Hi, I understand in general, when a person ceases to be an Australian tax resident, he can choose not to have the deemed disposal of assets occur at the moment he ceases to be an Australian tax resident, and instead only pay CGT when he actually disposes of the assets later.
Is this option also available in the case that a deceased's assets pass to a non-Australian tax resident?
Such option is not mentioned on the page linked here.
Thanks a lot!
Hi @ikw0113
When an asset passes to a foreign resident that isn't taxable Australian property there's no CGT event for them when they sell as the estate is responsible for CGT.
Foreign residents will have a CGT event if they inherit and later sell taxable Australian property. Deemed disposal doesn't apply in either situation.
Hello, can someone help? Thank you!
Hello, could someone please help with this question? Thanks!
Hi @ikw0113
When an asset passes to a foreign resident that isn't taxable Australian property there's no CGT event for them when they sell as the estate is responsible for CGT.
Foreign residents will have a CGT event if they inherit and later sell taxable Australian property. Deemed disposal doesn't apply in either situation.
Thanks Ari. What I meant to ask is, can the estate choose not to have a CGT event triggered by the death, and instead kick the can down the road so that a CGT event only happens when the heir sells the assets later (with the cost base of such CGT event being the deceased's original cost base)? I.e. it's as if, instead of dying, the deceased leaves Australia and is "incarnated" in the form of his heir, so that the rules for someone ceasing to be an Australian tax resident apply, including the option to postpone the CGT event.
Hi @lkw0113
Typically, a CGT event will only occur when the property is sold. There are some cases where an inherited property may be exempt from CGT, and you can work this out by having a look at the info on our website.
Sorry, incarnation isn't our area of expertise.
Hi Brooke, I understand that in general, a CGT event only occurs when an asset is sold, but if you look at the "Assets passing to foreign residents" section of this page, https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/investments-and-assets/capital-gains-tax/inherited-assets-and-capital-gains-tax/how-cgt-applies-to-inherited-assets
it says that someone dies and his estate passes to a foreign resident, CGT applies at the moment of the death. Let's call this Case A.
This is similar to Case B, namely how CGT generally applies if someone ceases to be an Australian tax resident. (No death involved in this case.)
Now, in Case B, there is the option to postpone the CGT event until he actually sells the assets. (See "Choosing to disregard capital gains and losses" section on this page: https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/investments-and-assets/capital-gains-tax/foreign-residents-and-capital-gains-tax/how-changing-residency-affects-cgt#ato-IfyoustopbeinganAustralianresident)
So my question is, does the "disregard capital gains and losses" option exist in Case A as well (for the deceased's estate)?
Also, I am not just talking about property, but assets in general (e.g. stocks and bonds).
Hope this clarifies the question. Many thanks.
15 Apr 2026 · 4 min read time
15 Apr 2026 · 8 min read time
149 views
7 replies