Buying
- Contract of sale
The agreement between buyer and seller, with the price, the deposit, the settlement date and any special conditions.
Contract Review- Conveyancer
A licensed professional who handles the legal transfer of a property from seller to buyer.
- Deposit
The part of the price the buyer pays when the contract is signed, often 10%.
LMI Calculator- Dutiable value
The amount stamp duty is worked out on: usually the price, or the market value if that is higher.
Stamp Duty Calculator- Established home
A home that has been built and lived in before, as opposed to a new build. An established home bought under a contract entered into from 7:30 pm AEST on 12 May 2026 has its negative gearing limited from 1 July 2027.
The 2026 tax changes: check a property- Finance condition
A condition that lets the buyer end the contract if the loan is not approved by a set date. Also called subject to finance.
Contract Review- First home buyer concession
Lower or no stamp duty for an eligible first home buyer, up to a price that differs by state.
Stamp Duty Calculator- Foreign buyer surcharge
Extra stamp duty a foreign buyer pays on residential property, a share of the price on top of the duty. Six of the eight states and territories charge one; the ACT and the Northern Territory do not.
Stamp Duty Calculator- New build
A newly built home. From 1 July 2027 new builds keep negative gearing, and their buyers may choose either capital gains method.
The 2026 tax changes: check a property- Off the plan
Buying a property before it is built, from its plans. Some states work out its stamp duty differently. The calculator includes the off the plan relief for first home buyers in Queensland and South Australia and the ACT exemption for an owner occupied unit; in Victoria duty is charged on the price less the construction still to be done, a value you enter yourself.
Stamp Duty Calculator- Settlement
The day the sale completes: the rest of the price is paid and the buyer becomes the owner.
- Special condition
A term added to the standard contract for one sale, such as a finance condition or a change to the settlement date.
Contract Review- Stamp duty
A state tax paid when you buy property, also called transfer duty. Each state works it out on its own scale of bands, on the price or the value if that is higher.
Stamp Duty Calculator- Transfer duty
Another name for stamp duty on a property purchase, used by several revenue offices.
Stamp Duty Calculator
Loans
- Assessment buffer
The extra percentage points a lender adds to the loan rate when it tests the repayments. The Borrowing Power calculator uses 3 points.
Borrowing Power- Borrowing power
How much a lender may lend you, worked out from your income, expenses and existing debts. Also called borrowing capacity.
Borrowing Power- Equity
A property's value less the loans against it.
- Extra repayments
Paying more than the minimum, which shortens the loan and cuts the interest paid over its life.
Loan Repayment Calculator- Interest only
Repayments of the interest alone for a set period; the loan itself does not go down.
Loan Repayment Calculator- LMI
Lenders mortgage insurance: insurance a lender usually asks for when the deposit is under 20% (an LVR over 80%). It protects the lender, and the borrower pays for it.
LMI Calculator- LVR
Loan to value ratio: the loan as a share of the property's value. A $640,000 loan on an $800,000 property is an 80% LVR.
LMI Calculator- Offset account
An everyday account linked to a loan: its balance is taken off the loan before interest is charged.
Loan Repayment Calculator- Principal and interest
Repayments that pay the interest and pay down the loan, so it is gone at the end of the term.
Loan Repayment Calculator- Rate stress test
Repayments worked out again at a higher rate, to see what a rise would cost.
Loan Repayment Calculator- Rental income shading
The share of rent a lender counts as income when it tests a loan. The Borrowing Power calculator counts about 80%.
Borrowing Power- Serviceability
A lender's test of whether you can keep up the repayments, at a rate above the loan's own rate.
Borrowing Power- Split loan
One loan in two parts, usually one at a fixed rate and one at a variable rate.
Loan Repayment Calculator- Usable equity
The part of your equity a lender may let you borrow against, often worked out as 80% of the value less the loans.
Returns
- Capital growth
The rise in a property's value over time, often given as an average percentage a year.
- Cash flow
The rent coming in less everything going out: loan repayments, rates, insurance, repairs and other costs.
- Gross rental yield
A year's rent divided by the price, before any costs. $542 a week on a $773,858 house is a gross yield of 3.64%.
- Holding costs
What it costs to keep a property: interest, council rates, insurance, repairs, management, strata levies and land tax.
- Net rental yield
A year's rent less the costs of owning the property, divided by the price. It is lower than the gross yield.
- Positively geared
A property whose rent is more than its costs, including the loan interest.
- Rentvesting
Renting where you want to live while owning an investment property somewhere else.
Rentvesting Calculator- Strata
Shared ownership of a building's common parts, run by an owners corporation (or body corporate) and paid for by levies.
Tax
- Capital gains tax
Tax on the gain when you sell an asset such as an investment property, known as CGT.
Tax Reform Lens- CGT discount
The 50% capital gains discount. For gains accruing on or after 1 July 2027, it is replaced by cost base indexation, and Australian resident individuals pay a minimum 30% tax on certain net capital gains; a home that counts as a new build can keep the 50% discount instead.
The 2026 tax changes: check a property- Cost base
What an asset cost for capital gains tax: its price plus certain costs of buying and owning it.
Tax Reform Lens- Discretionary trust
A family trust whose trustee decides how income is shared among the beneficiaries. Some states tax land held in one on its own scale: in NSW it has no threshold.
Entity Land Tax Simulator- Foreign owner surcharge
Extra land tax a foreign or absentee owner pays in several states, on top of the usual land tax.
Land Tax Calculator- Grandfathering
Keeping the old rules for what happened before a change. Under the 2026 law, an established home bought before 7:30 pm AEST on 12 May 2026 is not caught by the negative gearing change.
The 2026 tax changes: check a property- Indexation
Raising an asset's cost base by inflation, so only the real gain is taxed. For Australian resident individuals it replaces the 50% discount, with a 30% minimum tax, for gains accruing on or after 1 July 2027.
The 2026 tax changes: check a property- Land tax
A yearly state tax on the land value of property you own, usually investment property, above a threshold. The home you live in is usually exempt, and the Northern Territory has no land tax.
Land Tax Calculator- Land tax threshold
The land value below which no land tax is due. Each state sets its own, and some owners, such as trusts, have their own.
Land Tax Calculator- Land value
The value of the land alone, as the state values it, not the price of the property. Land tax is worked out on it.
Land Tax Calculator- Marginal tax rate
The rate of income tax on your next dollar of income.
- Minimum tax on trusts
A 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts from 1 July 2028, announced in the 2026 Budget. It is in two bills introduced on 14 October 2026 and still before Parliament, so it is not law.
The 2026 tax changes: check a property- Negative gearing
When a rental property's costs, including the loan interest, are more than its rent, and the loss reduces other taxable income. From 1 July 2027, an established home bought under a contract entered into from 7:30 pm AEST on 12 May 2026 can offset its losses only against income from residential property, including capital gains on residential property; losses beyond that are carried forward; an eligible new build keeps negative gearing.
The 2026 tax changes: check a property- SMSF
A self managed super fund: a super fund its members run themselves, as its trustees.
About these definitions
Plain summaries, checked on 22 October 2026; the 2026 tax changes against the ATO's page (last updated 29 June 2026) and the two trust bills as introduced on 14 October 2026. General information, not financial, tax or legal advice.
One number is a start. Presm shows the whole picture.
Knowing the words is a start. Presm works the numbers for each of your properties: the costs to buy and hold, the loans, the tax and what the next one would change.
- Portfolio. Value, loans, LVR, equity and cash flow for every property you own, in one table.
- Holding costs. What each property costs you weekly, monthly or yearly, every cost on one card.
- The Plan. Add the next property and see what changes, 10, 20 or 30 years ahead.
- Calculators. Stamp duty, land tax, borrowing power, LMI and more, in one account.
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