↓ Skip to main content
1 July 2027

Is CGT Going to 30%? How the New 30% Minimum Tax Works

Short answer

No. 30% is a minimum, not a flat rate. From the 2027–28 income year, an Australian-resident individual pays at least 30% tax on capital gains made after 1 July 2027. If your usual rate is higher, you pay that. Gains made before 1 July 2027 are not affected.

How the minimum works
#

Your capital gains are still added to your income and taxed at your normal rates. The minimum then checks one thing: whether the tax those post-2027 gains add comes to at least 30% of them. If it does not, you pay the difference as extra tax.

For example: if your post-2027 gain is $100,000, 30% of it is $30,000. If the gain adds only $22,000 to your normal tax bill, you pay an extra $8,000. If it already adds $30,000 or more, nothing extra is due.

In practice it mostly affects people who sell in a year when their other income is low, such as early retirement, because their normal rates on the gain would have been lower.

Which gains it covers
#

  • Capital gains made after 1 July 2027, on residential and other assets. The part of a gain that grew before 1 July 2027 is a separate category and is not subject to the minimum.
  • Gains that come to you through a trust count as yours.
  • Not covered: gains on qualifying new residential dwellings and affordable housing.

Who it does not apply to
#

The minimum does not apply in an income year in which you receive certain payments, including the Age Pension, the Disability Support Pension, JobSeeker, the Carer Payment, Parenting Payment, Youth Allowance, Austudy, Family Tax Benefit and Farm Household Allowance.

It applies to individuals only, so companies and super funds, including SMSFs, do not pay it. A separate minimum tax on discretionary trusts is due to start on 1 July 2028; see the ATO’s page on the minimum tax on discretionary trusts.

What it means for timing a sale
#

Arranging to receive a pension payment in the year of sale just to avoid the minimum is the kind of scheme the tax law’s anti-avoidance rules exist for. Speak with your tax professional before planning a sale around it.

Is capital gains tax becoming a flat 30%?
No. 30% is a minimum for Australian-resident individuals on capital gains made after 1 July 2027. If your normal rate on the gain is higher, that rate applies.
Does the 30% minimum apply to my whole gain?
No. The part of a gain that grew before 1 July 2027 is not subject to it. Only the later growth is.
Does the 30% minimum apply to pensioners?
Not in an income year in which you receive the Age Pension, or another listed payment such as the Disability Support Pension or JobSeeker.

Source: Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (Act No. 49 of 2026), Division 119 (ss 119-5, 119-10 and 119-15) and s 102-6. General information, not tax advice.