a photo of a photo. Email attachments, file uploads and AirDrop keep the data intact. Turn location on for your camera before shooting (Settings \u0026rarr; Privacy \u0026rarr; Location \u0026rarr; Camera \u0026rarr; While Using). It stamps where the photo was taken. Any modern phone is fine — iPhone or Android. There is no required brand; what matters is the two rules above. Don't edit the photos — cropping and filter apps overwrite the capture data. Send them as taken. You confirm, you never type — we read the capture details from the file rather than asking you for them, and tell you what we found. If the data is missing you can supply it, and the photo is honestly recorded as \"declared\" rather than \"verified-consistent\". For property owners Shoot the street front, each main room, kitchen and bathrooms, outdoor areas, and anything that affects value — renovations, damage, views. Old photos are welcome for retrospective valuations: original files from your camera roll keep their original dates, which the system reads automatically. Send photos as email attachments to the address we reply from — never through messaging apps, which strip the capture data. What our system checks automatically Reads the photo's embedded capture time and GPS position (when present) — you confirm, never type. Cross-checks the camera clock against satellite time recorded in the same photo. Checks the GPS position is within the property's vicinity. Notes signs of editing software. Freezes every accepted photo with a digital fingerprint at receipt, so any later copy can be checked against it. Photo data supports the valuation evidence file; the valuation itself always rests on the valuer's professional assessment.\n","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/photo-guidelines/","section":"CGT Cost Base Reset 1 July 2027 - How It Works","summary":" How to take and send property photos Good photos help your valuer see the property's condition and features — and for CGT or SMSF valuations they become part of the evidence file. Follow these rules and our system does the rest automatically.\nThe golden rules Send the original photo file — not a WhatsApp or Messenger forward (messaging apps strip the hidden capture data), not a screenshot, and not a photo of a photo. Email attachments, file uploads and AirDrop keep the data intact. Turn location on for your camera before shooting (Settings → Privacy → Location → Camera → While Using). It stamps where the photo was taken. Any modern phone is fine — iPhone or Android. There is no required brand; what matters is the two rules above. Don't edit the photos — cropping and filter apps overwrite the capture data. Send them as taken. You confirm, you never type — we read the capture details from the file rather than asking you for them, and tell you what we found. If the data is missing you can supply it, and the photo is honestly recorded as \"declared\" rather than \"verified-consistent\". For property owners Shoot the street front, each main room, kitchen and bathrooms, outdoor areas, and anything that affects value — renovations, damage, views. Old photos are welcome for retrospective valuations: original files from your camera roll keep their original dates, which the system reads automatically. Send photos as email attachments to the address we reply from — never through messaging apps, which strip the capture data. What our system checks automatically Reads the photo's embedded capture time and GPS position (when present) — you confirm, never type. Cross-checks the camera clock against satellite time recorded in the same photo. Checks the GPS position is within the property's vicinity. Notes signs of editing software. Freezes every accepted photo with a digital fingerprint at receipt, so any later copy can be checked against it. Photo data supports the valuation evidence file; the valuation itself always rests on the valuer's professional assessment.\n","title":"Property photo guidelines","type":"page"},{"content":"The 1 July 2027 reset gives every property held on 30 June 2027 a new starting point — its market value at the end of 30 June 2027, just before 1 July. Two methods can set that value: a dated, independent valuation, or the Treasurer\u0026rsquo;s free apportioning method. These three worked examples show, in round dollars, when each method wins. All figures are illustrative — not quotes, not predictions, not advice.\nSee where a valuation pays off\nHow the two methods split the gain # Both methods divide your total gain into a pre-2027 slice (still under the old 50% discount rules) and a post-2027 slice (under the new CPI indexation plus a 30% minimum tax rate on that gain):\nDated valuation — uses the actual market value at the end of 30 June 2027. Pre-2027 gain = that value − your original cost base. Post-2027 gain = sale price − that value. The Treasurer\u0026rsquo;s apportioning method — compounds one constant growth rate across the time you owned the property; the portion of the holding period falling after 1 July 2027 is the post-2027 slice. (We use simple time-apportionment to illustrate; the Treasurer\u0026rsquo;s method compounds instead, and is still an exposure draft — confirm the final instrument with your accountant.) For individuals, gain in the pre-2027 slice generally keeps the 50% discount, so a higher, well-evidenced 1 July 2027 value tends to place more gain there and less in the new regime — but only where the growth genuinely happened before the date. Where it did not, the formula can be the better call (see when the formula wins).\nIllustrative tax assumptions. For the tax lines below: an individual on a 47% marginal rate; the 50% discount applies to the pre-2027 slice (so ≈ 23.5% of that gain in tax); the post-2027 slice is taxed at the 47% marginal rate (above the 30% floor), ignoring CPI indexation, which would reduce the post-2027 figure. Real outcomes depend on your rate, indexation, eligibility and circumstances. Illustrative only, not tax advice.\nThese three examples are being revised. They apportion the gain evenly across the ownership period. Treasury\u0026rsquo;s exposure draft instead compounds one constant daily growth rate, which credits less value to 30 June 2027 than an even split — so each example understates the gap between the two routes, and the case for a dated valuation is stronger than shown here, not weaker. The figures below are left in place until they are recomputed rather than quietly removed. Recorded 30 August 2026.\nExample A — steady-growth apartment # An apartment bought for $600,000 in July 2017 and sold for $1,000,000 in July 2037 (a 20-year hold), with even growth throughout. Its actual value at the halfway point, 1 July 2027, is about $800,000.\nMethod 1 July 2027 value Pre-2027 gain Post-2027 gain Illustrative tax Dated valuation $800,000 $200,000 $200,000 ≈ $141,000 Apportioning method $800,000 $200,000 $200,000 ≈ $141,000 Verdict: with even growth, time-apportionment lands almost exactly on the real value. The free formula gives essentially the same answer, so here it is the simpler, cheaper choice — a valuation adds little. Honest is honest.\nExample B — a suburb that boomed before 2027 # Same $600,000 purchase in July 2017, but the suburb boomed early: by 1 July 2027 the property is worth about $1,050,000, then growth flattens and it sells for $1,150,000 in July 2037.\nMethod 1 July 2027 value Pre-2027 gain Post-2027 gain Illustrative tax Dated valuation $1,050,000 $450,000 $100,000 ≈ $153,000 Apportioning method $875,000* $275,000 $275,000 ≈ $194,000 *The formula never states a value — it apportions the $550,000 total gain 50/50 over the 20-year hold. The $875,000 is what that implies.\nVerdict: the boom happened before the reset, but the time-based formula can\u0026rsquo;t see that — it averages the gain across 20 years and pushes $275,000 into the new post-2027 regime, versus just $100,000 under the dated valuation. That\u0026rsquo;s $175,000 more gain taxed under the less generous rules, and on these assumptions about $41,000 more tax. This is the case a dated valuation is built for.\nExample C — a renovated property # Bought for $700,000 in July 2015, with a $200,000 renovation in 2026 (an element 4 capital improvement), giving a cost base of $900,000. The renovation lifts the 1 July 2027 value to about $1,350,000; it sells for $1,450,000 in July 2035 (a 20-year hold; 8 of those years fall after the reset, so the formula\u0026rsquo;s post-2027 share is 40%).\nMethod 1 July 2027 value Pre-2027 gain Post-2027 gain Illustrative tax Dated valuation $1,350,000 $450,000 $100,000 ≈ $153,000 Apportioning method — $330,000 $220,000 ≈ $181,000 Verdict: the renovation created a step-up in value before 2027, but the formula spreads the whole gain evenly over time and can\u0026rsquo;t recognise it. A dated valuation captures the improved property as at the reset date, keeping more gain in the pre-2027 slice — about $28,000 less tax on these assumptions. The lesson pairs up: keep the renovation invoices and a dated 1 July 2027 value that reflects the finished work.\nWhen the free formula wins # A dated valuation is not always the answer. If your property\u0026rsquo;s growth came mostly after 1 July 2027, its actual value on that date is low — a valuation would then set a low starting point and expose a larger slice to the new regime, while the formula\u0026rsquo;s even apportionment assigns less. Where growth was flat or even, the formula lands close (Example A) and saves you the cost. The point is not that one method always beats the other — it is that the choice is elective, and worth checking against your property\u0026rsquo;s real history with your accountant.\nTry your own numbers # What you paid (original cost base) Estimated market value at the end of 30 June 2027 Expected future sale price (optional) 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.\nWhere to go next # New to the mechanics? Start with how to calculate your CGT cost base. Make sure your evidence stacks up — the records checklist. The homepage explains the reset in full and compares valuation vs the formula. Want a dated value as at the end of 30 June 2027? On-site (full inspection) from $690 — the level to use where the ATO may test the figure. A desktop is cheaper ($299 unit / $349 house, complex properties from $399) but is not inspected, so it suits monitoring rather than a CGT cost base (a valuation done later is retrospective, quoted separately). Reserve at CGT Valuation Ready, an independent valuation service. Accountants can access wholesale pricing and batch submission at the Valuation Ready partner portal. Register interest # Your request could not be saved. Please try again. Thanks \u0026mdash; we\u0026rsquo;ve received your request. We\u0026rsquo;ll email you shortly with the next steps and a personalised quote. If it doesn\u0026rsquo;t arrive within a business day, please check your spam folder. First name Last name Email address Email will be the main communication channel Phone Property address Australian address \u0026mdash; the property being valued. Who is the valuation for? Individual Trust / partnership SMSF Company Which kind of valuation do you need? Desktop \u0026mdash; no inspection On-site \u0026mdash; a valuer inspects the property Specialist \u0026mdash; complex or unusual property Not sure \u0026mdash; please recommend one If you\u0026rsquo;re unsure, pick the last option \u0026mdash; we\u0026rsquo;ll recommend one in your quote. No payment is taken \u0026mdash; we reply with a fixed quote for your property. By submitting you agree to be contacted about your request.\nWe 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.\nRequest my valuation 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.\nCommon questions # Can you show a 1 July 2027 cost base reset example? Yes — see three above. In short, a $600,000 property worth $1,050,000 on 1 July 2027 gets a $450,000 pre-2027 gain (old 50% discount) and only a small post-2027 gain, whereas the free time-formula would split the gain evenly and tax more of it under the new rules. Figures illustrative. Is the Treasurer\u0026#39;s free apportioning method always worse than a valuation? No. Where growth was even, the formula lands close and is the cheaper choice (Example A); where growth came after 2027 it can beat a valuation. A dated valuation mainly helps when your growth was concentrated before 1 July 2027. See when the formula wins. How does the apportioning method work? It derives one constant daily growth rate from your purchase price and your eventual sale price, then applies it forward to 30 June 2027 — a compounding curve, not a straight line. Because that curve is convex it credits less value to 30 June 2027 than an even split would; the portion of that period after 1 July 2027 is taxed under the new rules. We illustrate with simple time-apportionment; the Treasurer's method compounds instead, and is still an exposure draft — confirm the final instrument with your accountant. Why can a dated value beat the free formula? Because the formula assumes even growth. If your property boomed or was renovated before 2027, its real 1 July 2027 value is higher than an even split implies, so a dated valuation keeps more gain under the old 50% discount rules. See Example B. Do the examples include the CGT discount and my tax rate? The tax lines are illustrative, using a 47% marginal rate and the 50% discount on the pre-2027 slice, and they ignore CPI indexation (which would lower the post-2027 figure). Your actual result depends on your circumstances — confirm with your accountant. Are SMSFs or companies covered by these examples? Not for property acquired on or after 20 September 1985 — pre-CGT property is deemed sold whoever holds it (s 112-175). Otherwise SMSFs and companies keep their existing CGT settings for property acquired on or after 20 September 1985, so these individual-focused examples don't apply to them. Foreign and temporary residents are a different case and are **not** outside the reform: they are excluded from the 1 July 2027 deemed sale (s 112-155(1)(d)), so they get no cost-base reset, and they are denied the replacement indexation (s 114-25). That is a worse position, not an exemption. Check your own structure with your adviser. General information only — not tax, financial or legal advice. All dollar figures are illustrative and rounded. Any indicative appraisal is automated and is not a certified or ATO-suitable valuation; the signed valuation is provided separately.\n","date":"11 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/cgt-cost-base-worked-examples/","section":"CGT Cost Base Reset 1 July 2027 - How It Works","summary":"The 1 July 2027 reset gives every property held on 30 June 2027 a new starting point — its market value at the end of 30 June 2027, just before 1 July. Two methods can set that value: a dated, independent valuation, or the Treasurer’s free apportioning method. These three worked examples show, in round dollars, when each method wins. All figures are illustrative — not quotes, not predictions, not advice.\n","title":"1 July 2027 CGT Cost Base Reset: Worked Examples","type":"page"},{"content":"A cost base is only as good as the records behind it. Each of the five cost-base elements needs its own paper trail — and when you eventually sell, the ATO looks for evidence, not estimates. This is the practical checklist of what to keep, why, and for how long, plus what a contemporaneous record looks like next to a reconstructed one. General information only, not tax advice — confirm with your accountant.\nRecords readiness — tick what you have # Contract of sale and settlement statement from when you bought Stamp/transfer duty assessment or receipt Conveyancing and legal invoices for the purchase Buyer's or selling agent's commission invoice Dated invoices for every renovation, extension or capital improvement Records of rates, interest and insurance for any period the property earned no income Legal invoices for any dispute over the boundary, title or ownership A market-value record for 1 July 2027 (valuation or the basis for the apportioning method) Tick every record you can already put your hands on.\nWhat to keep, element by element # Cost-base element Keep these records Why 1 — Acquisition Contract of sale, settlement statement, proof of what you paid (and the market value of anything non-cash you gave) Fixes your starting figure — the single largest number in most cost bases 2 — Incidental Stamp/transfer duty notice, conveyancer and legal invoices, agent\u0026rsquo;s commission, valuer/surveyor fees, advertising and search costs Each is a separately claimable cost — but only if you can produce the invoice 3 — Ownership Rates and land-tax notices, loan interest statements, insurance premiums, maintenance invoices — flagged for the periods they were not tax-deducted Only the un-deducted portion counts; you need to show which periods those were 4 — Capital improvements Builder and trade invoices, council approvals, before/after dates, and photos Proves the work was capital (not a deducted repair) and that it is still reflected in the property 5 — Title preservation Legal invoices and correspondence for defending or establishing title Links the spend to protecting your ownership, not to earning income Organised records make either evidence path stronger — the dated valuation and the Treasurer\u0026rsquo;s free apportioning method both rely on you being able to substantiate the elements.\nHow long to keep them # The rule of thumb is to keep records that relate to a CGT event for five years after the event — that is, five years after you sell. Because a property sale can be decades after you buy, in practice that means keeping your purchase and improvement records for the whole time you own the property, plus five years afterwards. If you make a capital loss and carry it forward, keep the records until five years after the year you finally use the loss. When in doubt, keep it — storage is cheap; a disallowed cost is not.\nContemporaneous vs reconstructed records # To the ATO, when a record was created matters as much as what it says.\nContemporaneous — created at the time A dated invoice, a settlement statement, a bank record, a valuation signed as at the relevant date. It was made when the event happened, so it is hard to dispute and easy to rely on. This is the strongest evidence.\nReconstructed — built later from memory An estimate you assemble years afterwards — \"the reno was about $80k\", a figure worked back from a later sale, a value guessed for a past date. It may be accepted, but it carries less weight and is easier to challenge.\nThis is the honest case for acting around the date rather than long after it: a value captured close to 1 July 2027, while the market evidence is fresh, is easier to gather and more defensible than a figure reconstructed years later when you finally sell. It is not about rushing — it is about the quality of the evidence.\nThe 1 July 2027 record you can\u0026rsquo;t recreate # The reset makes the market value at the end of 30 June 2027 the new starting point for future gains, so it becomes one of your most important cost-base records. Setting that value is elective: the ATO will offer a free apportionment formula as the alternative, so a valuation is never compulsory — it is a choice with evidence trade-offs. A dated, independent valuation prepared to be ATO-acceptable is simply a contemporaneous record of the one figure you cannot easily reconstruct later. The worked examples show, in dollars, when that extra evidence changes the tax result — and when the free formula is close enough.\nTurn your records into evidence # Not sure what each element covers? Start with how to calculate your CGT cost base. See the reset in three scenarios — the worked examples. Want a dated value as at the end of 30 June 2027? For a signed valuation prepared to be ATO-acceptable, choose on-site (full inspection) from $690 (a valuation done later is retrospective, quoted separately). A fixed-price desktop is $299 (unit) / $349 (house), complex properties from $399, but with no inspection it gives an indicative value only — for monitoring or updating an earlier figure, not a CGT cost base. Reserve at CGT Valuation Ready, an independent valuation service. Accountants organising records across a client book can use wholesale volume pricing and batch submission at the Valuation Ready partner portal. Register interest # Your request could not be saved. Please try again. Thanks \u0026mdash; we\u0026rsquo;ve received your request. We\u0026rsquo;ll email you shortly with the next steps and a personalised quote. If it doesn\u0026rsquo;t arrive within a business day, please check your spam folder. First name Last name Email address Email will be the main communication channel Phone Property address Australian address \u0026mdash; the property being valued. Who is the valuation for? Individual Trust / partnership SMSF Company Which kind of valuation do you need? Desktop \u0026mdash; no inspection On-site \u0026mdash; a valuer inspects the property Specialist \u0026mdash; complex or unusual property Not sure \u0026mdash; please recommend one If you\u0026rsquo;re unsure, pick the last option \u0026mdash; we\u0026rsquo;ll recommend one in your quote. No payment is taken \u0026mdash; we reply with a fixed quote for your property. By submitting you agree to be contacted about your request.\nWe 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.\nRequest my valuation 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.\nCommon questions # What records do I need for CGT on a property? Keep the contract and settlement statement, stamp duty notice, legal and agent invoices, dated invoices for every improvement, records of un-deducted holding costs, and a market value for 1 July 2027. See what to keep, element by element. How long do I have to keep CGT records? Generally five years after the CGT event — that is, five years after you sell. Because a sale can be decades after purchase, in practice you keep purchase and improvement records for the whole ownership period plus five years. See how long to keep them. What is a contemporaneous record? One created at the time of the event — a dated invoice, settlement statement or a valuation signed as at the relevant date. It carries more weight with the ATO than a figure reconstructed later from memory. See contemporaneous vs reconstructed. I\u0026#39;ve lost my purchase invoices — what can I do? You may be able to reconstruct records from your conveyancer, bank, council or agent, or rebuild a value estimate — but reconstructed evidence is weaker and easier to challenge, so recover original documents where you can and confirm the position with your accountant. Do I need to keep records for the 1 July 2027 value? If you want the reset value to rest on strong evidence, yes — a dated valuation is a contemporaneous record of a figure that is hard to recreate later. It is elective: the Treasurer's free apportioning method is the alternative. See the 1 July 2027 record. Can I include rates and interest I already claimed as deductions? No. Element 3 ownership costs count only to the extent you have not claimed them as a tax deduction, so flag your records for the periods the property earned no income and check the treatment with your accountant. 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.\n","date":"11 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/cgt-cost-base-records-checklist/","section":"CGT Cost Base Reset 1 July 2027 - How It Works","summary":"A cost base is only as good as the records behind it. Each of the five cost-base elements needs its own paper trail — and when you eventually sell, the ATO looks for evidence, not estimates. This is the practical checklist of what to keep, why, and for how long, plus what a contemporaneous record looks like next to a reconstructed one. General information only, not tax advice — confirm with your accountant.\n","title":"CGT Cost Base Records: The Checklist to Keep","type":"page"},{"content":"Your cost base is the number you subtract from the sale proceeds to work out a capital gain. Get it right and you pay tax only on real growth; understate it — or fail to evidence it — and you can pay more than you need to. This guide walks through the five elements the law lets you include, builds a cost base step by step, and shows how the 1 July 2027 reset changes the base date, not what belongs in the calculation. General information only, not tax advice — confirm with your accountant.\nJump to the worked calculation\nThe 5 cost-base elements # A cost base is built from five categories of cost. Not every property has all five, and some costs are excluded if you have already claimed them as a tax deduction — so read each element with your own history in mind.\n1 · Acquisition — money and property you gave What you paid to acquire the asset, plus the market value of any non-cash consideration you gave for it. For most homes and investment properties this is the purchase price.\n2 · Incidental costs The transaction costs of buying and later selling: stamp/transfer duty, conveyancing and legal fees, the buyer's or selling agent's commission, a valuer's or surveyor's fee, advertising, and search and settlement costs.\n3 · Ownership (holding) costs Costs of simply owning the asset — loan interest, council rates, land tax, insurance, and repairs and maintenance. Available generally for assets acquired after 20 August 1991, and only to the extent you have not claimed (and cannot claim) them as a tax deduction.\n4 · Capital improvements Capital expenditure that increases or preserves the asset's value — renovations, extensions, a new deck or driveway — where the improvement is still reflected in the property when you sell.\n5 · Title preservation Capital expenditure to establish, preserve or defend your title to the asset or a right over it — for example, legal costs to resolve a boundary or ownership dispute.\nThe catch that trips people up is element 3. If your property was rented and you deducted the rates, interest and insurance each year in your tax return, those amounts cannot also sit in the cost base — that would be double-dipping. Element 3 usually matters for periods a property earned no income (for example, vacant land, or a home before it was ever let). Ask your accountant which of your holding costs qualify.\nBuild a cost base, step by step # Here is an illustrative property, put together one element at a time. The dollar figures are illustrative round numbers, not a quote or a prediction.\nElement Item (illustrative) Amount 1 — Acquisition Purchase price $600,000 2 — Incidental Stamp duty $22,000 + conveyancing $2,000 + buyer\u0026rsquo;s agent $6,000 $30,000 4 — Capital improvement Kitchen and bathroom renovation (2022) $80,000 3 — Ownership Rates, insurance and interest for a 12-month vacant period, not deducted $9,000 5 — Title preservation Legal costs to defend a boundary claim $3,000 Total cost base $722,000 If this property later sold for $1,000,000, the capital gain before any discount, indexation or the reset would be $1,000,000 − $722,000 = $278,000. Every extra dollar you can evidence in the cost base is a dollar of gain you are not taxed on — which is exactly why records matter (see the records checklist).\nTry it with your own numbers:\nWhat you paid (original cost base) Estimated market value at the end of 30 June 2027 Expected future sale price (optional) 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.\nA note on the reduced cost base # When you make a capital loss rather than a gain, you use a reduced cost base instead. It is worked out the same way but excludes element 3 (ownership costs). You cannot use the cost base to create or increase a loss with holding costs — a common misunderstanding. Your accountant will apply whichever base produces the correct result.\nHow the 1 July 2027 reset fits in # The reform does not rewrite the five elements — it changes the base date.\nUnder the reset, an asset you still hold on 30 June 2027 is treated as reacquired at its market value at the end of 30 June 2027 — just before 1 July. In cost-base terms, that market value becomes your new element 1 — the starting point for gains after that date. Costs you incur after 1 July 2027 (further improvements, selling costs, and so on) keep adding to the base through elements 2 to 5, exactly as before. Growth up to 1 July 2027 stays under the old 50% discount rules; growth after it is measured from the reset value under CPI indexation plus a 30% minimum tax rate on that gain.\nSo there are really two questions to get right:\nWhat is your cost base built from? The five elements above — unchanged. What is your 1 July 2027 value? This is where evidence choices bite. Two ways to set your 1 July 2027 value # Setting a valuation as at the end of 30 June 2027 is elective. You can rely on the Treasurer\u0026rsquo;s free apportionment formula, or you can hold a dated, independent valuation — a choice with genuine evidence trade-offs, not an obligation.\nThe Treasurer\u0026rsquo;s free apportioning method compounds one constant growth rate across the time you held the property. It is simple and costs nothing, and where growth was even it lands close to reality. Where your property outperformed the average, it can place more gain in the post-2027 period than actually occurred. A dated, independent valuation measures your property\u0026rsquo;s actual market value on 1 July 2027 and is prepared to be ATO-acceptable. Capturing that value while the evidence is fresh is usually easier and more defensible than reconstructing it years later. The homepage sets out the mechanics of the reset in full, and the worked examples show, in dollars, when each method wins.\nWhere to go next # Keep the paper trail for every element — the CGT cost base records checklist. See the reset\u0026rsquo;s tax impact in three scenarios — the worked examples. Ready to secure dated, defensibility-first evidence? On-site (full inspection) from $690 — the level to use where the ATO may test your cost base. A desktop is fixed at $299 (unit) / $349 (house), complex properties from $399, but it is not inspected, so it suits monitoring rather than a CGT figure. (A 1 July 2027 valuation done later is retrospective, quoted separately.) Reserve at CGT Valuation Ready, an independent valuation service. Accountants working across a client book can access wholesale volume pricing and batch submission at the Valuation Ready partner portal. Register interest # Your request could not be saved. Please try again. Thanks \u0026mdash; we\u0026rsquo;ve received your request. We\u0026rsquo;ll email you shortly with the next steps and a personalised quote. If it doesn\u0026rsquo;t arrive within a business day, please check your spam folder. First name Last name Email address Email will be the main communication channel Phone Property address Australian address \u0026mdash; the property being valued. Who is the valuation for? Individual Trust / partnership SMSF Company Which kind of valuation do you need? Desktop \u0026mdash; no inspection On-site \u0026mdash; a valuer inspects the property Specialist \u0026mdash; complex or unusual property Not sure \u0026mdash; please recommend one If you\u0026rsquo;re unsure, pick the last option \u0026mdash; we\u0026rsquo;ll recommend one in your quote. No payment is taken \u0026mdash; we reply with a fixed quote for your property. By submitting you agree to be contacted about your request.\nWe 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.\nRequest my valuation 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.\nCommon questions # What are the 5 elements of a CGT cost base? They are: (1) what you paid to acquire the asset, (2) incidental costs like stamp duty, legal fees and agent's commission, (3) ownership costs such as rates, interest and insurance (only where not claimed as a deduction), (4) capital improvements like renovations, and (5) capital costs to preserve or defend your title. See the 5 elements. Is stamp duty part of the cost base? Yes — stamp (transfer) duty on the purchase is an element 2 incidental cost, along with conveyancing and legal fees and the agent's commission. Keep the settlement statement and invoices that evidence each amount. Can I include loan interest and council rates in my cost base? Sometimes. Interest, rates and insurance are element 3 ownership costs, but only to the extent you have not claimed them as a tax deduction — so they usually apply to periods the property earned no income. Ask your accountant which of yours qualify. Do renovations increase my cost base? Capital improvements such as renovations and extensions are element 4, provided the improvement is still reflected in the property when you sell and you keep dated invoices. Routine repairs you have already deducted are treated differently — confirm with your accountant. Does the 1 July 2027 reset change what I can include in the cost base? No. The reset changes the base date, not the elements. 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 for that amount — which becomes your new starting point, and elements 2 to 5 incurred after that date still add. See how the reset fits in. Do I have to get a valuation for 1 July 2027? No — it is elective. The ATO will offer a free apportionment formula as the alternative. A dated valuation is simply stronger, property-specific evidence where it matters; the worked examples show when it pays off. General information only — not tax, financial or legal advice. Dollar figures are illustrative. Any indicative appraisal is automated and is not a certified or ATO-suitable valuation; the signed valuation is provided separately.\n","date":"11 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/how-to-calculate-cgt-cost-base/","section":"CGT Cost Base Reset 1 July 2027 - How It Works","summary":"Your cost base is the number you subtract from the sale proceeds to work out a capital gain. Get it right and you pay tax only on real growth; understate it — or fail to evidence it — and you can pay more than you need to. This guide walks through the five elements the law lets you include, builds a cost base step by step, and shows how the 1 July 2027 reset changes the base date, not what belongs in the calculation. General information only, not tax advice — confirm with your accountant.\n","title":"How to Calculate CGT Cost Base: 5 Elements Explained","type":"page"},{"content":"CGT Cost Base (ABN 65 397 914 685) operates this website and is responsible for the personal information collected through it.\nThis website provides property-valuation services. This policy explains how we handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).\nWhat we collect # When you submit an enquiry, we collect the details you provide — typically your name, email, phone number, the property address, and how the property is held. We may also collect basic usage data (such as analytics) when you browse the site.\nWhy we collect it # To respond to your valuation enquiry, provide the service you request, and contact you about it. We rely on the consent you give when you submit the form.\nIf you engage us, we also collect and keep information for these additional purposes:\nTo create and keep a property evidence record. Australia\u0026rsquo;s capital gains tax rules make 30 June 2027 a reference date for property held across it. Where you engage us for this service, we create a record of the documents and photographs you or your valuer supply about the property, as at that date — which may include leases, rental statements, property manager inspection reports, renovation invoices and contracts, council and development approvals, floor plans, and the contract of purchase. To keep that record available long-term, so that you, your accountant, or a valuer you appoint can rely on it when the property is eventually sold. That may be many years after the valuation itself. To disclose the record to the valuer. When you engage us for a valuation, we provide the record directly to the valuer carrying it out — that is how the valuation is produced. We also disclose it later, at your request or your accountant\u0026rsquo;s, to a valuer you appoint. To improve our valuation reference data. After your personal details are removed, we keep information about the property itself (such as the normalised address, its attributes and its recorded condition) to improve the quality of our valuation work. To transfer records to a successor if our business or the relevant part of it is sold, so that the record remains available to you. We do not sell your personal information.\nWhere we rely on consent, you can withdraw it — see Your rights. Withdrawing consent does not require us to destroy a record we are keeping for a purpose you engaged us for, but you may ask us to delete it and we will tell you what we can and cannot do.\nInformation about other people # The documents you give us for an evidence record may contain other people\u0026rsquo;s personal information — most commonly a tenant\u0026rsquo;s, in a lease, a rental ledger, or a property manager\u0026rsquo;s inspection report.\nPlease give us only what is needed for the valuation, and remove or redact a tenant\u0026rsquo;s personal details where you reasonably can. Where you cannot, we handle that information under this policy and use it only for the valuation and evidence purposes described above. If a tenant asks us what we hold about them, we will tell them.\nWe do not publish photographs showing a tenant\u0026rsquo;s possessions without the tenant\u0026rsquo;s written consent.\nDisclosure # We disclose your information to service providers who help us deliver the service (for example hosting, email, and CRM providers). We do not sell your personal information.\nOverseas disclosure # Some of our service providers store or process data outside Australia. Our current form and email provider (Brevo) stores contact data on servers in the European Union, and analytics providers may process data overseas. Email you send to our published addresses is routed through a third-party mail forwarding service (ImprovMX) before it reaches our mailbox, and our mailbox provider may also store or process it outside Australia. That applies to anything you send us by email, including documents and photographs attached to it. We take reasonable steps to ensure overseas recipients handle your information consistently with the APPs (APP 8). Our enquiry form suggests Australian addresses using Google Places. On a page carrying that form, nothing is sent to Google until the first time you click into the address field \u0026ndash; if you never use the form, Google is never contacted. From that moment Google receives your network (IP) address, which page you are on, and your browser details; and as you type, the text is sent so it can offer matches. Google may process all of this outside Australia. Declining analytics cookies does not affect this: the cookie banner controls Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity, not this address feature.\nStorage and security # We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access.\nHow long we keep it # Different records are kept for different periods, because they serve different purposes.\nRecord How long Enquiries that do not become a job Up to 24 months from your last contact with us, then deleted Valuation reports and the file supporting them 7 years, consistent with professional and tax record-keeping expectations A property evidence record Until 5 years after you tell us the property has been sold, or 31 December 2050, whichever comes first De-identified property information Indefinitely, once your personal details have been removed Billing and tax records 5 years, as required by tax law Your rights # You may request access to or correction of your personal information, withdraw your consent, or make a privacy complaint. Contact us at privacy@cgtcostbase.com.au. You may also complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.\nCookies and analytics # We may use cookies and analytics to understand how the site is used. You can control cookies through your browser settings.\nContact # Privacy enquiries: privacy@cgtcostbase.com.au.\n","date":"30 June 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/privacy/","section":"CGT Cost Base Reset 1 July 2027 - How It Works","summary":"CGT Cost Base (ABN 65 397 914 685) operates this website and is responsible for the personal information collected through it.\nThis website provides property-valuation services. This policy explains how we handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).\nWhat we collect # When you submit an enquiry, we collect the details you provide — typically your name, email, phone number, the property address, and how the property is held. We may also collect basic usage data (such as analytics) when you browse the site.\n","title":"Privacy Policy","type":"page"},{"content":"From 1 July 2027 your property\u0026rsquo;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.\nOn-site from $690 Full inspection, the level to use where the ATO may test a cost base. Desktop from $299.\nValuer-signed Every report names the independent valuer who signed it, with the evidence behind the figure.\nDated 1 July 2027 Market value as at the end of 30 June 2027, recorded when it exists rather than reconstructed later.\nSee the worked example\nThe mechanics # 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.\nValuation vs the Treasurer\u0026rsquo;s apportioning method # Two evidence paths can set your 1 July 2027 value:\nTreasurer'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.\nDated, 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.\nAsk your accountant which method applies to your circumstances.\nWhat counts in your cost base # The reset changes the base date, not what belongs in a cost base. Keep records for:\nacquisition 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\u0026rsquo;t). Organised records make either evidence path stronger.\nWorked example # 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.\nWhat you paid (original cost base) Estimated market value at the end of 30 June 2027 Expected future sale price (optional) 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.\nPricing # 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).\nReady to secure dated, defensibility-first evidence? Reserve at CGT Valuation Ready.\nAccountants reviewing a client book? Wholesale volume pricing and batch submission are available — register at the Valuation Ready partner portal.\nRegister interest # Preparing photos? See the photo guidelines.\nYour request could not be saved. Please try again. Thanks \u0026mdash; we\u0026rsquo;ve received your request. We\u0026rsquo;ll email you shortly with the next steps and a personalised quote. If it doesn\u0026rsquo;t arrive within a business day, please check your spam folder. First name Last name Email address Email will be the main communication channel Phone Property address Australian address \u0026mdash; the property being valued. Who is the valuation for? Individual Trust / partnership SMSF Company Which kind of valuation do you need? Desktop \u0026mdash; no inspection On-site \u0026mdash; a valuer inspects the property Specialist \u0026mdash; complex or unusual property Not sure \u0026mdash; please recommend one If you\u0026rsquo;re unsure, pick the last option \u0026mdash; we\u0026rsquo;ll recommend one in your quote. No payment is taken \u0026mdash; we reply with a fixed quote for your property. By submitting you agree to be contacted about your request.\nWe 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.\nRequest my valuation 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.\nWhat happens next Tell us the property and its purpose. No payment is taken. We confirm the scope and a fixed price before anything proceeds. A valuer licensed in the property's state prepares and signs the report as at the end of 30 June 2027, from July 2027. What you receive A signed, dated valuation report naming the valuer. The comparable evidence and method behind the figure. A record you can hand to your accountant or the ATO. No payment is taken at this step. Your fixed price is confirmed before you proceed, and every report names the valuer who signed it.\nCommon questions # 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.\n","date":"27 June 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"CGT Cost Base Reset 1 July 2027 - How It Works","summary":"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.\nOn-site from $690 Full inspection, the level to use where the ATO may test a cost base. Desktop from $299.\nValuer-signed Every report names the independent valuer who signed it, with the evidence behind the figure.\n","title":"CGT Cost Base Reset 1 July 2027 - How It Works","type":"page"}]