REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT AND ESTATE PLANNING AFTER THE 2026 TAX REFORMS

Course overview

This course examines how the 2026 tax reform program changes the way advisers assess residential property investment, CGT timing, trust structures, and estate-planning review work. It focuses on practical decision-making, including client fact-finding, structuring choices, transitional risk, documentation standards, and scenarios where tax advice must be coordinated with legal and superannuation advice.

Course objectives

Explain the post-Budget framework for negative gearing, CGT reform, and discretionary trust reform.
Analyse how those reforms affect acquisition timing, ownership structure, disposal planning, and intergenerational wealth transfer.
Apply estate-planning review principles to the family home, investment properties, trusts, and superannuation-related asset pathways.
Use scenario-based reasoning to distinguish technical tax analysis from legal implementation work.
Apply professional standards on competence, reasonable care, client communication, records, and quality management to reform-era advice.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the completed course, you should be able to:

classify a property or holding structure by reform exposure and commencement timing
assess whether a residential property remains fully negatively geared, loss-quarantined, excluded, or preserved by transitional rules
explain the practical effect of cost base indexation, transitional valuation, and the 30 per cent minimum tax on post-2027 gains
identify when a trust, SMSF, deceased estate, or testamentary pathway changes the analysis
document, communicate, and supervise reform-related advice in a manner consistent with TPB obligations and quality-management standards.

CPD/CPE Mapping for this course

Course lesson	Main content focus	TPB CPD alignment	CPA Australia CPD alignment	CA ANZ CPD alignment	IPA CPD alignment	FAAA / financial advice CPD relevance	SMSF Association / SMSF specialist relevance
Lesson 1: The reform landscape and advisory risk	Reform categories, preserved holdings, transitional acquisitions, new-build pathway, excluded entities, advisory classification and professional risk.	Supports maintaining knowledge and competence in taxation law, client fact-finding, reasonable care, client communication and correct application of tax law.	Relevant to tax technical knowledge, professional competence, client advisory capability and risk management.	Relevant to technical capability, professional judgement, ethics, governance and client advisory practice.	Relevant to taxation, practice management, professional standards and client advice quality.	Relevant where property or tax reform discussions affect advice scope, client objectives or referral boundaries.	Relevant where SMSFs are considered as excluded or separately treated entities and where property ownership through superannuation is compared with other structures.
Lesson 2: Negative gearing, capital gains tax and adviser transition planning	Negative gearing changes, quarantined losses, CGT transition, 1 July 2027 valuation evidence, post-reform property classification and file documentation.	Strongly aligned with tax technical CPD, reasonable care, recordkeeping, and correct application of taxation laws to client circumstances.	Relevant to tax updates, property investment tax, CGT, client advisory services and documentation standards.	Relevant to tax technical competence, advisory judgement, client communication and quality control.	Relevant to tax law updates, CGT, property deductions, professional competence and practitioner obligations.	Relevant where modelling, investment consequences or ownership pathways may cross into financial product or investment advice.	Relevant to SMSF advisers comparing ordinary ownership, trusts and SMSF property pathways, especially where advice boundaries must be managed.
Lesson 3: Ownership structures, trusts, superannuation and succession design	Individual ownership, joint ownership, discretionary trusts, fixed trusts, companies, SMSFs, succession control, advice boundaries and restructure risk.	Supports CPD on entity structures, trust tax issues, superannuation-related tax considerations, client records, referral discipline and scope control.	Relevant to business structures, trusts, superannuation, succession planning, tax strategy and professional risk management.	Relevant to tax, business advisory, estate and succession planning, ethics and multidisciplinary advice coordination.	Relevant to trust taxation, business structures, superannuation, estate planning and practice governance.	Highly relevant where client-specific recommendations about SMSFs, insurance, investments or restructuring may require licensed advice.	Strongly relevant to SMSF property decisions, death-benefit control, trustee issues, deed review, liquidity and specialist referral triggers.
Lesson 4: Estate administration, implementation governance and succession stress testing	Estate administration, executor readiness, valuation governance, liquidity, incapacity, cross-border comparison, implementation checklist and adviser governance.	Supports CPD on professional competence, proper client records, quality management, supervision, client communication, ethical conduct and tax administration risk.	Relevant to estate planning support, tax advisory implementation, client file governance, risk management and ethical practice.	Relevant to governance, tax advisory quality, professional judgement, client communication and implementation risk.	Relevant to professional standards, tax practice management, succession planning and client documentation.	Relevant to advice-boundary management where estate liquidity, insurance, superannuation and investment recommendations may arise.	Relevant to SMSF estate planning, trustee succession, liquidity, death-benefit implementation and coordination with legal and licensed advice.