There’s a new tax rule that came about this year…. If you don’t get a clearance certificate from the ATO before settlement date…you will have 15% taken out of your house sale price  :o
And won’t be able to claim it back until you do your tax.

You get this certificate by applying for it to prove you are not a foreign entity.

https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/investments-and-assets/capital-gains-tax/foreign-residents-and-capital-gains-tax/foreign-resident-capital-gains-withholding/australian-residents-and-clearance-certificates

Your conveyancer will know all about it -

that's why you hire them.

My last conveyancer was a lawyer as well.

I just sold a house and when signing the offer it triggered a email to me that told me about the new rule. All I had to do was fill out a form that was sent to me by my settlement agent. I guess there will be some that for whatever reason don't fill out the form and pay the 15%. This will have an impact on oversea property investments though, from what I understand if you are not an Australian citizen or live in Australia you will pay 15% tax on the sale of a property.

It wasn’t that clear or simple for us selling a house interstate…. It came with a conveyancer we appointed in the state we are selling….and a myriad of emails to read!
I could’ve missed it  ::)
Especially when… the gremlins got into my desktop computer and it was difficult to read a myriad of email pages on my small IPhone!

Ah, yes... the limp-wristed attempt to prevent foreign entities from buying into the Australian property market.

That'll terrify those foreign billionaire entities away from the Australian property market, eh!

Right now, I'm told Indian billionaires are buying up large in Australia.

Why not prevent them from buying in at all, I wonder.

MeisterEckhart wrote on Jul 28^th, 2025 at 4:11pm:

Ah, yes... the limp-wristed attempt to prevent foreign entities from buying into the Australian property market. That'll terrify those foreign billionaire entities away from the Australian property market, eh! Right now, I'm told Indian billionaires are buying up large in Australia. Why not prevent them from buying in at all, I wonder.

The very idea that a 15% tax on property sales by and to foreigners would deter foreign billionaires and mega-corporations from purchasing entire streets of Australian property is laughable.

These foreign entities intend to offload as much fiat as they can for assets... likely a 40% tax wouldn't deter them.