The real question

Property investors are asking us a sharper version of the same question: should I rush a sale before 1 July 2027? The cutoff is on disposal, not acquisition - anything you sell up to and including 30 June 2027 keeps the 50% discount, no matter when you bought it. From 1 July 2027 onwards every disposal moves to the new regime.

Worth being precise about a separate change: negative gearing on established residential property has its own cutoff at 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026. Properties acquired before then are grandfathered for negative-gearing purposes for as long as you hold them. That cutoff has no effect on the CGT regime - it only changes whether operating losses can offset other income.

Four variables that matter

  • How long you've held it, and how much it's grown. A long-held property with substantial unrealised capital growth loses the most from the change, because the discount has been doing the heaviest lifting for years.
  • Your marginal rate this year vs likely future years. Realising a large gain pushes you into the top bracket and triggers Medicare. If a lower-income year is on the horizon - retirement, parental leave, a sabbatical - the timing matters more than the regime.
  • Improvements claimed as deductions.Depreciation reduces your cost base on sale - your “current” CGT bill may be higher than you think under either regime.
  • Your alternative use for the proceeds.Cash returns about 4.5% on a term deposit after tax today. If the property's growth assumption is similar and you're giving up a chunky discount on a future sale, the case for selling weakens.

The costs of a rushed sale

Agent commission, marketing, legal, and the gap between a considered sale and a rushed one usually total 4–7% of sale price. On a $1.1m property, that's $44,000 to $77,000. Stack that against the after-tax difference the calculator shows for your asset, and the rush math often comes out neutral or negative - unless you were planning to sell within a year or two anyway.

When selling early makes sense

The narrow band where pre-1-July-2027 selling pays off: long-held property with substantial unrealised gain, a sale you were already planning inside the next 18 months, your marginal rate next year is similar to this year, and the transaction costs are well-managed. If three of those four hold, run your numbers.