Selling Property in the Next 12 Months? Here’s a $60,000 Lesson Worth Knowing

Cameron and Sarah, both 60, came to see me for retirement advice. They were hoping to stop work in 12 months and had plans to sell their investment property early in the new financial year.

What they didn’t realise was that one small detail could cost them a fortune in tax.

They were following free advice they received before seeing us, that nearly cost them $60,000.

They’d been salary sacrificing into super, thinking they were doing the right thing. But they’d been following generic guidance from their super fund’s call centre—advice that didn’t take into account their full financial picture or property plans.

That advice nearly cost them $60,000 in tax.

Here’s how we did it

We immediately stopped their salary sacrifice contributions before 30 June to keep both of their total super balances under $500k as at 30 June on the financial year preceding the property sale.

By following our advice, this meant they were eligible to use a rule that allows people with super balances under $500k to make large, tax-deductible contributions using unused caps from previous years.

The result? They saved $60,000 in tax.

If you're planning to sell an investment property with a capital gain, reply to this email or book a 15min chat to see how we can help you make the right decisions before it is too late.