Capital Gains

A person's main residence is exempt from CGT, with a few exemptions:
– If it was used for income producing purposes
– it is bigger than 2 hectares

There are various factors which can determine if your place is your main residence, including
– length of time lived there
– whether all your family lives there
– address of your mail, drivers licence, electoral roll etc
– connections of electiricty in your name etc.

There are also exemptions if you do not live in your main residence and rent it out – you may still be able to claim it as your main residence and it will be cgt exempt for up to 6 years after you move out. s 145-118 ITAA 1936.

There is no minimum period in which you have to live in a home before it can be considered your main residence (from the ATO "Guide to Capital Gains Tax 2007").

You can also have 2 houses which you can claim as your main residence at the same time – to allow for moving from one to the other etc – with a few conditions.

And remember, a place cannot be classed as your main residence until you live in it.

careful planning can save you a heap of CGT!