Moving shares or a business within the family group? An independent market value from $1,495 + GST.

For CGT, section 116-30 replaces the capital proceeds with the asset's market value where you receive nothing for it, or where the price is above or below market value and the parties did not deal at arm's length. Section 112-20 works on the receiving side: where the parties did not deal at arm's length, the receiver's cost base can start at market value. Either way, market value is measured at a point in time, the time of the event or the acquisition. An independent, evidenced valuation is how that figure is supported. Which rules apply to you, and whether a roll-over changes the result, is for your accountant.

A minority parcel in a private company often needs a discount for lack of marketability, lack of control, or both. A controlling holding may carry a premium. Any adjustment depends on exactly what moves and the rights that go with it, so a 20% parcel and a 100% holding in the same company can be worth different amounts per share. The report explains the method chosen and the size of any discount or premium, with the reasons.

Market value is fixed at a moment, so the date matters as much as the figure. For shares transferred under a contract, the CGT event is generally when the contract is made; with no contract, when ownership changes (section 104-10). Your accountant confirms the date and the report states it. If the transfer has already happened, we value at that past date using only what was known, or reasonably foreseeable, then. Each past valuation date is +$495, agreed at engagement.

The ATO's guide to market valuation says that for tax purposes a valuation is usually judged on the process followed rather than on who prepared it, and that the onus for a replicable, defensible valuation stays with the taxpayer even when a professional is engaged. So the report is built to be checked: the interest valued, the date, the basis of value, the method, the evidence and the assumptions, an independence statement and the signature of the valuer responsible. We are not a registered tax agent; your accountant applies the value. To start we usually need:

• Financial statements for the last three years, and year-to-date figures
• The structure before and after the transfer, and who holds what
• The share register, or the unit register for a unit trust
• Any shareholders' agreement, unit holders' agreement or trust deed
• The proposed or actual transfer date
• Your accountant's details, if they are instructing us

If the transfer touches Victorian land, the State Revenue Office has its own rules, and they sit beside the income tax ones. Where land itself moves between related parties, the SRO says you must declare its market value supported by an independent valuation, and it treats relatives and related companies as related parties. For that land valuation it accepts an API certified practising valuer or an REIV member with sworn valuer accreditation, generally within six months of the transfer. Shares and units are different: their transfer has not been dutiable in Victoria since 1 July 2002 (Duties Act 2000 s 7(3A)), but landholder duty can apply where the company or trust holds Victorian land worth $1 million or more and the interest acquired reaches 50% of a private company or 20% of a private unit trust. A property valuer values the land; we value the shares, units or business; your lawyer, accountant or the SRO confirms the duty position.