Can anyone help if you dont take your money with you when migrate due to house not being sold and take it later when it has sold do you get taxed on it and if so at what rate?

Hi Browny:

You didn't specify the type of real estate it was.

If it was your primary residence then you will not owe tax.

If it was most other type of property then you will probably owe CGT (Capital Gains Tax). I think this page will shed more light on the situations that come up when selling real estate. I don't believe it matters if the real estate is in Australia or overseas since Australia bases its taxes on worldwide income (just like USA). If however you paid tax in UK then it would probably count as a credit against the Australia tax liability.

The page at the ATO (Austalian Tax Office):

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/31570.htm&page=10&pc=&mnu=5060&mfp=001&st=&cy=#H4_6

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I would HIGHLY recommend going to a tax professional for this and your first year of tax return(s) since it will be more complex than just the sale of real estate (partial years, currency conversion and if there is gain attributable to that).

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Originally posted by browny:
Can anyone help if you dont take your money with you when migrate due to house not being sold and take it later when it has sold do you get taxed on it and if so at what rate?

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Hi thanks for info,the property is our only home.Its just that our sale has just fallen through again due to chain ,we have to be there by 16 may 04 and i dont think we can cope with flying there for holiday as we have triplets age 3 so thats why i need to no about leaving house up for sale, i no you dont pay any tax if you take money when you migrate but still not sure if you take it later.

Hi Browny:

In that case you won't owe money on the sale itself. However you can owe money on the currency difference from the date you sell the property to the date you bring the money over. That would count as a CGT.

Example (made up numbers)

You sell the property for 100000 GBP on Feb 1 and the exchange rate is 1.8 AUD:1 GBP so the value is AUD 180000 on Feb 1.

On Feb 15 you bring the money over and the exchange rate has changed to 1.9 AUD:1 GBP so you bring over AUD 190000. You would owe the tax on the difference from the time you have the money (Feb 1) till the time you bring it over (Feb 15). Therefore you would owe CGT on AUD 10000 (190000 - 180000).

Alternatively, if your 180000 AUD on Feb 1 was worth 175000 on Feb 15 you would be able claim a $5000 Capital Gains loss.

Again this is an example and I would go with a UK-AU accountant who specializes in the changeover because this is not the only tax issue you will run into.