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 prior-year valuation
Superannuation law requires fund assets to be reported at market value as at each 30 June. When a year was missed, or the value reported needs to be revisited, the fund needs a valuation as at that earlier date, not today.
| Scenario | Valuation date | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Overdue annual returns | 30 June of each outstanding year | Market values for the financial statements and audit of every year being brought up to date, one value per year |
| Amended financial statements | 30 June of the year being amended | Support for the revised asset value in the amended accounts and annual return |
| Auditor request on a prior year | The date the auditor queries | Objective evidence where the original support was thin or missing |
| Fund wind-up | The final 30 June or wind-up date | Closing values for the final accounts and member balances |
| Pension commencement | The commencement date | The property value supporting the pension balance at its start date |
| Death benefit member balance | Date of death | The value of the fund's property for calculating the member's death benefit |
Retrospective valuations for property outside super, such as a former home, an inherited property or a family law settlement, are handled by our sister brand. See the CGT section below.
How prior-year valuations are prepared
The methodology is the same desktop process used for a current-date report, applied to the historical date. The valuer assesses the property as it existed at the valuation date, not as it stands today, and analyses comparable sales that settled around that date. Licensed sales databases and state land titles records retain transaction data going back decades, so evidence is available for most prior years.
Each outstanding 30 June gets its own report, standing on its own evidence for that year. Reports are delivered in 24 to 48 hours, Australia-wide.
What auditors and the ATO accept
The auditor needs objective and supportable evidence of market value: a stated methodology, documented comparable sales around the valuation date, and a reasoned conclusion. A single agent letter or an unsupported estimate generally does not meet that standard for an SMSF audit.
Every report states its method, sets out the comparable sales evidence, and reaches a documented conclusion, prepared in line with recognised valuation practice standards and signed by Mike Wilczynski, Chartered Accountant and Certified Property Valuer, certified by the Australian Valuers Institute.
Several years overdue?
Late lodgement catch-ups are routine. Order one valuation per outstanding 30 June; booking the years together costs less than ordering them separately. Tell us the property and the years outstanding and we will quote the package.
Pricing and turnaround
Residential reports are $245 including GST and commercial reports are $550 including GST, per valuation date. A prior-year date costs the same as a current one. Reports are delivered in 24 to 48 hours, Australia-wide, with no inspection required.
Need a valuation for CGT instead?
A home first used to produce income, the sale of a former rental, a deceased estate, a family law settlement or a pre-CGT acquisition date sits outside the fund and is a capital gains tax matter. Those reports are prepared by our sister brand, CGT Valuations: order a retrospective property valuation for CGT.
Order a prior-year SMSF valuation
Tell us the property, the valuation dates and any documents you hold. Reports are delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Request a retrospective valuation Contact usFrequently asked questions
Yes. A retrospective valuation establishes the property’s market value as at 30 June of the relevant year, using comparable sales evidence from that period. It is the standard way to bring overdue financial statements and audits up to date.
Auditors accept valuations supported by objective and supportable evidence: a stated methodology, documented comparable sales around the valuation date, and a reasoned conclusion. That is what the report provides. A single agent letter without supporting evidence generally does not meet the standard.
There is no fixed limit. Each outstanding 30 June gets its own report on its own evidence, and sales records support reliable valuations going back decades in most urban and regional markets.
Order one valuation per outstanding 30 June. Multi-year catch-ups are routine with late lodgements, and booking the years together costs less than ordering them separately. Tell us the years and we will quote the package.
No. Reports use desktop methodology. The property is assessed as it existed at the valuation date from records, listings and the documents you provide, together with comparable sales evidence from that period.
No. Automated estimates state today’s value, are not available as at historical dates, and carry none of the methodology or evidence an SMSF auditor needs. A prior-year value needs a written report with documented comparable sales as at the date.
Work out what this actually costs you
Division 296 is a proportion of realised earnings, not a bracket on your balance, so two members with the same balance can owe very different amounts. The Division 296 tax calculator works it out from your balance and your share of fund earnings, and reproduces the ATO worked examples to the cent.
