Client Exclusive: CGT, Negative Gearing and the Property Market After Budget 2026

The 2026 Federal Budget has introduced major changes to property investment taxation, including updates to Capital Gains Tax and Negative Gearing.

As a valued Empower Wealth client, we’re hosting this client-exclusive webinar to give you a clear, straight-talking breakdown of what these changes could mean for the property market. In the days ahead, there will be no shortage of commentary, headlines and political spin. But property markets don’t move on headlines alone. They move on behaviour: investor confidence, buyer demand, rental supply, lending conditions and where people choose to put their money next.

Ben will go through what smart property decision-making looks like in a post-Budget environment, and will also be answering your questions live. Join us as we cut through the noise and help you feel more confident on your next steps.

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Webinar Replay

If you found this session valuable, you might also enjoy our recent The Property Couch webinar.
Ben takes a deeper dive into the Location Hierarchy framework, unpacking the insights behind the infographic and how it can help shape smarter property decisions. Watch the webinar here >

Note: Interested in the $750 Plan Review offer or would like to speak with one of our teams? Let us know via the form below (click here) and we’ll make sure the right person gets in touch. You can also request a call back for support with your loan review, tax accounting, shares investing, or buying your next property. Of course, you can also reach out to your adviser directly.

A common question from the webinar was whether the Plan Review fee is tax deductible. In general, it is deductible if the review relates to your existing investment portfolio and you already own an investment property. However, please speak with your tax accountant to confirm based on your personal circumstances.

You’ll also find the free resources from the webinar below, including Moorr’s Negative Gearing Calculator and the Location Infographic shared during the session.

Timestamps

• 04:31 – What to expect in this webinar
• 07:22 – New negative gearing modelling calculator demo
• 13:37 – Negative Gearing Impact
• 18:04 – The $64,000 Question: where do property prices go from here?
• 20:38 – The $5.4 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer
• 27:38 – Population growth, housing shortages & future demand
• 32:58 – Agglomeration economics & why cities keep growing
• 38:09 – Australia’s Long Term Urban Economic Divergence
• 43:20 – Why established property may outperform new stock
• 52:12 – Picking an outperforming locations
• 54:10 – Who could be most impacted by the changes?
• 01:01:18 – Property Market Outlook in the short term and long term
• 01:07:07 – What can you do?
• 01:11: 57 – Q&A: SMSFs, commercial property, growth vs income & more
• 01:12:05 – What are the implications of moving into a property that has been used as an investment property for the past six years?
• 01:13:08 – Can Empower Wealth advisers incorporate strategies such as equity release into ETFs or shares into a Property Portfolio Plan?
• 01:14:59 – How could affordability spillover from nearby suburbs be affected by the proposed changes?
• 01:15:59 – Could there be a short-term rush to buy or sell before the changes take effect, and how can investors avoid making emotional decisions?
• 01:17:40 – Why Residential Property defies fundamental value
• 01:24:00 – Can a new-build home purchased as a principal place of residence later be converted into an investment property and still access negative gearing benefits?
• 01:25:14 – What does “negative gearing is deferred, not lost” actually mean?
• 01:26:16 – How does debt recycling fit into the new policy environment?
• 01:27:01 – If a principal place of residence becomes an investment property later, will it be grandfathered under the old negative gearing rules?
• 01:27:26 – Could granny flats, subdivisions or new builds become a stronger strategy under the proposed changes?
• 01:29:44 – Can deferred losses be offset against another positively geared property in the same portfolio?
• 01:32:19 – Does the six-year CGT exemption rule still apply if you rent out your principal place of residence and move back in later?
• 01:33:30 – How could SMSFs fit into property investing under the proposed tax changes?
• 01:35:33 – Does yield become more important than growth without upfront negative gearing, and could this make commercial property more attractive?
• 01:38:25 – Does the deferred tax benefit lose value over time because of the time value of money?
• 01:39:11 – What should investors approaching retirement consider if their plan involves selling properties to fund lifestyle needs?
• 01:40:21 – Do existing Empower Wealth Property Portfolio Plans still apply in the post-Budget environment?
• 01:40:59 – Is Australia’s housing shortage really about supply, or are holiday homes and short-term rentals also part of the issue?
• 01:42:07 – Could the $750 Plan Review fee be tax deductible if it relates to an existing investment plan?
• 01:42:45 – When might property valuations be required before July 2027, and how could they be conducted?
• 01:43:53 – How might lenders assess borrowing capacity under the proposed negative gearing changes?
• 01:44:37 – What are the implications of temporarily moving into an investment property to renovate before turning it back into a rental?
• 01:46:22 – Could larger regional markets like Townsville be adversely affected by the proposed changes?
• 01:46:55 – How can retirees realise capital gains from investment properties, and how could the Budget changes affect that?
• 01:47:51 – How should investors approach rent increases for heavily negatively geared properties?
• 01:48:30 – Is it better to consolidate two principal residences into one home and use the equity to purchase a new-build investment property?

Free Resouces:

• Location Infographic: Download Empower Wealth’s Long-Term Residential Land Value Framework infographic — the same framework Ben referenced throughout the webinar when explaining why some locations continue to outperform over the long term.
• Moorr Negative Gearing Calculator: Log in to Moorr today and test different property scenarios and compare how the proposed negative gearing changes could impact cash flow, deferred tax benefits and long-term outcomes using Moorr’s free Negative Gearing Calculator.
• Let’s Review Your Next Steps: We’d love to schedule a quick catch up! If you’d wondering the impact on your current position, keen to request a Plan Review, or speak with one of our teams about your loan review, tax accounting, shares investing or buying your next property, simply complete the form below and we’ll make sure the right adviser gets in touch.

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Let us know!

We’d love to hear what you thought of the session. You can share your feedback and also let us know if you’d like one of our advisers to reach out about your next steps.