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May 17, 2026 — 5:13am
My finances are pretty simple. I don’t have any investment properties, or trusts. I’ve paid off my home, and I have focused on building my super balance. I’m 67, and commentary around the budget has been that it’s about shifting money from people of my generation, to younger people. But I can’t see what is changing for me. What have I missed?
Fear not, you have missed nothing. Superannuation rules are unchanged, so you can continue to have up to $2 million in a tax-free pension once retired. Indeed, if you are fortunate enough to have overshot this amount, you can have another million dollars in there that is only taxed at 15 per cent.
There’s no change to the capital gains tax exemption on your primary residence. There is a small change to the calculation of the private health care rebate, but I doubt that will have a meaningful impact on you.
There are also some improvements to aged care services which might become relevant for you later in life.
I have an investment property that I am looking forward to getting rid of – I’m sick of the headaches. I had been holding out until I retired, which is about two years away, so as to minimise the capital gains tax. With these new rules in the budget, should I just get on with it and sell now?
Certainly one to discuss with your accountant. It depends on what your level of income is now, and the size of the capital gain you will experience.
Unquestionably the intention of the minimum 30 per cent tax payable on gains is to significantly reduce the benefit of the timing strategy you are currently working towards, and so there will be circumstances where there is no longer any value in delaying the sale of an asset until a low-income year, as has been the typical approach up until now.
I own an investment property in my SMSF that I bought 12 years ago. How do the new CGT rules impact me?
An easy one here. They don’t impact you. Superannuation continues to be eligible for the one-third CGT discount for assets held longer than 12 months.
I’ve seen mention of a period of time when you can restructure family trusts given the proposed changes. Does these mean you can shift assets out of a trust without triggering CGT, and can you put the assets into super?
The budget includes a three-year period for restructures of family trusts. There is reference to moving assets into company entities, so my impression is that there will be an ability to shift the ownership of assets without triggering CGT, but we will have to wait for more detail.
Perhaps there may be scope to shift assets into super as an in specie transfer, but there is no suggestion of loosening the normal contribution caps, so it would seem you’d need to work within these limitations.
I’m 71 and own some CBA shares that I bought way back in the float. I was intending to sell $20,000 worth of these later this year to help with a well overdue car change-over. Will I now have to pay 30 per cent capital gains tax on this sale?
The proposed changes don’t apply until July 1, 2027, so selling those shares later this year won’t see them caught by this new measure. It’s also worth noting that if you are on the age pension you are exempt from this minimum 30 per cent tax rule.
Paul Benson is a Certified Financial Planner at Guidance Financial Services. He hosts the Financial Autonomy podcast. Questions to: [email protected]
- Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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