Business, Property and Asset Valuations Australia
Independent valuations by a Chartered Accountant and CPA, prepared to ATO standards and ready for the 1 July 2027 capital gains tax indexation reset.
The 2026-27 Federal Budget rewrote the rules of capital gains tax in Australia. From 1 July 2027, the 50% CGT discount is replaced by cost-base indexation, a 30% minimum tax applies to post-2027 gains, and even pre-1985 "pre-CGT" assets lose their long-standing exemption. To protect the value you have already built, every business owner, property investor and shareholder needs a defensible market value of their assets as at 30 June 2027.
Tenfold Wealth Accountants provides independent, ATO-compliant valuations of businesses, real property, private company shares and other CGT assets for clients across Australia. We are dual-licensed Chartered Accountants and CPAs with more than 25 years of experience valuing the same assets we then defend in front of the Commissioner.
The 1 July 2027 CGT Reset: Why Every Asset Owner Needs a Valuation
The 2026-27 Federal Budget announced the most significant overhaul of capital gains tax since the 50% discount was introduced in 1999. The changes do not simply tweak the rate. They fundamentally change how the gain itself is measured.
What is actually changing on 1 July 2027
- The 50% CGT discount is abolished for individuals, trusts and partnerships in respect of growth that accrues from 1 July 2027 onwards.
- Cost-base indexation returns, a CPI uplift applied to the asset's cost base, similar to the regime that operated between September 1985 and September 1999.
- A 30% minimum tax rate is imposed on the post-indexation gain, regardless of the taxpayer's marginal rate.
- Pre-CGT assets (acquired on or before 19 September 1985) lose their full exemption. Gains that accrue after 1 July 2027 will be brought to tax for the first time.
- Transitional rule: for assets straddling the changeover date, the 50% discount is preserved on the gain accrued up to the asset's market value on 1 July 2027, and indexation applies to growth after that date.
Valuation or formula?
The Government has indicated taxpayers will be able to choose between two methods to fix the 1 July 2027 cost base:
| Consideration | Independent valuation | Statutory formula |
|---|---|---|
| How the value is set | Real-world market evidence as at 1 July 2027 | Generic growth-rate curve applied to holding period |
| Reflects asset-specific factors | Yes - business performance, location, contracts, comparable sales | No - one curve, every asset |
| Typical 1 July 2027 cost base | Materially higher for out-performing assets | Lower than market for most quality property and SMEs |
| 50% discount preserved on | The larger pre-2027 portion of the lifetime gain | The smaller pre-2027 portion of the lifetime gain |
| Defensibility on ATO audit | Strong - signed APES 225 report with working papers | Mechanical, but locks you out of arguing for a higher figure |
| Cost | One-off professional fee (fixed) | Free |
If your asset has grown faster than the assumed formula curve, which is true of most quality Australian businesses and residential property over the last decade, you will be financially worse off relying on the formula. The only way to know is to value it.
Why Engage a Chartered Accountant to Value Your Assets?
A valuation prepared for tax purposes is not the same as a real estate appraisal or a back-of-envelope multiple. The Commissioner of Taxation is entitled to challenge any valuation that does not meet the standards set out in Market valuation for tax purposes (the ATO's formal guidance) and in APES 225, the professional standard that binds members of CA ANZ and CPA Australia.
A valuation by a Chartered Accountant delivers four things a general-purpose appraisal cannot:
- APES 225 compliance. The report is prepared as a Valuation Engagement, Limited Scope Valuation Engagement, or Calculation Engagement in line with binding professional standards.
- Tax-aware methodology. Normalising adjustments for owner remuneration, related-party rent, Division 7A loans, franking credits and small business CGT concessions are built in from the start.
- Defensibility on audit. The report includes the working papers, market evidence and reasoned judgments the ATO needs to accept the figure without dispute.
- An integrated tax outcome. Because we then prepare your returns, the valuation flows directly into your cost base records, your CGT schedules and (where relevant) your small business CGT concession election.
The bottom line: you do not just receive a number. You receive a number that holds up.
Business Valuations
Whether you operate a professional practice, a trading company, a family business or an investment entity, the 1 July 2027 reset makes a contemporaneous business valuation one of the most valuable tax-planning documents you will ever commission. The valuation establishes the floor on which every future capital gain is measured.
Who needs a business valuation
- Owners of private companies and family trusts holding active businesses
- Partners in professional practices (law, medicine, accounting, dentistry, engineering)
- Shareholders contemplating a sale, succession, MBO or admission of a new equity partner
- Spouses negotiating a Family Law property settlement
- Executors and beneficiaries dealing with a deceased estate
- Trustees considering a restructure under Subdivision 328-G or Division 615
- Any business owner who wants to lock in the 50% discount on goodwill built before 1 July 2027
Methodologies we apply
We select the methodology, or combination of methodologies, that best fits the business. In practice that usually means one or more of the following:
- Capitalisation of Future Maintainable Earnings (FME). The workhorse for established, profitable SMEs. We normalise three to five years of earnings, derive a sustainable EBIT or EBITDA, and apply an evidence-based capitalisation multiple drawn from comparable transactions.
- Discounted Cash Flow (DCF). For businesses with a credible multi-year forecast, project businesses, or where earnings are growing or declining rapidly.
- Comparable Transactions and Market Multiples. Referenced against ATO benchmark data, Pitcher Partners and BDO industry surveys, ASX listed multiples and disclosed private transactions.
- Net Tangible Assets and Orderly Realisation. For asset-heavy or non-trading entities, holding companies and investment vehicles.
- Rule-of-thumb cross-checks. Industry-specific gross fee or revenue multiples used as a sanity check against the primary methodology.
What our business valuation report contains
Every report we issue is structured to meet the ATO's expectations for a tax valuation and includes: scope and purpose; standard and premise of value; the relevant valuation date; a description of the business and its industry; financial analysis with normalising adjustments; selected methodology and reasons; supporting market evidence; the value (or value range); reliance statements; and the qualifications and independence declarations required by APES 225.
Property Valuations for CGT and Tax Purposes
Australian real property is the single largest store of household wealth in the country and, for most of our clients, the asset most exposed to the 1 July 2027 reset. A residential investment property bought in 2010 and worth roughly three times its purchase price today will be split into two halves by the changeover: the half eligible for the 50% discount, and the half subject to indexation plus the 30% minimum tax. Get the 30 June 2027 valuation wrong and you over-pay tax on every dollar of future growth.
Worked example. An investor bought a Sydney unit in 2010 for $500,000. By 30 June 2027 it is worth $1,500,000. If they eventually sell for $2,000,000, the $1,000,000 of pre-2027 growth is eligible for the 50% discount, while the $500,000 of post-2027 growth is subject to indexation and the new 30% minimum tax. A defensible 30 June 2027 valuation is the line that determines how those two halves are sized. Default to the formula and the cost-base split will almost certainly favour the ATO.
Property assets we value
- Residential investment property: houses, units, townhouses, dual-occupancy
- Short-stay and Airbnb properties (read our 2026 Airbnb Tax Survival Guide for context on the new leisure-facility rules)
- Commercial property: office, retail, industrial, mixed-use
- Specialist asset classes: service stations, child care, medical suites, NDIS-SDA dwellings
- Rural and primary production land
- Property held inside an SMSF
- Development sites and land banks held by family trusts or private companies
How we value real property
For tax purposes the ATO accepts a market valuation undertaken on a direct comparison basis (most residential), an income capitalisation basis (most commercial), or a summation or cost basis (specialised improvements). We work with a panel of API-certified registered property valuers across every capital city and major regional centre, commission the underlying real estate report under instruction, and then wrap the result in the tax-purpose valuation methodology, working papers and APES 225 compliance the ATO requires.
Where multiple properties are held in the same ownership structure, we coordinate the valuations as a single engagement so the cost base reset is consistent across the portfolio, and so the legal, accounting and depreciation-schedule consequences flow through correctly.
Do not forget the building: depreciation interacts with cost base
Capital works deductions claimed under Division 43 reduce your cost base. A property valuation alone is not enough; the corresponding depreciation schedule needs to be re-examined at the same time so the 1 July 2027 written-down value is accurate. We coordinate updated depreciation schedules through our quantity surveyor partners as part of the same engagement. Order an investment property depreciation report.
Share, Crypto and Other CGT Asset Valuations
The 1 July 2027 reset applies to every CGT asset, not just operating businesses and property. We also value:
- Shares in private companies: minority parcels, controlling interests, employee share scheme grants, dividend access shares.
- Units in unit trusts: widely held and closely held.
- Listed share and ETF portfolios: normally straightforward on ASX closing prices, but more involved for thinly traded stocks, suspended securities and rights or options.
- Cryptocurrency and digital assets: valued on the principal exchange used by the taxpayer at the relevant date, with treatment of staking, LP positions, NFTs and wrapped tokens documented.
- Intellectual property and goodwill: trademarks, patents, customer lists, software, brand value.
- Plant, equipment, vehicles and collectibles: where the asset is held in a CGT capacity rather than as trading stock or a depreciating asset.
- Loan receivables and earn-out rights: frequently overlooked CGT assets that nonetheless need a 1 July 2027 value.
For each asset class we apply the methodology most appropriate to the asset and to the use of the report. Where the asset is not regularly traded, most private company shares for example, we typically apply a Net Asset Value or Capitalisation of Earnings approach, and then test the result against any actual third-party transactions in the company's shares over the prior two years.
Valuation Triggers Beyond the 2027 Reset
Even before the indexation changeover, there is a long list of moments when the ATO and the courts will demand a market valuation. We routinely prepare valuations for:
- Transfers of assets between related entities (companies, trusts, SMSFs, spouses)
- Restructures under the small business restructure rollover (Subdivision 328-G)
- Division 615 corporate restructures and Subdivision 124-M scrip-for-scrip rollovers
- Small business CGT concessions: the Maximum Net Asset Value test (Division 152)
- Family Law property settlements and Binding Financial Agreements
- Deceased estate administration and testamentary trust funding
- Buy-sell agreements, shareholder agreements and partnership accession deeds
- SMSF in-house asset testing and market-value reporting under SISA
- Migration to Australia (CGT cost-base reset under Division 855)
- Dispute resolution, expert determination and litigation support
If you are weighing up any of the events above, the valuation needs to be done before you sign, not after. A clean, contemporaneous valuation issued in advance is invariably cheaper than reconstructing one years later under audit pressure.
Our Valuation Process
Because Tenfold Wealth Accountants operates as a 100% digital practice, every valuation engagement is run remotely. It does not matter where in Australia you, your business or your properties sit.
- Scoping call (no charge). A 20-minute Google Meet to clarify the asset, the purpose, the valuation date and the level of report you need.
- Engagement letter and fixed fee. Issued the same day, with the scope, deliverable and fee disclosed up-front in line with our published professional fee schedule.
- Information request. A structured digital data room (Google Drive) for financials, tax returns, leases, contracts, share registers and supporting documents.
- Analysis and modelling. Normalising adjustments, methodology selection, market evidence gathering, model build.
- Draft report. Issued for management review, including a working session to walk you through assumptions and sensitivities.
- Final report. Signed under APES 225, ready to submit to the ATO, a court, a counterparty or your auditor.
- Implementation. The valuation feeds directly into your tax records, CGT schedule, depreciation register and (if relevant) your CGT variation application.
Typical turnaround is two to four weeks for a standard private company or single-property engagement, and four to eight weeks for portfolio or multi-entity assignments.
Fees
All valuation engagements at Tenfold Wealth Accountants are fixed-fee and agreed in writing before any work commences. Final fees vary with the complexity of the asset, the level of report required and the timeframe. Indicative pricing for each engagement type is published on our Professional Fee Schedule. Portfolio engagements and multi-entity matters are quoted on application, with a meaningful discount applied where the work is commissioned as a single engagement.
We do not bill in six-minute units. You will never receive a surprise invoice from us.
About the Valuer
Tenfold Wealth Accountants is the trading name of Rider Financial Group Pty Limited, a Sydney-based Chartered Accounting firm serving clients across Australia. Our valuation practice is led by a dual-qualified Chartered Accountant (CA ANZ) and Certified Practising Accountant (CPA Australia) with more than 25 years of experience advising property investors, business owners, SMSF trustees and high-net-worth families.
We are bound by the ethical and technical standards of both professional bodies, including APES 110 (Code of Ethics) and APES 225 (Valuation Services). Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. Because we are also the firm that prepares the underlying tax returns, the valuation we issue is the valuation we will defend, not a document we will be free to disown the moment the ATO calls.
You can learn more about the firm on our About page, or read our perspective on how to choose the right property accountant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need a 1 July 2027 valuation, or can I just use the formula?
You are not legally required to commission a valuation. The statutory formula will be available as a default. But the formula is a one-size-fits-all curve. For any asset that has out-performed inflation plus a generic growth assumption (which is almost every Australian business and most residential property over the last decade), an independent valuation will produce a higher 1 July 2027 cost base, lock in the 50% discount over a larger slice of the lifetime gain, and leave less of the future gain exposed to the new 30% minimum tax. For most clients, the tax saving over the life of the asset is many multiples of the valuation fee.
How long is a 1 July 2027 valuation valid for?
The cost-base reset itself is permanent. The 1 July 2027 value becomes the new starting point for indexation, and it does not need to be re-done for the same asset unless its underlying nature changes (for example, a residence is converted into an Airbnb, a private company undergoes a major restructure, or a development consent radically changes the highest-and-best use of land).
Will my valuation be accepted by the ATO?
A valuation prepared by a Chartered Accountant under APES 225, using a recognised methodology and supported by contemporaneous market evidence, meets the ATO's formal expectations as set out in its Market valuation for tax purposes guidance. No valuer can guarantee the Commissioner will agree with every figure (valuation is, by its nature, a matter of judgment within a range), but a properly prepared report shifts the burden squarely back onto the ATO if it wishes to dispute it.
Can I value my own business?
You can, but the ATO will give little weight to a self-valuation when there is tax revenue at stake. APES 225 also requires the valuer to be independent of the asset and its owners. Engaging an external valuer is the only practical way to obtain a report that will withstand scrutiny.
What is the difference between a Calculation Engagement and a full Valuation Engagement?
Under APES 225, a Calculation Engagement applies an agreed methodology to agreed inputs and produces an indicative value at a lower cost, useful for internal planning, ballparking a settlement or sizing up a transaction. A Valuation Engagement goes further: the valuer applies all procedures considered necessary and forms an independent conclusion. For tax-purpose valuations that may be filed with the ATO or relied on by a court, a Valuation Engagement (or at minimum a Limited Scope Valuation Engagement) is almost always the right level of report.
Do you value properties outside Sydney?
Yes. Tenfold Wealth Accountants is a 100% digital firm and we engage API-certified registered property valuers in every Australian capital city and most regional centres. We have prepared property valuations for clients from Cairns to Hobart and from the Pilbara to Penrith.
How long does a valuation take?
A single property tax-purpose valuation can usually be completed in two to three weeks from receipt of all source documents. A private company or trust valuation typically takes three to four weeks. Larger portfolios and complex group structures may take six to eight weeks. Rush engagements are available on application.
I have a pre-1985 asset. Did the Budget really say those lose their CGT-free status?
Yes. The 2026-27 Budget announced that from 1 July 2027, capital gains accrued after that date on pre-CGT assets (acquired on or before 19 September 1985) will be brought to tax. Gains accrued before 1 July 2027 will remain exempt. For pre-CGT asset owners, this makes a 1 July 2027 valuation effectively mandatory. It is the line that separates the still-exempt gain from the now-taxable gain. We expect this to be the single most common valuation request between now and June 2027.
Are valuation fees tax-deductible?
Valuation fees incurred in the course of producing assessable income are generally deductible. Fees incurred in establishing the cost base of a CGT asset are not immediately deductible, but they form part of the cost base and reduce the future capital gain. We will tell you exactly how your fee should be treated in the engagement letter.
What happens if I do not get a valuation by 1 July 2027?
You will default to the statutory formula. That is not catastrophic. The asset still gets a reset cost base, but you are accepting whatever value the formula produces, without the right to argue for a higher one later. Reconstructing a 1 July 2027 valuation after the fact, when records have aged and market evidence has dated, is materially harder and more expensive than commissioning one now.
Lock In Your 1 July 2027 Cost Base
The window between now and 30 June 2027 is the most consequential tax-planning window most Australian asset owners will see in a generation. Every dollar of value you can substantiate at 1 July 2027 is a dollar of future growth that escapes the new 30% minimum tax and remains eligible for the 50% discount. Every dollar you fail to substantiate is a dollar conceded to the formula.
Tenfold Wealth Accountants is taking valuation engagements now for completion in the run-up to 30 June 2027. Engagements are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Book a 20-minute scoping call today. There is no charge for the initial conversation and no obligation to proceed.
This page is general information only and does not constitute tax, legal or financial advice. The 2026-27 Federal Budget measures discussed are announced policy and remain subject to the passage of legislation. Please obtain advice tailored to your circumstances before acting. Tenfold Wealth Accountants is a trading name of Rider Financial Group Pty Limited. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.