Estimate the taxable part of a capital gain when a home was your main residence for only part of the time you owned it.
Use this calculator when a property was your main residence for only part of the time you owned it, for example because you rented it out before moving in. It applies the ATO's basic apportionment: the taxable part of the gain is the gain x days the home was not your main residence / days you owned it. If you are an Australian resident individual and owned the property for at least 12 months, the 50% CGT discount then halves that amount.
Working out the percentage. Taxable share (%) = non-main-residence days / total days owned x 100, then x 50% if the discount applies. Example: owned 10 years, rented out for the first 2, lived there for 8: 2 / 10 = 20%, halved by the discount = 10%.
Worked example (illustrative). Sale price $1,100,000 less selling costs of $30,000, minus a cost base of $670,000 (price, stamp duty and buying costs) gives a gain of $400,000. At 10%, $40,000 is added to your taxable income and $360,000 is not taxed. The tax payable depends on your marginal rate in that year.
Limits. This is a simplified model. It ignores the six-year absence rule, the rule that resets the cost base to market value when a home is first rented out after you lived in it, land over 2 hectares, and the fact that foreign residents generally cannot claim the main residence exemption or the discount. It assumes a sale contract signed before 1 July 2027: for later sales the 50% discount applies only to growth up to 30 June 2027, with indexation and a 30% minimum tax for later growth (Tax Reform No. 1 Act 2026). See the partial exemption worked example and ask a registered tax agent for your own return.
Costs, Duty and 2026 Rules
When selling your home in Australia is free of CGT, when only part is exempt, the six-year absence rule, foreign resident rules and how selling costs reduce a gain.
Worked Cost Examples and Checklists
Three worked examples of capital gains tax on a home that was rented out for part of the time, including the six-year rule and the market value rule, with the arithmetic shown.
