A capital gains tax (CGT) valuation is required by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to calculate any capital gain you may have realised from selling your investment property.

Any profit you make from selling a property must be reported in your annual income tax return.​

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CGT valuations are specifically used by the ATO to determine your cost base - which is essentially the starting value used to calculate your capital gain. A higher or lower cost base can work in your favour, as it means you'll report a smaller capital gain, and therefore potentially pay less tax.

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The Australian Taxation Office legally requires a property valuation for capital gains tax purposes in the following scenarios:

- where you have decided to rent out your principal place of residence

- where you have decided to run a business from your principal place of residence

- where your principal place of residence is greater than two hectares of land

- where a transfer occurs between related parties (i.e. family members)

- where a transfer occurs between related legal entities (i.e. trust of superannuation funds)

You may also decide to order a capital gains tax (CGT) property valuation either at the time you purchase your investment property, or later, through a retrospective valuation when you're preparing to sell it.