Most property CGT positions rest on a number that was never properly established.
An agent’s appraisal, an online estimate, a rates notice, a figure someone remembered. Each is a market opinion. None is a market valuation. We prepare independent property valuations for CGT purposes — as at today, or as at any date in the past — documented to meet the ATO’s stated requirements.
We respond to every enquiry within one business day.
Tell us about the property.
Give us the address and the date of valuation required. We’ll come back with a fixed fee, a timeframe, and the information we’ll need from you.
Your enquiry is read by a valuer, not a call centre. If a full valuation isn’t required for your situation, we’ll tell you before you engage us.
CAPITAL GAINS TAX — PROPERTY VALUATIONS
An appraisal costs nothing. That is usually what it is worth on review.
WHY IT MATTERS
A selling agent’s appraisal is a marketing document produced to win a listing. An automated online estimate is a statistical model that has never seen the property. A council rates notice records an unimproved land value assessed for an entirely different purpose. All three are used every day to support CGT positions, and none of them demonstrates a valuation process.
The problem is delayed. The figure goes into the return and, in most years, nothing happens. It surfaces later — on review of the disposal, on an amended assessment, in a family law matter, or when an estate is finalised — and by then the date has passed and the evidence has moved on.
Where the market has risen sharply since the relevant date, an understated historical value can inflate the assessed gain substantially. Where it has fallen, an overstated one invites the opposite problem. Neither is discovered while it can still be corrected cheaply.
The cost of getting this right is fixed and known at the outset. The cost of getting it wrong is a function of the value of the property, the years elapsed and the marginal rate applying — and it lands on the taxpayer, not on whoever produced the original figure.
Built to be read by a reviewer, not just by you.
Prepared to ATO requirements
Reports set out the methodology, comparable evidence and reasoning relied upon, in the form the ATO’s market valuation guidance calls for.
Current or retrospective
Where the relevant date has passed, we value as at that date using the sales evidence and market conditions that existed at the time.
Independent of any sale
We do not sell property, hold agency appointments, or earn commission on any transaction involving a property we value.
Every property type
Residential, commercial, industrial, rural and specialised assets — assessed by valuers who work in that class of property.
Fixed fee, agreed first
Scope, fee and timeframe confirmed in writing before work begins. No variation unless the scope changes and you approve it.
Supported if it is queried
We retain the working papers and evidence file, and the valuer who signed the report is available to explain and support it.
HOW WE WORK
Circumstances that call for a property valuation.
Several of these are commonly missed at the time the event occurs, and only identified later — when the valuation is far harder to establish.
A home first used to produce income
Where a main residence is first rented out, the property is generally taken to have been acquired at market value on that day (s118-192). If no valuation was obtained then, the cost base rests on a figure established years afterwards.
Partial main residence exemption
Where a dwelling has been part home and part income-producing, or the land exceeds two hectares, apportionment requires a supportable market value at the relevant date.
Transfers between related parties
Transfers to family members, family trusts, companies or self-managed funds are treated as occurring at market value where the parties are not dealing at arm’s length — whatever consideration passes.
Deceased estates
For post-CGT dwellings, the cost base to the estate or beneficiary may be set by reference to market value at the date of death — a date that cannot be revisited and is often years past by the time it is needed.
Pre-CGT property and improvements
Property acquired before 20 September 1985 sits outside the CGT regime, but major capital improvements made afterwards can be treated as separate assets requiring their own valuation.
Change of use or subdivision
Land moving from capital account to trading stock, subdivided holdings, and properties whose use changes materially all require value to be fixed at the point of change.
Residency changes
An individual ceasing to be an Australian resident faces a deemed disposal of certain assets at market value, and foreign residents face specific rules on Australian property. Both require a valuation at a defined date.
Self-managed superannuation funds
Where a fund acquires, disposes of or holds real property, market value must rest on objective and supportable evidence — including on in-specie transfers in and out of the fund.
WHEN IT’S REQUIRED
The ATO does not assess a figure. It assesses the process behind it.
Its guidance requires a valuation to objectively demonstrate the process undertaken, in accordance with valuation industry practice. That single requirement determines what holds up and what does not.
What tends not to hold
- A selling agent’s appraisal, prepared to secure a listing rather than to evidence value.
- An automated online estimate, generated by a model that has never inspected the property.
- A council rates notice or land tax assessment, which measures something different for a different purpose.
- An insurance replacement figure, which addresses rebuilding cost and not market value.
- The sale price of a neighbouring property, offered without adjustment or analysis.
- A retrospective figure produced by discounting today’s value by a general market index.
What we document
- The purpose, the interest valued, the basis of value and the exact date of valuation.
- The valuer’s qualifications, registration and declaration of independence.
- A full description of the property, its title particulars, planning controls and physical characteristics.
- Comparable sales contemporaneous with the date of valuation, analysed and adjusted rather than merely listed.
- The valuation approach adopted and the reasoning for it, with a cross-check where the property class allows.
- All assumptions and limiting conditions, so the reader knows exactly what the conclusion depends on.
THE EVIDENCE STANDARD
The date is fixed by the event, not by when you noticed.
RETROSPECTIVE VALUATIONS
Most property CGT valuations we prepare are as at a date in the past. The date is determined by the legislation and the facts — it is not a matter of choice, and it cannot be substituted with a more convenient one.
The start of the CGT regime. Property acquired before this date is generally pre-CGT — but major capital improvements made afterwards can be treated as separate assets and valued in their own right.
Where a main residence first produces income, the property is generally taken to have been acquired at market value on that day. It is the single most commonly missed valuation date in the regime.
For deceased estates, market value at the date of death can determine the cost base passing to the estate or beneficiary. The date is fixed, and frequently years past by the time the property is dealt with.
Transfers to related parties, trusts, companies or superannuation funds are assessed at market value on the day of the transfer, regardless of the consideration recorded.
Where property moves between capital and trading stock, changes its income-producing character, or is subdivided, value must be established at the point of change.
A retrospective valuation is not a current valuation adjusted backwards. It requires the property to be valued using sales evidence that settled around that date, in the market conditions that existed then — setting aside everything that has happened since. This is where retrospective valuations most often fail on review: hindsight enters the analysis, or a present-day figure is simply indexed backwards.
What the report contains.
THE DELIVERABLE
A signed valuation report prepared for taxation purposes — written so your accountant, your lawyer, and if necessary a reviewer at the ATO can follow it without calling us to explain it.
Instruction and scope
Who engaged us, the purpose of the valuation, the interest valued, the basis of value and the date of valuation.
Credentials and independence
The valuer’s qualifications, registration and experience, with a declaration of no interest in the property or its sale.
Property identification
Title particulars, land area, zoning and planning controls, easements and encumbrances, and the improvements as they existed at the date of valuation.
Inspection or basis of assessment
What was inspected and when — or where the date is historical, the basis on which the property’s condition at that date has been established.
Market commentary at the date
Conditions prevailing in that location and property class at the relevant date, drawn from evidence available at the time.
Comparable sales evidence
Transactions contemporaneous with the date of valuation, each analysed and adjusted for differences in location, size, condition and timing.
Approach and reasoning
The approach adopted — direct comparison, capitalisation of income, summation or hypothetical development — and why it fits this property.
Cross-check where applicable
A secondary approach applied as a sense check, with any divergence explained rather than averaged away.
Assumptions and limiting conditions
Every assumption made explicit, particularly where the date is historical and certain matters must be assumed rather than observed.
Signed conclusion of value
The assessed market value at the relevant date, signed by the valuer responsible for it.
From enquiry to signed report.
Scope and fee
A short conversation with a valuer to confirm the property, the correct date of valuation and the CGT event involved. You receive a fixed fee, a timeframe and a specific list of documents required.
Inspection and analysis
Inspection where the date and circumstances call for it, followed by comparable evidence research and analysis referenced to the date of valuation.
Signed report
The full report issued to you or your adviser, with the valuer available to discuss the reasoning — and to respond if the position is later reviewed.
HOW IT WORKS
Questions we’re asked.
Can our accountant simply prepare the valuation?
Sometimes, depending on the purpose and the accountant’s expertise. The difficulty is independence: where the same practice advises on the transaction and values the asset that determines the tax outcome, the valuation carries less weight on review. An independent valuation removes that argument before it is made.
What date should the valuation be as at?
The date of the CGT event — generally the date of the contract, or the date of the change in ownership where there is no contract. Where a concession or eligibility test is involved a different date may apply. Tell us the circumstances and we will confirm the date before quoting.
Can you value as at a date several years ago?
Yes. Retrospective valuations are a routine part of this work. What we need is the financial and corporate information that existed at that date. Where records are incomplete, we will tell you what can and cannot be supported before you commit to the engagement.
Will the ATO accept the report?
No valuer can guarantee how a specific matter will be assessed, and we will not suggest otherwise. What we can do is prepare the valuation so that the methodology, evidence and reasoning are fully set out in the form the ATO’s guidance calls for — which is the basis on which a market valuation is assessed.
What happens if the valuation is queried?
The valuer who signed the report responds. We retain the working papers and the evidence file, and we can explain and support the reasoning to your adviser or to the ATO. That capability is part of the reason the report is written the way it is.
What information will you need from us?
Generally: financial statements and tax returns for several years to the date of valuation, management accounts, the corporate structure and ownership register, material contracts and leases, and details of any related party arrangements. You will receive a specific list with the fee proposal rather than a generic checklist.
What does it cost?
Fees are fixed and quoted upfront, and depend on the size and complexity of the entity, the number of interests valued, and whether the date is current or historical. We will not begin work before the fee is agreed in writing.
Do you value businesses in our industry?
We value operating businesses across most sectors, with particular depth in childcare, service stations, quarrying and mining, and schools. If the sector is one where we would not add value, we will tell you and, where we can, point you to someone who will.
BEFORE YOU ENGAGE US
Establish the position while the evidence still exists.
Tell us the interest, the date and the CGT event behind it. We’ll confirm what the valuation can and cannot support, with a fixed fee and a timeframe — before you commit to anything.
Not sure whether your matter needs a formal valuation at all? That’s exactly the kind of question we’re happy to answer before you engage us.