CGT Residence Tracking

CGT Main Residence Exemption

If you sell a property that was your main residence, you may be exempt from capital gains tax (CGT) on some or all of the gain. Finance Frank tracks your residence periods to calculate the exemption automatically.

The 6-Year Absence Rule

Under Australian tax law, you can treat a property as your main residence for up to 6 years after you move out, as long as:

• You don't claim another property as your main residence during that period
• The property is available for rent or rented out

This means if you lived in a property for 3 years, moved out, and sold it within 6 years — you may pay zero CGT.

How to Track Residence Periods

1. Go to Assets and edit a Property asset
2. Scroll to the Residence Periods (CGT) section
3. Click + Add residence period for each time you lived in the property
4. For each period, enter:
   • Move In date — when you started living there
   • Move Out date — when you left (leave blank if you still live there)
   • Main residence — check this box if it was your main residence during this period
5. Save the asset

What Gets Calculated

Frank calculates:

• Total ownership days — from purchase date to today (or sale date)
• Main residence days — including the 6-year absence extension
• Exempt percentage — the proportion of the gain that's tax-free
• Taxable gain — the portion subject to CGT (with the 50% discount if held over 12 months)

Tips

• You can add multiple residence periods if you moved in and out several times
• The 6-year rule resets each time you move back in
• Only one property can be your main residence at any time
• Frank AI can explain your CGT position — just ask "What's my CGT on [property name]?"