Should we sell our investment property before the new tax changes?

May 27, 2026 — 3:01am

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I turn 65 in November and my wife turns 63 in March. Between us, we have only modest superannuation of about $150,000 because our main retirement asset has been an investment unit at Coolangatta that we bought in 2020 for $440,000. We believe it is now worth conservatively about $780,000. We also have about $270,000 in cash earning roughly 6 per cent interest and I will shortly start receiving a small military pension of about $300 a fortnight.

Our original plan was to live off the cash reserves first, which we estimate would last about four years, and then sell the unit and contribute the proceeds to superannuation. However, with the proposed capital gains tax changes, I am now wondering whether it may make more sense to sell the unit before June 2027 so we can still access the current CGT concessions.

The unit is owned jointly in both our names and our family home, which we own outright, is worth conservatively about $2.4 million. Is it beneficial to bring forward the sale of the unit, or should we stick with our original strategy?

Keep in mind the new CGT changes are only partly grandfathered; the capital gains accrued up to July 1, 2027, will be subject to the existing rules (50 per cent discount) and the amount of the capital gain that accrues from July 1, 2027, to the date of sale will be subject to the proposed regime (cost base indexation with a minimum 30 per cent tax rate).

I think the bigger issue is the potential capital gain and rental income you may receive between now and whenever you decide to sell. As you both have low superannuation balances, it may be possible to use catch-up concessional contributions to........

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