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Pre-1985 Property and the 1 July 2027 Reset - Why the Evidence Matters

From $279 desktop · on-site from $646. All prices include GST. Your fixed price is confirmed before you proceed. Full pricing · Which do I need?
Valuer-signed An independent valuation by a qualified valuer, prepared to be ATO-acceptable. Not "ATO-approved" - no such status exists.
Any past date A retrospective valuation assesses market value as at a past date - a date of death, the day a home became a rental, a separation date, or the end of 30 June 2027. Earlier is easier: evidence goes cold.

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If you have held a property since before 20 September 1985, the 1 July 2027 cost base reset lands differently for you than for anyone else. Most owners facing a CGT valuation have a purchase price to fall back on if the evidence is thin. You don’t. Pre-CGT property has never needed a cost base, so there isn’t one sitting in the file.

The reform is law — the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 — and it takes effect on 1 July 2027. For the mechanics of the reset itself, the education site 1july2027.com.au explains what changes and why. This page is about the practical consequence: what you need on file, and when.

A valuation is a choice, not an obligation. The 1 July 2027 value is the property’s market value immediately before 1 July 2027, unless you choose an apportioning method instead — a method the Minister determines by legislative instrument (s 112-175(3) and s 112-185). Nothing in the Act requires a valuation. The argument for one here is about evidence quality rather than compliance. Treasury’s draft of the method, released for consultation on 4 August 2026 and not yet final, estimates the value by assuming the property grew at one constant compounding daily rate over the whole time it was held, derived from the eventual sale price and the first element of its cost base. For a property held since before September 1985 that period can run four decades — so the assumption it makes is doing a great deal of work, over a span in which growth was anything but steady.

Why this group carries the most evidence risk
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For a property bought in 2005, a weak 2027 valuation is a problem — but the contract, the transfer and the settlement statement still exist, and an accountant has something to reason from. For a property held since the early 1980s, there is no such fallback. The 1 July 2027 market value becomes the number — whether you establish it with a valuation or accept what the formula produces — and the only thing standing behind it is whatever evidence you gathered at the time.

Three things follow from that:

  • The evidence is the asset. A figure without comparable sales, a stated methodology and a date is difficult to defend years later, when the sale finally happens and someone asks how it was arrived at.
  • It is easier now than later. Sales evidence for a given date is most complete close to that date. Reconstructing the market of 1 July 2027 in 2035 is possible, but it is slower work and the record is thinner. See retrospective valuations for how a backdated valuation is built and why earlier is easier.
  • The gain can be very large. Forty years of growth concentrated into one dated number is a bigger number than most CGT questions involve, which tends to mean more scrutiny, not less.

What to do, and when
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You cannot finalise a value as at the end of 30 June 2027 until that date has passed — it has to arrive before it can be evidenced. What you can do now is decide the pathway and get the property into the queue, so the valuation is prepared close to the date rather than years afterwards.

A desktop report (from $279) — not an IVS-compliant valuation, since there is no inspection — works from records, sales evidence and data with no visit, and suits standard suburban property with plenty of comparables. An on-site valuation (from $646) adds a physical inspection, which tends to matter for property that has been held a long time: original condition, unapproved additions, subdivision potential and acreage are exactly the features a desktop cannot see. Given how long pre-1985 holdings have usually been in the family, and that this figure is the whole cost base if the ATO ever tests it, on-site is the level to use here rather than defaulting to the cheaper option — see the comparison of desktop vs on-site and what a valuation costs.

Common questions
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What counts as pre-CGT property?
Property acquired before 20 September 1985, when capital gains tax was introduced in Australia. Contracts exchanged before that date are the usual test rather than settlement, but check the specifics with your accountant.
I inherited a pre-1985 property - does this apply to me?
It depends on when you inherited it and what the deceased’s position was, and the answer differs by case. Bring both dates to your accountant. If a date-of-death value is also needed, see deceased estate valuations.
Can I just use the council valuation?
Council and land-tax assessments value land for rating purposes and typically don’t reflect the full market value of the property. For a number that has to stand alone with no purchase price behind it, that gap matters more than usual.
Should I get one now or wait?
The value has to be as at the end of 30 June 2027, so it cannot be finalised before then. Registering now means the work is scheduled close to the date, while the sales evidence for that period is at its most complete.
How long should I keep it?
For as long as you hold the property, plus the record-keeping period after sale - commonly a decade or more. For pre-1985 property this file is the cost base record, so treat it accordingly.

Related guides: CGT valuations · retrospective valuations · desktop vs on-site · deceased estates.

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General information only — not tax, financial or legal advice. The signed valuation is provided by a qualified valuer.