In-specie transfers · From $299 + GST · 1-4 business days
Valuations for In-Specie Transfers
When property moves into or out of a fund without a sale, no buyer sets the price. The market value has to be evidenced, dated to the transfer, and strong enough to satisfy an auditor who knows both parties are connected.
What valuation do I need for an in-specie property transfer?
You need a market value report dated as at the transfer date, supported by objective evidence such as itemised comparable sales. Because no open-market sale sets the price, the valuation is what establishes the transfer value for the fund’s accounts, the contribution or benefit calculation, and the auditor.
Everything else about the transfer, including whether your fund is permitted to make it at all, sits with your accountant or adviser. What we provide is the evidence the figure rests on.
Why the number carries weight
No Buyer, No Market Test
In an ordinary sale, an unrelated buyer and seller negotiating at arm's length produce the market value as a by-product. An in-specie transfer produces no such test.
That is why the transfer value has to be established independently and documented at the time. The figure flows through several calculations at once: what the fund records as the asset’s cost, what a contribution is counted as, what a benefit payment is worth, and the disposing party’s capital gains position.
Get it wrong and the corrections are awkward, because the transfer has already happened. Evidence gathered before or at the transfer costs a fraction of evidence reconstructed under challenge afterwards.
Match the Date to the Transfer
The valuation date on the report should be the date the transfer takes effect. A figure carried over from the last 30 June is evidence of what the property was worth then, not at the moment it changed hands. If the transfer has already occurred, a retrospective valuation can be prepared as at that past date using the sales evidence that existed at the time.
Business Real Property Is the Common Case
The most frequent in-specie transfer we value is a business premises moving into a fund from its members, which is possible because business real property is treated differently from other related-party acquisitions. Whether a particular property qualifies is a legal question for your adviser. See business real property for how we value those, and related-party leases for what happens afterwards.
The tax side
The Valuation Feeds the CGT Calculation
Transferring an asset is generally a disposal for capital gains purposes, and the market value used becomes an input to that calculation. We prepare reports suitable for accounting and CGT purposes, including for dates in the past. What the tax outcome is, and whether the transfer is a good idea, is your accountant's call.
3,500+reports delivered
200+accounting firms
0rejected by an auditor
Trusted byBDO AustraliaMoore AustraliaSuperannuation Audit Servicesand many more
In-specie questions
Common Questions, Answered
What is an in-specie transfer?
A transfer of an asset itself rather than cash. Property moves into or out of the fund as a contribution, a benefit payment or a purchase, without the asset being sold on the open market first. Because no arm's length sale sets the price, the market value has to be evidenced separately.
What valuation date should the report use?
The date of the transfer. A report dated months earlier or later leaves a gap the auditor has to reconcile, particularly in a moving market. Set the transfer date as the valuation date on the order form and the report is prepared as at that date.
Can my SMSF acquire property from me or a related party?
Only in limited circumstances, and business real property is the main one. The rules on acquiring assets from related parties are strict, and whether your property qualifies is a question for your accountant or adviser before the transfer, not after.
Why do auditors look closely at in-specie transfers?
Because there is no independent buyer setting the price. The transfer value affects contribution caps, member balances and the fund's tax position, and the parties on both sides are often connected. Independent, dated evidence is what removes the argument.
Is there a capital gains tax consequence?
Transferring an asset is generally a CGT event for the party disposing of it, and the market value used matters to that calculation. We provide the valuation evidence. Your accountant works out the tax position from it.
General information about valuation evidence, not financial, legal or tax advice. Whether your fund can make a particular transfer is a question for your accountant or adviser. See all property types we value.
Order a Transfer Valuation
Set the transfer date as the valuation date on the order form and the report is prepared as at that date, delivered in 1-4 business days.