HOLD Tips
    DEFEND·1 min read
    HIGH IMPACT30 MIN+MARK'S PRIORITY

    What records you need before you sell

    Protect the asset and your financial position.

    Best for: Owners who may sell within the next few years

    The records that reduce your capital gains tax bill are the ones that are easiest to lose, and the hardest to reconstruct after the fact.

    Why this matters

    Your capital gain is calculated from evidence, not memory. The stronger the records, the more of your legitimate costs make it into the cost base. The key message: rebuild the evidence, not just the number.

    What to check

    • Purchase records: the contract, settlement statement, legal costs and stamp duty
    • Renovation and improvement invoices, plus bank records that back them up
    • Photographs, plans and council approvals for any works
    • Previous sale listings showing the property's condition at purchase
    • Depreciation schedules and your accountant's records for the property

    Who can help

    Quantity surveyor, accountant, or conveyancer

    Depending on what's missing — a quantity surveyor for cost evidence, your accountant for the tax position, your conveyancer for purchase documents.

    TAKE ACTION · CHECKLIST

    One afternoon to gather what exists

    Document request checklist

    Copy this checklist and work through it — one folder, everything in it.

    WHAT YOU'LL NEED

    • Purchase contract and settlement statement
    • Any renovation invoices and bank statements
    • Depreciation schedules
    Purchase contract Settlement statement All renovation/improvement invoices Council approvals Rates notices spanning ownership Prior depreciation schedules Records of any main-residence periods

    USE AI TO HELP

    Use AI to organise your ownership records so your accountant works from evidence, not memory.

    Best prompt for this issue

    Review the property records I provide and organise them into purchase, ownership, capital improvement and sale-related records. Identify common records that appear to be missing and where I might find them. Do not determine tax eligibility — my accountant does that.

    Quick modes

    WHAT TO PROVIDE

    • purchase contract and settlement statement
    • renovation invoices and bank records
    • photos, plans, council approvals
    • depreciation schedules

    ASK AI TO GIVE YOU

    • a short summary of the situation
    • the main issue
    • missing information
    • risks to investigate
    • questions to ask
    • the next three actions

    Privacy: do not paste passwords, tax file numbers, bank account details or other sensitive personal information into an AI tool. If a document contains personal details it doesn't need, redact them before uploading.

    What happens next

    Where invoices are missing, a cost base is reconstructed from multiple sources — contracts, bank records, photographs, plans, approvals, listings, depreciation schedules, and quantity surveyor construction-cost evidence where appropriate. Your accountant determines which items are eligible and how they're treated.

    Important considerations

    • A quantity surveyor's construction-cost evidence can help where records are missing, but it doesn't universally replace invoices — the more original evidence, the stronger the position.
    • Your accountant remains responsible for determining the tax treatment and eligibility of cost-base items.
    • This is general information, not personal tax advice.

    THE HOLD QUESTION

    If you sold this property tomorrow, could you prove every dollar you've spent improving it?

    NOT SURE WHAT TO ASK AI?

    Ask a Better Property Question

    Most people don't need more AI — they need to ask AI better questions. Type your question (or skip it) and copy a prompt that makes any AI tool ask you the right things first.

    I am trying to understand this property issue. Before answering, identify any important information that is missing. Ask me only the questions that materially affect the answer. Once I respond, explain the issue in plain English, separate facts from assumptions, identify the main risks and give me the next three actions. Flag anything that should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

    Privacy: do not paste passwords, tax file numbers, bank account details or other sensitive personal information into an AI tool. If a document contains personal details it doesn't need, redact them before uploading. This is a way to prepare — not financial, tax or legal advice.

    Not sure what else to review?

    Run the Annual HOLD Check

    Related HOLD Tips

    The Kilroy Brief

    Independent commentary on Australian housing, property, construction, taxation and investment, delivered directly to your inbox.