Guide for buyers living in Australia
Buying property abroad from Australia
Rules last checked 30 October 2026 · 3 official sources · Education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice.
What a buyer living in Australia meets before and after buying a home abroad: sending the money out, tax at home on the rent and the sale, and the forms to file.
The three things to know
- Sending money abroad
Australia sets no limit on a resident's transfers abroad in the legislation read; moving AUD 10,000 or more in monetary instruments out of the country must be reported to AUSTRAC, and providers report international value transfers themselves.
- Tax at home
An Australian resident is taxed on worldwide ordinary income and net capital gains, with a foreign income tax offset for foreign tax paid. The main residence exemption is not tied to a location in its text, and for gains from 1 July 2027 the 50 percent discount is replaced by cost base indexation.
Sending money abroad
A report
- Rule
A person who moves monetary instruments, meaning physical currency, bearer negotiable instruments or things prescribed by rules, out of Australia with a total of AUD 10,000 or more must report the movement to AUSTRAC, a customs officer or a police officer; failing to do so is an offence.
- Limit
10,000 AUD per per movement
A report
- Rule
A reporting entity that provides an international value transfer service through a permanent establishment in Australia gives AUSTRAC a report within 10 business days after passing on or receiving the transfer message; the duty sits with the provider, not the individual sending the money.
For buying a home abroad
- Rule
The legislation read does not treat the purpose of buying a home abroad differently from any other purpose.
Tax at home
A person resides in Australia for tax if they reside there, including where domicile is in Australia unless the permanent place of abode is outside it, or have been in Australia for more than half of the income year unless the usual place of abode is outside Australia and there is no intention to take up residence.
Rent from a home abroad
- Rule
An Australian resident's assessable income includes ordinary income derived from all sources, whether in or out of Australia, so rent from a home abroad is assessable in Australia.
Gain on selling a home abroad
- Rule
An Australian resident's net capital gain is part of assessable income, a capital gain on a main residence is disregarded for an individual whose dwelling was the main residence throughout the ownership period, and a gain from a CGT event before 1 July 2027 can receive a 50 percent discount while cost base indexation replaces the discount for events on or after 1 July 2027.
Relief for tax paid abroad
- Rule
A foreign income tax offset is available for foreign income tax paid on an amount included in assessable income, and Treasury publishes the list of Australian tax treaties.
How Freeholt models Australia residents with property abroad
Where to look
Choose a country to see what its rules say for a buyer with a Australia passport living in Australia.
Check a country for a passport
Australia
OpenPassport: Australia. Buyer lives outside Australia. Reading for a home.
The sources show no nationality bar. Taxes, fees and permits for the property can still apply.
Australia requires a foreign person to obtain foreign investment approval before buying residential land, and from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 buying an established dwelling is generally banned, while vacant land and new dwellings stay open with approval. Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens are not caught.
Rules last checked 29 October 2026
What is changing
- From 1 July 2027 the 50 percent CGT discount for individuals is replaced for most gains by indexation of the cost base, with the discount kept for new residential dwellings, under amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Act No 49 of 2026).
Questions people ask
What if an Australian resident rents out a flat abroad?
Section 6 to 5 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 includes ordinary income from all sources, in or out of Australia, in the assessable income of a resident, so the rent is assessable.
How does Australia relieve tax already paid abroad on the rent?
Section 770 to 10 gives a foreign income tax offset for foreign income tax paid on an amount that is part of assessable income, subject to an offset limit.
What if a foreign home is sold after 1 July 2027?
Section 115 to 100 allows the 50 percent discount for individual gains from CGT events before 1 July 2027. For later events section 110 to 36 allows cost base indexation, and section 115 to 102 keeps 50 percent for new residential dwellings.
How does the main residence exemption treat a home abroad?
Section 118 to 110 disregards a gain on a dwelling that was an individual's main residence throughout the ownership period. The section does not name a country. An absence can be treated as continuing residence indefinitely if the home is not rented, or for 6 years at a time if it is rented.
What if AUD 15,000 in cash is carried abroad for the deposit?
A movement of monetary instruments of AUD 10,000 or more out of Australia must be reported to AUSTRAC, a customs officer or a police officer, with imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine as the penalty for failing to report.
How does residency work for someone spending half the year abroad?
The test in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 looks at where the person resides, domicile and presence in Australia for more than half the income year, unless the usual place of abode is outside Australia and there is no intention to take up residence.
What is still open
These points could not be confirmed from an official source yet, so they are not stated as rules.
- The Australian Taxation Office pages on overseas rental properties and foreign income were not readable, so reporting forms and deadlines could not be confirmed.
- A statement that Australia has no exchange controls on bank transfers could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- Whether the new residential dwelling rule from 1 July 2027 can apply to a dwelling outside Australia could not be confirmed, because the meaning is left to a ministerial determination.
- The number of Australian income tax treaties in force was not read from the Treasury list.
- Whether a foreign home held in a company or trust changes the reporting duties was not researched.
Sources
Official pages these figures come from (3)
See what this does to your own numbers
Add a property abroad next to everything else you own, and see the income and net worth that follow after tax, year by year.
Free to start. No card. Rules checked 30 October 2026.
This is education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change and depend on the buyer's own facts. Advice from a licensed professional in the country concerned is what settles a particular purchase.