Updated for the May 2026 reform
Capital Gains Tax Calculator NSW
CGT is federal, so NSW sellers face the same enacted 2026 rules as everyone else: the gain splits at 1 July 2027, the earlier slice keeps the 50% discount and later gains use CPI indexation plus a 30% minimum tax. What is NSW about the sum is the cost base - on an $850,000 purchase this page starts you with $32,437 of Revenue NSW transfer duty inside it, which shrinks the taxable gain.
- Rates verified
- 2026-08-03
- Reform
- Split at 1 Jul 2027
- Classes
- All three
The sale
= sold in FY ending 2036
CGT payable - Established (post-reform)
CPI indexation*$46,865
- Capital gain (proceeds − adjusted cost base)
- $333,713
- Taxable gain after discount/indexation/exemption
- $113,862
- Net proceeds after CGT
- $1,171,885
The same sale under each regime
Grandfathered
$46,865
CPI indexation
Established (post-reform)
$46,865
CPI indexation
New build
$71,773
50% discount
If CPI runs low or high - the 2-3% band
CPI 2%/yr
$69,191
+$22,326 vs assumed
CPI 2.5%/yr - assumed
$46,865
the headline figure
CPI 3%/yr
$24,093
−$22,772 vs assumed
The enacted law indexes the reset cost base by actual CPI, which no one can know in advance. Higher inflation indexes the cost base harder and lowers the taxed gain; lower inflation does the opposite. The band shown is the RBA inflation target the 2.5%/yr assumption is the midpoint of (source).
The NSW costs inside this estimate
- Investor transfer duty at $850,000
- $32,437
- Conveyancing (default)
- $2,000
- Building and pest (default)
- $600
- Selling costs (default 2.5% of sale)
- $31,250
NSW transfer duty is not deductible while you hold - it joins the cost base and reduces the capital gain at sale. Auto-estimated from the FY2026-27 Revenue NSW general scale at the purchase price; override the purchase costs field with your contract figures.
CGT is the last chapter of a deal. The full audit runs it against everything that came before - acquisition costs, cash flow and the quarantined loss pool it absorbs.
Deal Auditor - in build, not yet available
*The enacted law indexes cost bases by actual CPI; future CPI is unknowable, so this calculator assumes a 2.5%/yr CPI proxy (the middle of the RBA target band). The 1 Jul 2027 split defaults to a constant-growth interpolation unless you enter a valuation. Confirm the mechanics with your accountant (source). General information only.
CGT in New South Wales: federal tax, NSW numbers
Capital gains tax does not change at the Murray River - it is federal law, and the enacted 2026 reform applies to a Paddington terrace exactly as it does to a Paddington worker's cottage in Brisbane. What makes a NSW sale a NSW sum is everything wrapped around the federal core: the transfer duty you paid Revenue NSW on the way in sits in your cost base, the selling costs of a Sydney agent come off the proceeds, and the land tax you paid while holding - above the frozen $1,075,000 threshold - was deductible year by year and plays no part here. This page starts with those NSW numbers: investor duty at the purchase price on the FY2026-27 scale, plus standard conveyancing and inspection defaults, all overridable.
The reform mechanics then run exactly as on the national calculator, because it is the same audited engine. The gain splits at 1 July 2027: the slice accrued to that date keeps the 50% discount treatment, the slice after it is taxed on a CPI-indexed cost base with a 30% minimum tax, and only first-owner new builds keep the discount for later gains. For post-reform established purchases - most NSW investment purchases contracted after 12 May 2026 - the quarantined loss pool built up during the hold is finally applied here, against the banked slice first, then the indexed one. Sydney's price points make the split visible: on typical NSW numbers the banked pre-2027 slice is often the larger share of the gain for years yet.
The NSW stamp duty calculator prices the duty this page adds to your cost base on the way in. While you hold, NSW land tax starts above the frozen $1,075,000 threshold - a deductible holding cost that never joins the cost base, and one more reason the hold-period paperwork matters at sale. And if the property was ever your home first, the NSW first home buyer calculator shows the FHBAS exemption to $800,000 that likely applied - years lived in first feed the main residence exemption and the 6-year absence rule in this calculator. The national CGT calculator is this same engine without the NSW defaults, and the negative gearing calculator projects the quarantined loss pool this page applies at sale.
Frequently asked questions
How is capital gains tax calculated on an investment property in NSW?
The same way as everywhere in Australia - CGT is federal. Sale proceeds after selling costs, minus your cost base: the purchase price plus buying costs such as NSW transfer duty ($32,437 on an $850,000 purchase under the FY2026-27 scale) and legals, less any Division 43 capital works claimed. Under the enacted 2026 reform the gain then splits at 1 July 2027 - the earlier slice keeps the 50% discount, later gains use CPI indexation of the cost base plus a 30% minimum tax. The taxable amount is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate.
Is CGT different in NSW than in other states?
No - capital gains tax is a federal tax, identical in every state. What differs in NSW is the inputs: Revenue NSW transfer duty joins your cost base (reducing the gain), NSW land tax above the frozen $1,075,000 threshold is a deductible holding cost that never touches the cost base, and NSW first home buyer concessions shape whether a main residence exemption applies to part of your hold.
Does NSW stamp duty reduce capital gains tax?
Yes, indirectly. Transfer duty on an investment purchase is not deductible while you hold - it becomes part of the cost base, so every dollar of duty reduces the eventual capital gain by a dollar. On an $850,000 NSW purchase that is $32,437 off the gain. Selling costs - agent commission, marketing, legals - come off the proceeds the same way.
Does NSW land tax reduce my capital gain when I sell?
No. Land tax is a deductible holding cost, claimed against rental income each year you are liable - above the NSW threshold of $1,075,000 of aggregated land value, frozen since 2025. Because it is deductible along the way, it never joins the cost base and has no effect on the CGT sum. For post-reform established purchases, land tax that deepens a rental loss feeds the quarantined pool, which this calculator applies against the gain at sale.
What did the May 2026 reform change for NSW property sellers?
For gains accruing from 1 July 2027 the 50% CGT discount is replaced by CPI indexation plus a 30% minimum tax - in NSW and everywhere else, grandfathered or not. The law deems every asset sold and re-acquired at 1 July 2027, banking the earlier gain under the old discount rules. First-owner new builds keep the 50% discount for later gains, with a per-sale option to choose indexation instead. Future CPI is unknowable, so this calculator uses a labelled 2.5% a year proxy.