Tax Workshop - Chatswood Feb 2026

Property Development and Income Tax

‘Property development’ covers a wide range of activities from the small one-off project to the large-scale multi-stage, multi-million dollar project that takes many years to completion.

The income tax consequences of incurring costs on, and deriving revenue or profit from, the development will depend on the nature and scope of the developer’s activity – i.e. a one-off realisation of an asset or the carrying on of a business.

This session is designed to provide readers with guidance on:

• The significance of the taxpayer’s intention in relation to the development for certain provisions of the Tax law and 
• How it differs from purpose and motive
• The meaning of profit-making undertaking by reference to the Commissioner’s ruling TR 92/3
• The circumstances in which property is held as trading stock, a CGT asset or as a revenue asset
• The circumstances in which a taxpayer is likely to be carrying on a business of property development
• The CGT implications of starting to hold as trading stock land which is already owned
• How development costs in an isolated transaction should be dealt with for tax purposes
• The sort of costs for which a deduction may be available under the provision of last resort, s. 40-880
• The circumstances in which holding costs of vacant land will be denied.