Life does not always go to plan While we logically know that, most of us don’t plan for the worst – it’s all a bit morbid and time-consuming. The downside of not planning is the potential for hard-earned assets to be squandered, family fall-outs, and money handed to the Government that could have been distributed…
Tax ‘safe harbour’ for inherited property When someone inherits a dwelling there are some special rules contained within the main residence exemption provisions that can provide a full exemption if certain conditions are met. If the conditions are not met, the beneficiary might face a nasty capital gains tax (CGT) bill for their good fortune.…
First home buyers The First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSS) enables first-home buyers to save for a deposit inside their superannuation account, attracting the tax incentives and some of the earnings benefits of superannuation. Home savers can make voluntary concessional contributions (for example by salary sacrificing) or non-concessional contributions (voluntary after-tax contributions) of $15,000 a year within…
CGT and the family home If you are an Australian citizen working overseas but a non-resident for tax purposes, these new rules are likely to affect your main residence in Australia. If you maintain your main residence in Australia, you can use the absence rule to maintain the exempt status of your property just in…
Main residence exemption removed for non-residents The Federal Budget announced that non-residents will no longer be able to access the main residence exemption for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes from 9 May 2017 (Budget night). Now that the draft legislation has been released, more details are available about how this exclusion will work. Under the…