Example: Sale of a rental property
In his own right, Brett purchased a run down rental property on 1 July 1997. The price he paid was $150,000 plus $20,000 in total for stamp duty and solicitors fees.
He rented out the property after spending $2,500 on initial repairs.
In the next few years, Brett incurred the following expenses on the property:
Interest on money borrowed |
$10,000 |
Rates and land tax |
$8,000 |
Repairs |
$15,000 |
Total |
$33,000 |
As it was an old property, there was no special building write-off Brett could claim.
When Brett decided to sell the property, a real estate agent advised him that if he spent around $30,000 on major structural repairs, the property would be valued at around $500,000. He had the repairs done and put the property on the market. on 1 April 2001, he sold the property for $500,000.
Brett's real estate agents fees and solicitors fees for the sale of the property totalled $12,500.
This is Brett's only capital gain for this year-and he has no capital losses to offset from this year or previous years. Brett works out his cost base as follows:
Purchase price of property |
$150,000 |
Stamp duty and solicitors fees on purchase of the property |
$20,000 |
Capital expenditure (initial repairs) |
$2,500 |
Capital expenditure (major structural repairs) |
$30,000 |
Real estate agents fees and solicitors fees on sale of the property |
$12,500 |
Cost base unindexed |
$215,000 |
Brett deducts his cost base from his capital proceeds (sale price).
Proceeds from selling the house |
$500,000 |
Cost base unindexed |
$215,000 |
Total |
$285,000 |
Brett shows $285,000 at H Total current year capital gains at item 17 on his tax return.
He decides the discount method will give him the best result, so he uses this method to calculate his capital gain:
$285,000 × 50% = $142,500
Brett shows $142,500 at A item 17 on his tax return.
End of exampleDownload Brett's capital gain or capital loss worksheetThis link will download a file here.