Keep house proceeds till exchange rates go up?

[datum1m]

Originally Posted by Wendy

Hi,

This thread is confusing me and worrying me a little bit, we are flying out on the 1st Sept and I am on a pr spouse visa but our house is still on the market and what with the housing market as it is we don't know when it will sell.

So does that mean if it sells after my initial six months in oz then I have to pay cgt?

Hi,

As I understand it yes you would have to pay CGT on money brought into OZ after the initial six month period, because it would be classed as income when you are living in OZ under a PR type Visa. I think AndrewL also confirms this to be the case, but I am waiting for a reply from him on this point. I must stress this information was given to me while attending a seminar about moving and living in Australia and not from any official Australian government web-site, so it would be best to make your own enquires about to be sure that I am correct.

Regards

Nigel

[AndrewL]

Originally Posted by datum1m

Hi Andrew,

Are you saying the information in my original message is correct if migrating to Australia on a permanent resident’s visa?

If the property to be sold in the UK is your sole residence and you have lived in it for more than a year I didn’t think CGT applied to any of the money you may make from its sale.

When the information was given at the seminar I felt it was unfair that you had to sell your home in the UK and bring your money across within the six month period or have to pay CGT, because with the exchange rates and UK housing market being so bad at the moment it doesn’t give you the opportunity to hold onto your property for say a year to see how the market performs or sell it now and wait longer than six months to see if the exchange rate improves. Although the second option may be ok if you could open a Pound Sterling account with an Australian bank, because you would have then brought your money into Australia within the six month period and also have the opportunity to convert it into dollars when the exchange rates improve.


Regards

Nigel

Hi,

Apologies, no CGT if it's your only residence. Additionally, if you have more than one, then this whole 6 month thing is still irrelevant. You get a cost base as of the date you enter Australia with a permanent resident visa. You will pay CGT in both countries, albeit on different gains, at different tax rates. You will get partial double tax relief.

Cheers, Andrew

[AndrewL]

Originally Posted by Wendy

Hi,

This thread is confusing me and worrying me a little bit, we are flying out on the 1st Sept and I am on a pr spouse visa but our house is still on the market and what with the housing market as it is we don't know when it will sell.

So does that mean if it sells after my initial six months in oz then I have to pay cgt?

Only if you buy another house in Australia.

[spock]

Thanks for all this. It's very helpful, and we've decided not to rent. I'm going to get another job and we'll stick it out until it sells. And we don't have to worry about my friend's dog trashing the place (we know her - she used to be ours!!).

Cheers,

James.

[Wendy]

Originally Posted by AndrewL

Only if you buy another house in Australia.

That's reassuring because buying in Australia is not an option until we sell in the Uk.

[yorkshirepom]

Originally Posted by koalakids

The sad fact is and it's bad timing for anyone exchanging money at the moment is that not only is our economy in a dip (understatment of the year) and our property market is in turmoil. But to make things extra difficult is the fact that the Australian economy is absolutely booming and is at an 11 year high! Ironically emigration is one factor that is helping the Oz economy but another is the fact that Oz is very rich in minerals and other commodities that a developing China is buying from them.

There is however light at the end of the tunnel (I'm ever the optimist) as surely the Oz boom can't continue forever as we all know how that story could end!?

Sit tight if you can and ride this one out for a wee bit longer me thinks.

Steve.

hi

Oz inflation high and interest rates nearly 10% , Australia imports nearly everything from Oz