Updated 10 October 2026
Mostly, no. The 1 July 2027 deemed disposal locks every gain accrued before that date into the old 50 per cent discount rules whether you sell in June 2027 or in 2040. Selling early to beat the reform protects a gain the law already protects. The genuine reasons to act before 30 June 2027 are narrower, and the one step nearly every owner should take is a valuation, not a sale.
At a glance
- The 50 per cent discount applies to CGT events that happen before 1 July 2027
- From 1 July 2027, CPI indexation plus a 30 per cent minimum tax replaces the discount for individuals and trusts
- Selling costs and forgone growth can outweigh the discount saving; the maths rarely favours a panic sale
- The main residence exemption is unchanged, so fully exempt homes gain nothing by rushing
- Everyone holding across the date needs a supportable 1 July 2027 market value
In this guide
What actually changes on 1 July 2027
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, enacted 26 June 2026, ends the 50 per cent CGT discount for individuals, trusts and partnerships from 1 July 2027. In its place: cost base indexation by CPI, plus a minimum 30 per cent tax on net capital gains from assets held more than 12 months. Pre-1985 assets enter the net for growth after that date. The main residence exemption is untouched, complying super funds keep their one-third discount, and eligible new builds can elect the old regime.
A fuller account of the reform sits on the CGT changes guide.
Crucially, the change is not retrospective. Under Subdivision 112-E every affected asset held at the end of 30 June 2027 is deemed sold and reacquired at its market value at that date. The gain accrued to 1 July 2027 is preserved under the old rules, discount included, and simply deferred until the real sale. Only growth after 1 July 2027 falls under the new regime.
Why rushing to sell mostly does not help
The fear driving sell-before-the-deadline talk is that gains built up over years of ownership will suddenly be taxed under the harsher rules. The legislation was deliberately designed so that does not happen. Your accrued gain keeps its 50 per cent discount either way. What a June 2027 sale changes is not the treatment of the accrued gain; it changes three other things:
- You pay the tax now instead of later, surrendering years of deferral.
- You give up all future growth in the asset, which is an investment decision, not a tax one.
- You crystallise agent fees, legal costs and, on any replacement purchase, stamp duty, which routinely exceed the tax difference being chased.
Penalty risk
Watch for deadline-driven selling adviceAgents have an obvious interest in a wave of pre-July 2027 listings, and a rush of investor stock hitting the market before the date could itself soften prices exactly when sellers need them firm. Make the decision on your asset's merits with your accountant, not on a countdown.
Worked example: sell vs hold
Note
Worked example (illustrative, before costs and individual rates)Tom bought an investment unit in 2015 for $400,000. It is worth $700,000 in mid-2027, a $300,000 accrued gain.
Sell June 2027: $300,000 gain, 50 per cent discount, $150,000 assessable at his marginal rate in FY2026-27.
Hold: the deemed disposal locks the same $300,000 into the old rules at the 1 July 2027 value. He sells in 2031 for $780,000. The deferred $300,000 is still assessed with the 50 per cent discount, $150,000 assessable, and only the extra $80,000 of post-2027 growth is taxed under indexation and the 30 per cent minimum. On the accrued gain, the outcomes match; holding simply deferred the tax four years and added a separately taxed slice of new growth.
One timing wrinkle cuts the other way: holding means the deferred gain and the post-2027 gain land in the same sale year, which can stack income into higher brackets in that year. That is a marginal-rate conversation for Tom's accountant, not a reason to panic-sell.
The genuine reasons timing still matters
There are real cases where acting before 30 June 2027, or at least deciding before it, is rational:
- You were selling anyway within a year or two. Selling into FY2026-27 keeps the whole calculation under the familiar rules and avoids carrying a deferred-gain computation for a short remaining hold.
- A low-income year. The discounted gain lands on your marginal rate, so realising it in a year with parental leave, a sabbatical or a business loss can beat both a normal pre-2027 year and a post-2027 stacked year.
- Negative gearing changes. Deduction limits apply from 1 July 2027 for established residential property acquired after 7.30pm on 12 May 2026. If your holding maths depended on full negative gearing, the investment case, not the CGT rate, is what changed.
- Loss harvesting. Capital losses interact differently with an indexed regime. Positions carrying losses are worth reviewing with your accountant before the rules switch.
- New builds. Eligible new residential dwellings can elect the old regime, which changes the comparison entirely for that stock.
What holding gets you
Deferral is a benefit: tax paid in 2035 is cheaper than tax paid in 2027 in present-value terms, and your capital keeps compounding in the meantime. Indexation is not the old discount, but in a period of meaningful inflation it does real work on the post-2027 slice, and the 30 per cent minimum only bites where your marginal outcome would have been lower. And the deemed disposal means you are never punished for the years you already owned the asset. The reform changes the economics of future growth, not the reward for past growth.
Hold or sell, you need the 1 July 2027 number
Market valuations at the reset date, prepared by a Chartered Accountant and Certified Property Valuer. $297 residential, $595 commercial, incl GST, 24 to 48 hours, Australia-wide.
Start your orderHow it worksThe real action item before 30 June 2027
Whether you sell or hold, one document matters: the market value of the property at 1 July 2027. Holders need it to split the gain between the regimes, and to keep the choice between a valuation and the apportionment formula, now in exposure draft open, as covered in formula vs valuation for 1 July 2027. Pre-1985 owners need it because it becomes their cost base for the first time, per the pre-CGT valuation guide. Even sellers benefit from a dated valuation if settlement risks slipping past 30 June.
To see what that choice is worth before you commit either way, the capital gains tax calculator compares the tax with a valuation and with the formula for every Australian market and every year of purchase.
A valuation near the date is a $297 exercise with fresh evidence. The same figure reconstructed by a backdated valuation in 2034 is harder work defending against thinner records. Book it, file it with your accountant, and make the sell-or-hold call on investment grounds.
Common questions
Should I sell my investment property before 2027?
Not for CGT reasons alone. The deemed disposal at 1 July 2027 preserves your accrued gain under the old 50 per cent discount rules whether you sell before or after the date. Sell on investment grounds, your income year, and transaction costs, decided with your accountant.
Does the 50% discount still apply to gains before 2027?
Yes. Gains accrued to 1 July 2027 keep the 50 per cent discount under the transitional deemed disposal in Subdivision 112-E, taxed under the old rules when you eventually sell. Only growth after 1 July 2027 falls under indexation and the 30 per cent minimum tax.
Will everyone dump property before 30 June 2027?
The legislation was designed to prevent exactly that by grandfathering accrued gains, so there is no tax cliff forcing sales. Some owners will still sell for the timing reasons above, but a rush driven purely by the discount ending reflects a misreading of the transitional rules.
What should I do before 30 June 2027 if I am keeping my property?
Obtain a market valuation at 1 July 2027 and keep it with your records. It splits your gain between the old and new regimes, preserves the choice against the apportionment formula, now in exposure draft, and is far stronger evidence obtained near the date than reconstructed years later.
Sources
- Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, Federal Register of Legislation
- ATO, Tax reform: reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax
- Budget 2026-27, Budget Paper No. 2, Tax reform: Boosting home ownership, pages 21 to 22
- Treasury, Capital gains tax and negative gearing tranche 2 legislation consultation, including the CGT apportioning method exposure draft
- ATO, CGT discount
