Tools & Resources

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant  |  Updated August 2026 The ATO’s SMSF valuation guidelines require every fund asset, including property, to be reported at market value as at 30 June each year, supported by objective and supportable evidence. No rule says a valuer must inspect the property annually. But the evidence behind the number has to stand up to an auditor, and since 2024 the ATO has been checking that it

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant  |  Last updated July 2026 Straight answer: our fixed fees are $245 incl. GST for a residential property valuation and $550 incl. GST for a commercial property valuation including a market rental assessment. Every report is prepared by a Certified Property Valuer, delivered Australia-wide, and written to the standard the ATO and SMSF auditors require. Most valuation firms make you request a quote before they will

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant · Updated 8 October 2026 A commercial property is worth what its rent will support, what similar buildings sold for, or what it would cost to rebuild. Valuers work all three and reconcile them. This calculator does the same, live, so you can see how a cap rate, a rent review or a comparable sale moves the number before you order a report. If the property

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant | Published February 2024 | Updated August 2026 A retrospective SMSF property valuation establishes what a fund’s property was worth at a past date, most commonly 30 June of a prior financial year. Trustees need one when overdue annual returns are being brought up to date, financial statements are amended, or an auditor asks for evidence supporting a previously reported value. When an SMSF needs a

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant · Updated August 2026 When a marriage or de facto relationship ends, superannuation, including any property held inside an SMSF, forms part of the asset pool that must be valued and divided. For SMSFs holding residential or commercial property, the independent property valuation is the single most consequential document in the entire settlement process. It determines the value attributed to each member’s interest, directly shapes how

The six-year absence rule under Section 118-145 of the ITAA 1997 is one of the most valuable CGT concessions available to Australian property owners. It allows you to continue treating a former home as your main residence for up to six years while it is rented out, potentially making the entire capital gain on sale tax-free. But the rule has limits, and when those limits are exceeded, the property valuation you obtained (or should have

Properties acquired before the introduction of capital gains tax on 20 September 1985 are generally exempt from CGT. But “generally exempt” is not “always exempt,” and when CGT does apply to a pre-CGT property, the cost base is almost always the market value at a historical date, typically the date of death of the owner. This makes pre-CGT property valuations some of the most consequential retrospective assessments in Australian tax. The position changes again from

Transferring property between family members, whether by gift, below-market sale, or trust distribution, triggers both capital gains tax and stamp duty obligations that require an independent property valuation. The ATO and state revenue offices treat non-arm’s length transfers as occurring at market value, regardless of what was actually paid. Without a professional valuation at the date of transfer, both parties risk incorrect CGT calculations and potential stamp duty reassessments. This guide covers when and why

When someone dies and their estate includes property, the executor and beneficiaries face an immediate question: what was the property worth at the date of death? The answer determines the cost base for capital gains tax when the property is eventually sold, the value of the estate for probate and distribution purposes, and in some cases, whether the property qualifies for a full CGT exemption. This guide explains when a date-of-death property valuation is required,

When you stop living in a property and start renting it out, the ATO treats that moment as a CGT event that resets your cost base. Under Section 118-192 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, the property’s market value at the date of first income-producing use becomes the first element of its cost base for calculating any future capital gain. Without a valuation at that date, your accountant has no defensible starting point when

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant · Updated August 2026 A capital gains tax (CGT) property valuation determines the market value of a property at a specific point in time for the purpose of calculating a capital gain or loss under Australian tax law. It is one of the most common, and most consequential, property valuations an Australian property owner will ever need. Get the valuation right, and your CGT calculation is

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant · Updated September 2026 If you are a chartered accountant, tax agent, financial planner, or SMSF auditor, you need a reliable, fast, and affordable property valuation provider that your clients can trust and your audit files can rely on. We work with accounting practices across Australia to deliver independent desktop valuation reports for every scenario your clients face: annual SMSF compliance, CGT cost base establishment, deceased

Every dollar of rental income you earn from an investment property in Australia is assessable income. Whether you hold the property personally, through a trust, in a company, or within an SMSF, the ATO expects you to declare all rental income in your tax return and pay tax on it at the applicable rate. But rental income taxation is not just about declaring the rent and paying tax on it. The way you structure ownership,

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant · Updated September 2026 When an SMSF member starts a retirement phase income stream (pension), the value of the assets supporting that pension is counted against their transfer balance cap. If the fund holds property, the market value of that property at pension commencement directly determines the member’s transfer balance position, their tax-free income entitlement, and their exposure to Division 296. An inaccurate property valuation at

If your SMSF owns a commercial property and leases it to your own business, a family member’s business, or any entity connected to a fund member, the rent must be at market rate. This is not a suggestion. It is a legal requirement under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, and the ATO actively investigates non-arm’s length dealings in SMSFs. Getting the rental assessment wrong can result in the income being classified as non-arm’s length

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant  |  Updated July 2026 The most common misconception in SMSF property compliance is that a formal independent valuation is only required every three years. This was never strictly true, and since the ATO’s 2024 compliance crackdown it is now dangerously outdated advice. If your accountant or auditor still tells you that a three-year-old valuation is acceptable, they are exposing your fund to compliance risk. SMSF property

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant · Updated September 2026 The commercial property price index tracks how values across Australia’s office, retail, industrial, and alternative property sectors change over time. For SMSF trustees, accountants, and auditors, these indices are more than market commentary, they directly influence whether a fund’s property values need to be updated, how capitalisation rates are shifting, and whether the ATO is likely to scrutinise reported values that appear

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant · Updated October 2026 SMSF property valuation guide Requirements: the complete guide for trustees (you are here) How often you must revalue What the ATO guidelines require Division 296 tax calculator If your Self-Managed Super Fund holds residential or commercial property, you are required to report that property at its market value in the fund’s financial statements at the end of each financial year. This is

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant · Updated August 2026 Transferring property into an SMSF, known as an in-specie contribution, allows a fund member to contribute a physical asset rather than cash. It is one of the most common ways business real property ends up inside a self-managed super fund, and it triggers specific valuation, tax, and compliance obligations that trustees and their advisers need to get right. This guide explains which

By Mike Wilczynski, Certified Property Valuer and Chartered Accountant · Updated August 2026 GST applies to most commercial property transactions in Australia, including sales, leases, and transfers into an SMSF. The standard rate is 10%, and it can add tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a deal, or create significant cashflow obligations for landlords and tenants. But there are important exceptions, and getting the GST treatment wrong on a commercial