Updated 8 October 2026
A retrospective property valuation establishes what a property was worth on a date in the past. It is also called a backdated or historical valuation. We prepare them for any date, Australia wide, as a fixed-fee desktop report: $297 residential, $595 commercial, delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Or call 1800 248 825, or see a sample report.
At a glance
A retrospective property valuation determines a property's market value as at a nominated past date. The valuer works from sales that settled around that date, market conditions as they were, and the property's condition at the time, then applies the same method that would be used for a current valuation.
The terms backdated valuation and historical valuation mean the same thing. What distinguishes the exercise is not the method but the evidence base: everything used has to be contemporaneous with the valuation date, because a value at March 2019 has nothing to do with what the market did in 2024.
A retrospective report is a capital gains tax valuation with a past effective date. These valuations exist because tax law fixes values at moments that have already passed. Someone rented out a home eleven years ago. Someone died. A couple separated. In each case the law needs a number for that date, and the number has to be established after the fact.
| Retrospective valuation | Current valuation | |
|---|---|---|
| What date is valued | A specified past date | Today |
| What evidence is used | Sales settled around the past date, and the property's condition as it was then | Recent sales and the property as it is now |
| When it is needed | Cost base resets, deceased estates, separation dates, past transfers | A current sale, a current transfer, annual compliance |
| Who asks for it | Accountants, executors, family lawyers and owners preparing to sell | Owners, lenders and trustees |
A retrospective valuation is needed whenever tax or family law fixes a value at a date that has already passed. Which day each event fixes, contract or settlement, death or probate, first tenant or move-out, is set out in which date is the CGT valuation date.
| Trigger | Valuation date | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Home first rented out or used for business | The day income use started (section 118-192) | Home to investment valuations |
| Inherited property | Date of death | Deceased estate valuations |
| Separation or family law settlement | Separation date, or a date set by the court | Family law valuations |
| Transfer between related parties for no or low consideration | Transfer date (market value substitution rule) | Related party transfers |
| Pre-CGT property | 20 September 1985, or the end of 30 June 2027 for pre-1985 owners | Pre-CGT valuations |
| 1 July 2027 cost base reset | End of 30 June 2027 | 1 July 2027 valuations |
| SMSF property for the fund's accounts | Each 30 June | SMSF Property Valuations, our sister practice |
Warning
Evidence thins with timeRetrospective valuations are legitimate and routine, but they are strongest when the trigger date is recent. Sales records survive, but condition evidence does not: photographs, agent listings and renovation records all fade. If you know a date has already been triggered, the cheapest version of this report is the one ordered now.
The process is the same discipline as a current valuation, run against a fixed historical window.
Where the property has since been demolished, subdivided or renovated, the valuation still proceeds. It values what existed at the date, not what stands there now, which is why the report is supported by documented comparable sales evidence and records from the time rather than a site visit. Where records are thin, we say so before you commit and set out what the report can and cannot support.
There is no legal limit, only an evidence limit. We can value any date for which sales evidence exists. Typical requests run from the 1990s to last year, and dates within the past 25 years are routine in urban and suburban markets. Earlier dates are achievable where records survive, which is more often than owners expect. Dates before 20 September 1985 are handled on our pre-CGT valuation page.
Yes. The ATO's guidance on market valuation for tax purposes contemplates retrospective assessments and asks that a report state whether it is one. What it assesses is whether the value is objective and supportable: an appropriate method, comparable evidence from the right period, documented reasoning, and a qualified independent valuer.
What the ATO does not accept as a substitute is an agent appraisal, an online estimate, or a figure with no working behind it. Those are covered in agent appraisal versus valuation.
If you have already lodged a return with an estimated value, the position can usually still be corrected. Where a valuation shows the figure used was wrong, an amendment within the period of review corrects it in either direction. Amendment periods vary with circumstances, so confirm the deadline that applies with your accountant before relying on it.
| Report | Fee (AUD inc. GST) | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Residential, any past date | $297 | 24 to 48 hours |
| Commercial, any past date | $595 | 24 to 48 hours |
The fee is fixed and the same as a current-date report. There is no inspection: the property today is not the property as it was at the valuation date, so a desktop report built on evidence from the period is the appropriate approach.
To start, send the property address, the exact valuation date, and what the property was like at that date. Photographs, a purchase contract, a lease or renovation records from the time all strengthen the report. None of them is mandatory.
The fee is small relative to what the figure decides. On a property whose cost base is understated by $50,000, the valuation changes the taxable gain by $50,000 before the discount; the report is a $297 exercise.
Backdated market valuations for any date the ATO or a court requires. Prepared and signed by a Chartered Accountant and Certified Property Valuer. Residential $297, commercial $595, AUD inc. GST, delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Start your orderHow it worksThe Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 treats property held by individuals, trusts and partnerships as sold and reacquired at the end of 30 June 2027. That makes 30 June 2027 a valuation date almost every property investor in Australia will need at some point, possibly decades later when the property is finally sold.
The value can be set at the time, while the evidence is current, or established later with a retrospective valuation. Owners can also choose Treasury's apportioning formula in place of a valuation, and the two figures can differ widely where a market moved unevenly.
The 1 July 2027 valuation page explains the report, the 1 July 2027 CGT calculator compares a valuation against the formula on your own figures, and CGT changes in Australia sets out the reform.
Retrospective work is where the difference between a valuer and everyone else is starkest. An agent can form a view on today's market from what is selling now. Reconstructing a market as it stood on a specific day years ago, and defending that figure against review, is a different exercise.
Our reports are prepared and signed by Mike Wilczynski, a Certified Property Valuer certified by the Australian Valuers Institute, a Chartered Accountant and a Registered Tax Agent (TPB 17532009). The combination matters for a tax-purpose valuation because the report is written for the ATO question, not for a lender. The valuation date, the interest valued and the assumptions all line up with what the return needs, so your accountant is not left reconciling a report that answers a slightly different question.
The valuer fixes the date, reconstructs the property's condition and configuration as at that date from title, council and photographic records, then analyses sales that settled around that date and adjusts them for differences. The report states the method, the evidence and the reasoning so the figure can be followed by a third party.
Yes. The ATO's guidance expressly contemplates retrospective assessments and asks that a report identify itself as one. What matters is that the valuation is objective, uses evidence from the relevant period, documents its method and reasoning, and is prepared by a qualified independent valuer.
There is no legal limit, only an evidence limit. Dates within the past 25 years are routine in urban markets, and earlier dates including 20 September 1985 are achievable wherever historical sales records survive. If a date is difficult, we will tell you before you commit.
Residential reports are $297 inc. GST and commercial reports are $595 inc. GST, the same fee as a current-date valuation, delivered in 24 to 48 hours. The fee is fixed and quoted upfront.
Yes. A retrospective valuation values the property as it existed at the valuation date, not as it stands now, so later demolition, renovation or subdivision does not prevent the report. The condition at the date is reconstructed from title and council records, historical listings and any photographs you can supply.
Yes. A backdated valuation, formally called a retrospective valuation, assesses what the property was worth at the earlier date using comparable sales evidence from that time, not today's value adjusted backwards. The report states the effective date and is signed by a Certified Property Valuer.
Yes. Backdated, historical and retrospective all describe a valuation as at a date in the past. We use retrospective because that is the ATO's term, and the report states the exact date valued.
Yes, where sales evidence from the period exists. Pre-CGT dates are handled on our pre-CGT valuation page, including the 1 July 2027 reset for pre-1985 owners.
Any past date, Australia-wide, delivered in 24 to 48 hours. Tell us the address and the date and we will confirm the fee before we start.
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