Centrelink Payments You’ll Need to Avoid New 30% CGT Minimum Tax
Australians who receive certain Centrelink income support payments will not pay the new 30 per cent minimum tax on capital gains from July 2027, financial adviser Nick Bruining says. Jobseeker, disability support, carer payment and the aged pension qualify. Gifting property is not exempt.
Australians who receive a Centrelink income support payment will not owe the new 30 per cent minimum tax on capital gains that applies to assets sold after July next year, according to independent financial adviser Nick Bruining. The centrelink payments you’ll need include Jobseeker, the disability support pension, carer payment and the aged pension.
Carer allowance does not count. Bruining set out the rules in a reader question-and-answer column published November 9, 2026.
How the minimum tax works
Assets sold after July next year will be taxed under a new calculation method. Where it produces a capital gain, that gain faces a minimum 30 per cent tax.
Bruining said the measure is meant to stop people from “splitting” a sale over two or more years to keep each year’s gain below the level where income tax applies.
The minimum tax is not payable if the person receives any Centrelink income support payment during the financial year in which the gain occurred. Bruining warned that receiving a payment does not wipe out all income tax on the gain.
Two-part calculation for share sales
A reader who has held shares for some time asked how the rules apply. Bruining said the reader will need a valuation of the portfolio as of June 30 next year.
The gain from the purchase date to that point is calculated under current rules. Half of that profit is added to the person’s other income in the year the shares are sold.
Growth above inflation after July 1 next year forms the second part. The two figures are added together, then taxed at normal marginal rates.
If a person’s income is too low to exceed the tax-free thresholds, the 30 per cent rate would apply to the post-2027 gains. A Centrelink income support payment removes that minimum rate.
Gifting property to children
A second reader, who owns houses now rented by his children, asked whether he could give them the properties. Bruining said CGT law treats any disposal of an asset as a potential trigger, and there are no exemptions for gifting.
The market value on the transfer date is used to calculate the giver’s CGT liability and the stamp duty the new owner pays. Bruining said an independent valuation from a licensed valuer is needed.
For properties acquired before September 1985, no CGT applies if the gift happens before July 1 next year. After that date, CGT applies from July 1, 2027 up to the transfer, with a minimum 30 per cent tax on growth above inflation over that period.
Leaving the houses in a will works differently. CGT may be payable when the home is finally sold, and the children “inherit” the original cost base and date. They may be able to claim a “main residence exemption” from the date they acquire the property, provided it is their primary residence.
