In general, real estate that is held with the intention of making a profit through investment is subject to the capital gains tax (CGT). This signifies that when you sell real estate assets, a portion of the money you produce as a profit on such assets must be handed over to the government. The exact amount that must be given to the government varies depending on the state in which you live. This can be a significant payment, with the potential value being somewhere in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The size of this payment is often decided by the individual income tax rate that you file your taxes under.
The requirement that investors must pay this tax is quite unpopular among them. Because this tax does not apply to your primary place of residence, thankfully, homeowners do not have to be concerned about the possibility that the government would view their home as an investment. It is obvious that being required to pay this tax as a homeowner would have an impact on the individual's ability to modify the size of their existing home or to make it smaller.
On the other hand, there is a one-of-a-kind provision that allows certain homeowners to rent out their property without incurring the responsibility of paying CGT on it. The provision in question is often referred to by its previous name, the six-year rule.
How exactly do you calculate the tax on your capital gains?
The Capital Gains Tax in Australia was first enacted in 1985 and is applicable to the acquisition of any item made after that date, unless the asset in question is specifically excluded from the tax. The tax was repealed in 2003.
According to the definition provided by the Australian Tax Office, the difference between the amount that an item initially cost you and the amount that you get in return when you sell the item is either deemed a gain or a loss on the asset's capital value (ATO).
Even though it is referred to as CGT, the tax that you pay on your capital gains is included in the total amount that you owe for income tax and is not considered to be a separate tax in and of itself. This is the case even though it is referred to as CGT.
If an asset is kept for at least a year, then any gain is first reduced by a percentage equal to 50% for individual taxpayers and equal to 33.3% for superannuation funds, whichever is greater.
What does the "six-year rule" actually mean?
According to the Australian Taxation Office, the six-year rule allows a person to consider a house as their principal residence for up to six years provided the dwelling is utilised to bring in money. This allows the person to defer paying capital gains tax on the dwelling. If you decide to sell your property, you won't be subject to paying any tax on the profit made from the sale.
It also means that if you don't use it to bring in money, you can keep the property forever without having to pay a tax on the profits that you generate from selling it. This is the case even if you don't use it to bring in money. If you decide to maintain it and utilise it as a second home or holiday property, this can be the case.
If you are already investing in real estate or if you have plans to begin doing so in the near future, you may already be familiar with the six-year rule. If you are not currently investing in real estate, the six-year rule is not as important to you. If not, there is no reason to feel guilty about it because tax law is not the type of subject that lends itself well to breezy weekend reading material. On the other side, if you have any history information, you could be able to minimise the amount of money you have to pay in taxes when you sell your home. This would be the case if you had any background knowledge.
Even though you have moved out of the house, you should still consider it to be your primary abode and conduct yourself in a manner befitting that status. When you acquire a house, you have the choice of putting it either as your primary residence (also known as PPOR) or as an investment property. If you do not intend to use the property as your primary residence for as least a year after you purchase it, you are not permitted to treat the home as a PPOR and cannot deduct the purchase price from your taxes. Remember to keep this in mind!
However, after living in this property for a year and a month, you are eligible to move out of the residence, rent it out for up to six years, and then apply for a capital gains tax exemption on the income you derive each year as well as on the sale of that property. This exemption only applies to the income you derive from renting out the property. Keep in mind, provided that you sell the property during the next six years.
When it comes to capital gains, it is abundantly clear that there is no single approach that is applicable to every situation. If you move out of your PPOR but do not rent it out after you make the move, you can continue to do so indefinitely and still be eligible for a capital gains tax exemption when you sell the property. If you move out of your PPOR but rent it out after you make the move, you will not be eligible for the exemption. For instance, you may buy a house and make it your primary residence for the first twelve months after you make the purchase of the house. After then, you can decide to vacate the house and move to a new place, while enabling your son to continue living there without paying rent.
What are the repercussions of missing your PPOR more times than the amount of times permitted? That is to say, it is possible for you to move to a different state more than once and then move back into the home that you have owned in the past more than once. The ATO views each and every instance in which you rent out your PPOR rather than living there as a singular event because it does not count against your personal residency. You will not be required to pay the tax on your capital gains as long as any one of these time periods does not last for more than six years.
This example is offered by the Income Tax Assessment Act of 1997, which states that You are set up with a place to live for the next three years. As a result of the fact that you will be stationed overseas for the next five years, you have made the decision to rent it out during that period. You plan to move back in there as soon as you get back, and you intend to remain there for a further two years. After then, you will be relocated to a different nation for an additional four years, and after that period of time has passed, you will have to sell the residence. You have the option of continuing to regard the house as your principal residence even while you are gone due to the fact that both of your absences will last for a period of time that is less than six years.
It doesn't matter how many properties you buy as investments during this time period; the six years will be added up for you. The ATO does not differentiate between the two of them. Therefore, if you generate money from your PPOR over a period of time equal to eight years, say, spread out across several distinct stints depending on your movements, you will be subject to taxation for the two years that follow the first six years of cumulative income.
Why is there a catch?
There are a few deviations here and there from the norm in general. If, on the other hand, you are in the process of moving from one house to another, the laws regulating primary residence are somewhat more lenient during this time frame. To begin, during this time period you are not allowed to identify any other home as your official primary residence. This restriction applies to any properties that you own.
In addition to this, you need to make sure that when you first purchased the home, you had the intention of making it your primary place of residence and using it as such on a daily basis. When it was first purchased, the property was certainly not intended to be used for investment purposes.
Why does the rule exist?
For a variety of reasons, it's possible that you won't be living in your home for a considerable amount of time. This law was created to prevent homeowners from unwittingly incurring excessive tax liabilities. Additionally, it suggests that you may earn some extra income from your home for a while without being subject to CGT.
The six-year rule allows you to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of your prior property if you vacate it, move into a different rental, and then rent out your previous residence before selling it before the six-year period has passed.
What happens if I continue to rent it out after six years?
Any additional income earned during that time will be allocated in order to determine the amount of tax that is due if you have received revenue from the property for longer than six years. In order to determine what portion of the earnings are subject to CGT, the amount of time that is over and above the six years will be divided into the time that the person has had full possession of the property. Following this, the gains are calculated using the property's value at the moment you first started utilising it to generate revenue (based on the comparative market value at the time).
If you return to the house for an extended period of time, the six-year restriction is reinstated as long as each absence lasted less than six years.
It is in your best advantage to speak with your investment team and your accountant about any and all tax-related issues before making any major decisions. These rules are applicable to houses that started being rented out for profit after 1996. To maximise the return on your investments, always seek advice from a third party.
Tax payments made by non-citizens
People who are not residents of Australia for tax purposes are able to purchase residential rental properties at the same price as people who are residents of Australia for tax purposes. These costs include not only the purchase price of the property but also the stamp duty, which is a tax that varies from state to state, as well as the legal fees for the conveyance of the property from the seller to the buyer.
You are free to make the decision whether or not to include a sourcing fee for a buyer's agent who will assist you in locating the specific kind of property that you desire. If you do include this money, the buyer's agent will help you find the property that meets your needs. Spending some money to have a building and pest inspection report carried out before closing the acquisition is another thing that is a smart idea to do before making the deal official.
Any positive nett rental revenue is liable to taxation in the jurisdiction in which the property is rented out. This applies regardless of the amount of the revenue. The "carry forwards" provision in the tax code allows for losses sustained from the rental of a property to be applied against future earnings for an indefinite period of time. Additionally, the losses are eligible to be deducted from any capital gain that was accomplished through the sale of the property.
In the event that a resident sells a property that they have owned for more than a year and generated a capital gain as a result of the sale, they may be eligible for a reduction equal to fifty percent of that gain. This deduction is taken into account before the remaining fifty percent of the gain is analysed for its potential tax liability. This advantage is in no way accessible to non-locals in any way, shape, or form.
The income tax rates that non-residents are required to pay are only slightly higher than the rates that residents are required to pay. The fundamental difference between residents and non-residents is that non-residents are required to pay taxes on the first $18,200 of income, while residents are exempt from paying taxes on the same amount of income. On incomes between $18.2 thousand and $37 thousand, residents pay an income tax rate of only 19 percent, while non-residents pay an income tax rate of 32.5 percent.
When the value of the land exceeds a specific level, the owner is responsible for paying a tax known as land tax that is imposed by the state. In the state of New South Wales (NSW), the rate of land tax is 1.6 percent of the value of the land, and the exemption threshold is $406,000. Different states have different rates for their land taxes. If the value of the land is determined to be greater than this level, then it will be subject to taxation.
When it comes to residents, the interest charges that are incurred when financing the acquisition of a home are tax-deductible expenses that can be deducted against the rental earnings. In other words, residents can take advantage of this tax benefit. It is crucial to get the opinion of a property tax expert who specialises in tax planning before entering into a transaction of any kind. This can help ensure that you minimise your tax liability.
When selling a PPOR that had been rented in the past, a capital gains tax (CGT) is due
When real estate is purchased, it may either be used as a primary residence or it can be turned into an investment by being renovated into a rental unit. Both of these uses for the property are viable options. The nature of the property's first usage will be taken into account in the calculation of the capital gain if and when the property is finally resold for a profit. This will occur at some point in the future.
The owner of a property that is used as their primary residence is free from paying capital gains tax (CGT) on any profits made from the sale of the property for as long as the property is utilised for that purpose. After a piece of property has been rented out for the first time, in order for it to continue to be free from CGT, the six-year rule mandates that it must be sold within six years in order for the exemption to be maintained. Only in circumstances in which there is no other property that is recognised as the principal residence is it possible to qualify for the exemption.
If you moved for work reasons in 2010 and continued to nominate your property in Victoria as your main residence, you will be able to keep your exemption from CGT when you realise a capital gain on selling it after four years of first renting it out, provided that you continued to nominate it as your main residence. However, if you did not continue to nominate it as your main residence, you will lose your exemption from CGT.
If you bought another home during that time and designated it as your primary residence, the market value of the property at the time you designated the new home as your primary residence would be used as the cost base for determining the amount of capital gains tax that would be due on the sale of your previous home. This means that any growth in capital that occurred prior to that date will not be subject to taxation, and any growth that occurred after that moment will be liable to taxation.
According to the "six-year rule," if you have held a home for at least six years and consider it to be your primary residence for tax purposes, you can do so even if you do not really live in that home as long as you have done so in order to avoid paying capital gains tax. Even if you do not currently live in the property, you may be able to claim it as your primary residence in order to defer paying capital gains tax (CGT) on any profits you make on the sale of the property for up to six years if it is producing income for you in the form of rent. This allows you to avoid paying CGT on any profits you make on the sale of the property. If you do not currently reside in the property, you may be able to defer paying CGT on any profits you make
If you do not sell the property within those six years or if you do not reoccupy the property as your primary residence within those six years, the exemption will be revoked and you will no longer be eligible for it. During this six-year time, you are not permitted to designate another home as your principal residence; if you do so, you will lose your eligibility for the exemption from the capital gains tax.
The following is a list of scenarios in which the six-year rule applies, as well as certain scenarios in which it would not apply:
Your previous primary home (PPOR) does not qualify for rental income because it is not a property that produces income and hence is not regarded an income-producing asset.
Nina and Dave made their first real estate acquisition in 2009, and it was in the city of Melbourne, where they had every intention of making it their primary abode (PPOR). On the other hand, Nina decided to go to Sydney in 2012 after receiving a job offer there for a term of two years. The couple came to the conclusion that moving into a rental apartment in Sydney would be the best option for them, but that they would keep their larger belongings in their home in Melbourne. They requested that Nina's sisters retrieve their mail on a weekly basis on their behalf. Her sister was allowed to relocate to their home in Melbourne without having to make any payments towards a rent obligation for an indefinite amount of time thanks to the fact that Nina's employment contract in Sydney was extended.
They were not receiving any income from the house, and they did not nominate the apartment in Sydney as their PPOR. Seven years later, Nina and Dave sold their house in Melbourne and were able to claim the main residence exemption from CTG. This was possible because they did not nominate the apartment in Sydney as their PPOR. In addition, Nina and Dave did not put in their nomination for their PPOR, which would have been the flat in Sydney, because they did not designate the apartment as their PPOR.
Your former principal place of residence (PPOR) property is currently generating income for you
As his PPOR in 2010, Colin declared the acquisition of a studio apartment in Brisbane with one bedroom. In 2012, he started dating Alex, and the two of them immediately realised that they needed additional living space after they learned how much stuff they had between them. As a consequence of this, they came to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to begin renting out the flat while simultaneously renting a more spacious house 15 minutes away. They continued their search for another four years until finding the house of their dreams, at which point they made the choice to sell the flat they had been living in.
During those four years, the couple considered the apartment to be their principal place of abode and continued to live there. They were exempt from paying the capital gains tax since the amount of time they spent away from their primary residence was less than six years.
There were periods when the property, which had previously served as the owner's principal residence (PPOR), was both rented out and occupied by the owners
Cleo has been living in the townhouse that she purchased about two years ago; nevertheless, she recently felt the need for a change of scenery and moved to a new location. While Cleo was in the process of renting out her townhouse, she took the executive choice to move into a home that she had rented for a year in a charming seaside village. After a year had passed, she made the decision to return to the townhouse that she had previously lived in.
Following the passage of an additional year and a half, it became clear that moving to a different site was going to be required. During the period that she was renting out her own house, Cleo resided in a high-rise building in an apartment that she had rented for the previous two years. After a period of two years, Cleo came to the conclusion that she would like to reside in her townhouse on a permanent basis.
If Cleo made the decision to sell the townhouse that she has always used as her primary residence, she would not have to pay any capital gains tax because the total amount of time that she earned income from the townhouse while living elsewhere was less than six years during each of those periods. As a result, Cleo would be exempt from paying this tax.
Staying on the property and avoiding paying capital gains tax
When it comes to real estate, one of the most significant exemptions from the Capital Gains Tax that you may be eligible for is if the property in question is either your home or your primary place of abode (PPOR).
When it comes to your primary residence, you will almost always be able to claim an exemption from the payment of capital gains tax.
To be eligible for the exemption, the piece of property in question must have a residence on it, and you must have occupied that dwelling at some point in the past in order to qualify for the exemption.
You are not eligible to receive the exemption that is made available for blocks that are empty.
In most cases, a house or apartment is considered to be a person's primary residence if it satisfies one or more of the following criteria:
- It is a place for you and your loved ones to call home and raise a family.
- Your most personal possessions are kept in that location.
- It is the address that your mail will be delivered to when it is ready.
- On the list of people who are registered to vote, your address will be listed there.
- The infrastructure required to connect services such as gas, electricity, and the phone is put in place.
You may be eligible for a tax credit that was not previously open to you if your PPOR is converted into a rental property. This credit was not previously accessible to you.
There is a specific regulation that comes into effect after six years that states that in order for a piece of real estate to continue to be exempt from CGT after it has been rented out for the first time, it must be sold within six years of the date that it was first rented out. This regulation applies to properties that have been rented out for the first time.
To qualify for the exemption, you must not use any other home as your principal residence at any point of time. Otherwise, you will not be granted eligibility.
The fact that this regulation restarts the six-year exemption term if the same dwelling is reoccupied as a primary residence after it has already been utilised for that purpose is an intriguing aspect of the rule.
As a result, you are qualified to receive a further six years' worth of exemption beginning on the day that it generates its subsequent earnings.
You must pay capital gains tax if your principal house is used for a business
As a result of developments in technology, an increasing number of individuals are discovering that they may either work from the comfort of their own homes or start their own companies.
On the other hand, the imposition of a capital gains tax (CGT) of some form is possible in the event that a person works from home or utilises their residence for business-related reasons. This is a circumstance in which a great number of people find themselves.
Your home office will not be considered a place of business if your employer has an office located in the same city or town as where you live, even if your job requires you to work outside of typical business hours. This is the case even if you are required to work on days and times that are not considered to be business days. Because of how important something is, you need to make sure that you don't forget about it.
In addition, if you supplement your primary source of revenue with money earned from personal services, it's possible that you won't be able to deduct the costs that are involved with maintaining your place of residence.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recommends that before you declare your home to be a business premise, you carefully assess any potential capital gains tax (CGT) implications.
If you rent out your property for a period of six years or less and do not treat another home as your primary residence, you may be eligible for a complete exemption from paying capital gains tax on the sale of your property if you use this circumstance. In order to qualify for this exemption, you must not treat another home as your primary residence during the rental period.
Despite the fact that this is commonly referred to as the "6-year rule," it does not actually refer to six calendar years. Instead, it refers to a period of time that encompasses a range of years. It is only applicable during the time period in which your rental property is occupied by a renter who is making actual use of it. Even if, for example, you rented out a house for eight years but then it stood unoccupied for a period of months that totalled up to two years, you are still qualified for this exemption because you rented out the house for a total of eight years.
When it comes to the sale of investment property, the goal is not only to understand how to avoid paying capital gains tax, but also to do so in a manner that is compliant with the law. This can be accomplished by selling the property in one of several ways. With the assistance of the strategies that are included on our list, you have the legitimate potential to accomplish a sizeable reduction in the amount of capital gains tax that you are required to pay. Keep in mind that you are obligated to pay your dues at all times; however, this does not indicate that you are obligated to pay more than is reasonable for the position that you hold in the organisation.