Australia's Foreign-Resident CGT Changes: What Business Owners in Dubai Need to Know

By Bill Anderson, FCCA, Chief Executive Officer, Assetica — 2026-07-09

Direct Answer: Australia has progressively tightened capital gains tax for foreign residents, and Australians running businesses from Dubai are squarely in scope. The foreign resident capital gains withholding on Australian property sales rose to 15 percent with the previous AUD 750,000 threshold removed, so withholding now applies from the first dollar. The main residence exemption has been unavailable to non-residents for years, catching owners who sell the family home after moving. And the government has moved to broaden and police what counts as taxable Australian property, including tighter testing of asset composition over time and pre-sale engagement with the ATO for significant transactions. For a business owner in Dubai the common thread is valuation: whether your company shares remain taxable Australian property depends on what sits inside them, and that is a valuation question about land-rich balance sheets, not a guess.

Most coverage of these changes speaks to property investors. The more interesting audience is the Australian founder in Dubai whose company owns premises, plant or development sites, because the rules decide whether the shares themselves stay in the Australian tax net after departure.

What changed, in plain terms

Three shifts matter. First, foreign resident capital gains withholding: buyers of Australian real property from foreign residents must withhold at 15 percent, and the old AUD 750,000 de minimis is gone, so even modest sales are caught and the cash-flow hit lands at settlement. Second, the main residence exemption: non-residents disposing of the former family home generally cannot claim it, a rule that has been biting since 2020 and still surprises expatriates who kept the house and sold it later from Dubai. Third, the government has been strengthening the foreign resident CGT regime more broadly: expanding the categories of assets treated as taxable Australian property, testing whether a company is land-rich over a period rather than at a single convenient moment, and requiring engagement with the ATO before large disposals. The direction of travel is unambiguous: fewer gaps, more withholding, more evidence expected up front.

Why this reaches your company shares

After you become non-resident, most of your assets leave the Australian CGT net (that is the CGT event I1 deemed disposal covered in our Australia to Dubai relocation guide). The big exception is taxable Australian property, which stays taxable no matter where you live. Shares in a company can themselves be taxable Australian property if the company is land-rich: broadly, when more than half the market value of its assets is Australian real property and your stake is significant. That test is a valuation exercise. A logistics business with owned depots, a manufacturer with its own factory, a builder holding development sites: whether the shares stay in the Australian net depends on the relative market values of land versus everything else, measured properly. And with period-based testing, a company that drifts land-rich for part of the ownership window can be caught even if it was not on the sale date.

The three moments that need numbers

Departure. CGT event I1 deems a disposal of your non-TAP assets at market value when you cease residency, and you choose between paying then or electing to defer and staying in the net. The choice runs on a dated market valuation of the company. Holding. While you live in Dubai, the land-rich composition of the company decides whether the shares remain taxable Australian property; a contemporaneous valuation of the property against total assets is the evidence if the ATO asks. Disposal. Selling Australian property or a land-rich company from Dubai triggers the 15 percent withholding machinery and, for significant deals, earlier ATO engagement; a defensible valuation supports the variation applications and the price itself. In each case the number is doing legal work, not decoration.

What Australian owners in Dubai should do now

Map the balance sheet honestly: how much of your company's market value is Australian real property, and how close to the halfway line does it drift across the year. Fix the departure valuation if you left recently and never documented one, because reconstructing it years later is harder and less credible. Sequence disposals with the withholding in mind, since 15 percent of gross proceeds at settlement is a real financing problem even when the final tax is lower. And keep the Dubai side consistent: the same underlying value should feed your ATO position, any UAE holding structure and, where relevant, the AED 2 million Golden Visa report. Our Australia to UAE valuation service prepares all of it from one valuation date, to RICS and IVS standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the foreign resident capital gains withholding rate now?

Fifteen percent of the purchase price on relevant Australian property sales by foreign residents, with the previous AUD 750,000 threshold removed, so it applies from the first dollar. It is withholding rather than final tax: the actual liability is settled through your return, and variations can be sought with proper evidence, which is where a defensible valuation helps.

Can I still claim the main residence exemption on my old family home?

Generally not while you are a foreign resident at the time of sale, subject to narrow life-event exceptions. Australians in Dubai who kept the family home and plan to sell it should model the CGT before listing, because the exemption most people assume is usually gone.

Are my company shares still taxed in Australia after I move to Dubai?

Only if they are taxable Australian property, broadly where the company is land-rich (more than half its market value in Australian real property) and your stake is significant. That is a valuation test of the balance sheet, and with period-based testing it can look across the ownership window, not just the sale date.

Does the CGT event I1 exit charge still apply on departure?

Yes. Ceasing Australian tax residency deems a disposal of your non-TAP CGT assets at market value, with an election available to defer. The recent changes tighten what happens afterwards for property-linked assets; they do not remove the departure event. A dated market valuation underpins both the charge and the election.

How long does a valuation take?

Typically five to seven business days from receiving your Australian financial statements, asset registers and property details, shareholding and management accounts. Expedited two to three day delivery is available for settlement or filing deadlines.

This article is general information for Australian owners abroad, not tax or legal advice. Withholding rates, TAP definitions and ATO practice change; confirm current requirements with your advisors before acting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Speak to Assetica about Business Valuation

Assetica is an independent business valuation firm in Dubai. We do not audit and we do not broker deals, so the number carries no conflict. Read more about business valuation, or book a scoping call. Standard reports are issued in five to seven business days.

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• Cross-Border M&A: Valuation Across the GCC, UK and Europe
• UAE Golden Visa Business Valuation: The AED 2 Million Share Test
• Setting Up in Dubai from India: How Your Business Is Valued for Tax, Visa and Banking
• Emigrating from South Africa to Dubai: How Your Business Is Valued for Tax, Visa and Exchange Control
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