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Estimate your net position after capital gains tax if you keep a rental and sell later, or sell now and invest.
Keep: net position after CGT
$532,187.31Estimate for your 100% share, selling on 14 October 2031Sell: net position after CGT
$370,957.47Estimate after investing for 5 yearsKeeping for 5 years leaves an estimated $532,187.31 for your share after CGT; selling on 14 October 2026 and investing the rest gives $370,957.47.
Sale on 14 October 2031: July 2027 rules, 2027-28 rates assumed to continue, indexation factor 1.111 to the December quarter 2031 (projected CPI). Gain on your share $369,455.56.
Sale on 14 October 2026: 2026-27 rates, 50% discount. Gain on your share $250,000.
Example figures.
Rates as of
This calculator compares two paths for a rental you own: keep it for a number of years and then sell, or sell now and invest what is left. It uses the current value, loan, annual rent and costs for the whole property, your growth and return assumptions and the comparison period. It then estimates capital gains tax (CGT) on each sale from your cost, purchase date, ownership share and income.
The keep path grows today's value each year, subtracts the unchanged loan and adds rent less costs, held as cash. CGT on selling at the projected value is then deducted from your share. The sell path takes today's value less the loan, deducts CGT on selling today and compounds the rest at your return.
CGT reuses this site's Australian investment property calculation, with the July 2027 rules for a sale from 1 July 2027.
Take a property worth $750,000 with a $400,000 loan, $36,000 of rent and $12,000 of costs a year, 3% growth, a 4% return and five years. For this illustration only, assume a cost base of $500,000 from 1 July 2015, full ownership and other taxable income of $90,000, with a $765,000 market value at 30 June 2027 and the typical 2.5% inflation.
Selling on 14 October 2026 gives a $250,000 gain and estimated CGT of $45,100, so $304,900 is invested and grows to $370,957.47. Keeping until 14 October 2031 gives a projected value of $869,455.56, a $369,455.56 gain and estimated CGT of $57,268.25 under the July 2027 rules, leaving $532,187.31. Keep less sell is $161,229.84.
Both paths are simplified. Rent and costs stay constant, the loan is never repaid and the rent surplus earns nothing. Income tax on rent, sale costs, investment fees, inflation and tax on the investment's returns are excluded. Growth and return are your assumptions, not forecasts. The result is an estimate, not a recommendation to keep or sell.
CGT assumes an individual resident taxpayer with no other gains, losses or reliefs, and the same other income in the year of each sale. Results are for your ownership share, assuming the loan, rent and costs are shared in the same proportion. If a sale would not cover the loan and the CGT, the sell path shows a shortfall that is not compounded.
Income years after 2027-28 use the 2027-28 resident rates, the latest enacted. CPI for quarters after the June quarter 2026 is projected from your expected inflation. The Medicare levy, the main residence exemption, negative gearing and the rules for new residential dwellings are outside this comparison.
Under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 a capital gain is broadly the capital proceeds less the cost base, and a net capital gain is taxed as part of your income. For sales before 1 July 2027, an individual who held the property for at least 12 months includes half of the gain (section 115-100). The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 treats property held at the end of 30 June 2027 as sold for its market value and reacquired on 1 July 2027 (section 112-155). On a later sale, the gain to that date can keep the 50% discount, the rest is worked out against a CPI-indexed cost base (section 110-36(1A)) and a 30% minimum tax can apply (Division 119). The ATO’s record-keeping ruling explains why purchase and cost records matter.
Ask an accountant or tax adviser to confirm the cost base, the tax on selling now and on a later sale, and any reliefs you may be entitled to. Bring purchase records, improvement invoices, ownership details and income information. Ask a financial adviser about the alternative investment's risks and costs. Company or trust ownership, a former home, overseas residence or a loan being repaid over time need particular care.
No. It estimates your net position after capital gains tax for keeping and for selling now, from your own assumptions and tax facts. It does not rank the options or allow for your wider circumstances, risk or the income tax on rent. Use the figures as one input before speaking to an adviser.
Selling before 1 July 2027 includes half of a gain on property held for at least 12 months. A later sale, including the keep option, uses the July 2027 rules: the gain to 30 June 2027 can keep the discount, the rest is measured against a CPI-indexed cost base and a 30% minimum tax can apply. The tax is the extra resident income tax on top of your other taxable income.
No. You enter both assumptions. Each compounds once a year at a constant rate, which does not model changing markets, volatility, inflation or investment fees. Negative rates are accepted down to minus 100%.
Enter annual running costs and interest, excluding loan principal repayments, sale costs and taxes. The loan balance stays unchanged. A repayment loan or changing borrowing costs needs a separate cash flow calculation.
Selling then needs extra funds, so the sell result shows a shortfall rather than a compounded balance. The same applies when the tax on selling now is larger than your share of the equity. The keep result can still be negative.
Estimate the gain, the current-discount tax and the tax under the July 2027 indexation rules.
See the weekly and annual effect of rent, costs, borrowing and income tax.
