Business valuation resources
Plain English guides for owners, shareholders and their accountants: how a valuation works, what drives value, and what the 1 July 2027 CGT changes mean for a private business.
The basics
- The basicsWhat is a business valuation?A business valuation is a reasoned, independent opinion of what a business, or an interest in it, is worth at a stated date for a stated purpose. Here is what you actually receive, and how it differs from the other numbers people put on businesses.
- The basicsHow to value a business: the eight steps a valuer takesA business is worth what its future earnings are worth to a reasonable buyer, after allowing for risk. Getting from your accounts to that number takes eight steps. Here they are in the order a valuer works through them, with an illustrative worked example.
- The basicsWhich valuation method fits your businessAlmost every private business valuation in Australia rests on a handful of methods. The skill is in choosing the one that fits, setting its inputs honestly and testing the answer against another view. Here is how each works and where it can mislead.
- The basicsBusiness valuation timing: what sets the start and finishThe analysis in a business valuation is rarely the slow part. The waiting is: for records, for answers to the valuer's questions, for signatures. Here is how long the work takes with Independent Business Valuation, when the clock starts, and how to keep your matter moving.
CGT 2027
- CGT 2027The 1 July 2027 CGT changes: what business owners should knowThe 50% CGT discount is not switched off overnight: for individuals and trusts it generally covers growth up to 30 June 2027 and stops there. A plain-English guide to the new law, with round-number examples.
- CGT 2027Valuation or apportionment: two ways to work out the 30 June 2027 amountMarket value or the draft apportionment method: how each sets the 30 June 2027 amount, where they part ways, and why the choice can wait.
- CGT 2027Preparing your records for a 30 June 2027 valuationAn item by item records checklist for owners and accountants, and why records made at the time beat anything rebuilt years later.
Value drivers
Ownership structures
- Ownership structuresCompany, trust or partnership: what exactly is being valued?The business, the entity that owns it and your interest in that entity are three different things. What a valuer values in each structure, and why it changes the scope and the fee.
- Ownership structuresValuing a minority interest in a private companyWhy 25% of a private company is often worth less than a quarter of the whole, when it is not, and what decides which number you need.
Tax
- TaxSmall business CGT concessions and where a valuation fitsAll four small business CGT concessions continue after 1 July 2027. The tests that decide who qualifies often run on market value. Here is where a valuation fits, and where it does not.
- TaxMarket value at 30 June 2027: what a CGT valuation must showWhat market value means when a business or shareholding is valued as at 30 June 2027: the hypothetical sale, one date without hindsight, and the evidence that makes the figure stand up.
Short answers to common questions
Need one question answered rather than a full guide? Each answer gives the short version first and links to the detail.
- Is a 30 June 2027 valuation needed for every business?No. The 30 June 2027 rule applies to assets held by Australian resident individuals and trusts with at least one eligible beneficiary, not...
- Does a company need a 30 June 2027 valuation?Generally, no. Companies can’t use the 50% CGT discount, so the 30 June 2027 rule does not reach a company’s own assets, except any acquired before...
- Can I get a valuation as at 30 June 2027 after that date?Yes. Valuing a business as at a past date, called a retrospective valuation, is normal valuation work. A valuation as at 30 June 2027 can only be...
- What is the apportionment method for 30 June 2027?It is a formula the Government has proposed, under a power in the tax law, to split a capital gain at 1 July 2027 instead of using a market...
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