Chartered Accountants ANZ has asked the government to push back the 1 July 2027 start date for the capital gains tax and negative gearing changes, arguing the consultation has moved faster than the detail can bear. For anyone holding an investment property, a share portfolio or a business asset, the argument matters less than the date underneath it — and that date is close enough to plan around now.
What is actually being proposed
The draft legislation changes how capital gains and negative gearing are treated from 1 July 2027. Because most assets are held across that line, gains have to be split between the period before the start date and the period after it, with each portion treated under its own rules. The draft does that with a nine-step apportionment formula.
This is still draft legislation. It is not law, the detail is being released in stages, and CA ANZ’s submission makes the point that further amendments are likely once practitioners start applying it. Nothing here should be acted on as settled.
The apportionment problem
CA ANZ’s central objection is that the nine-step formula disadvantages people who cannot afford a professional valuation. Without one, the method allocates more of the gain to the period after 1 July 2027 — which is the portion that attracts the less favourable discount treatment. The submission asks for three changes:
- ·A simpler straight-line apportionment method in place of the nine-step formula
- ·A safe harbour for individuals with small assets — under $5,000 each, and under $100,000 in total holdings
- ·Fixes for gaps in the formula around internally generated goodwill and capital improvements
That last one matters more than it sounds. If you have extended a rental property, or built value inside a business rather than buying it, the formula does not currently deal cleanly with how that value is allocated across the two periods.
Why the timing is the real issue
CA ANZ argues the timeframe does not leave enough room for tax practitioners, the ATO or affected industries to prepare. The funds management sector was singled out: from day one the changes touch transaction processing, capital gains calculations, withholding obligations and investor reporting, all of which need working systems before the start date rather than after it.
The submission also notes that a rushed consultation, combined with key legislative interactions being released piecemeal, tends to produce rules that need amending once they meet real transactions. Whether or not the start date moves, that is a reasonable warning to take seriously.
What this means if you hold assets now
Nothing changes before 1 July 2027, and the rules may yet change again. But the apportionment method rewards good records, and records are the one thing you cannot create retrospectively. Worth doing regardless of where the legislation lands:
- ·Find the original purchase documents for every asset you hold — contract, settlement statement, and the acquisition date
- ·Pull together the cost base additions: capital improvements, stamp duty, legal fees, agent commissions
- ·For rental properties, make sure your depreciation schedule is current and the improvement history is documented
- ·If you were already planning to sell before 2027, price the timing question into the decision rather than around it
- ·If a valuation is likely to be worth having, understand that the demand for valuers close to the start date will not help you
The honest position
We do not know yet whether the start date will move, or whether the apportionment method will survive consultation in its current form. Anyone telling you they do is guessing. What we would say is that the decisions worth making now are the ones that hold up either way — getting cost base records in order, understanding what you actually hold, and knowing which disposals are genuinely time-sensitive. We are watching the draft and will update this article as the detail firms up.