With property prices starting to boom and interest rates so low, we’re getting a lot more enquires about how to buy property with your superannuation. So what do you need to know about owning property with your superannuation?
- You’ll need a Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF). A self-managed super fund is like a personally owned superannuation fund with up to 4 members and a bunch of very important rules that you’ll need to follow so you don’t fall foul of the Aussie tax office regulations.
- You’ll need around $200,000. That said, the beauty of a self-managed super fund is that you can pool the account balances to buy a property. So for a husband and wife, you can pool your two account balances to buy a property. Importantly, you will still have individual balances and you will need a written investment strategy.
- You can be your own commercial tenant (if you own a business)
One of the key benefits to owning property in your super is that you can purchase the commercial property from which your busines operates. You can therefore be your own tenant, so to speak. This can provide you a growth asset with consistent income to set you up for retirement in a tax effective fashion.
- You can borrow money
You can actually borrow money in your super, usually up to 80% of the value of a property. Of course, you need to manage the risk of this and finding a loan maybe more difficult for a self-managed super fund than your non-super residential property.
- You might be able to sell it free of capital gains tax (CGT)
In pension phase you might be able to sell the property free of capital gains tax. The general tax rates inside a super fund are also lower than in your own name if you’re in the higher tax brackets so tax efficiency can be achieved in superannuation.
Here’s my DISCLAIMER- be careful! There is a lot of rules and regulations around owning property in super and especially with regards to the running and management of a self-managed super fund. So it’s paramount that you seek advice BEFORE you make your leap.
That said, there’s some amazing benefits for the people in the right situation.
So if you’d like to know more, just Email, click the link or call me for a no obligation no cost chat.