Investors Now Ask “Personal, Company or Trust?” First. Buyer’s Agent Heath Bassett Says Structure Won’t Rescue a Bad Purchase

Heath Bassett, Co-founder, You&Me Personalised Property Services. Commentary drawn from the You&Me / Hunter & Scribe media release on post-Budget investor behaviour. Framed for mortgage brokers by The Broker Times.

From rare question to first question

Mr Bassett says questions about ownership structures have gone from relatively uncommon to featuring in conversations with almost every investor he speaks to.

Buyer’s agents usually meet investors before a broker does, or at the same time. If structure is now the opening topic on their side of the table, the same question is heading for your fact find. It is worth being ready for it rather than finding out after pre-approval that the borrowing entity has changed.

What changed in the Budget

The shift follows significant changes to property taxation announced in the May federal Budget. As set out in the release:

• Negative gearing limited to new builds from 1 July 2027. Investors who bought established properties after 12 May 2026 can still deduct property losses against other residential property income and carry excess losses forward, but can no longer use those losses to reduce unrelated taxable income such as wages.
• Grandfathering. Properties held before 12 May 2026 are grandfathered.
• CGT discount replaced. From 1 July 2027, the 50% capital gains tax discount will be replaced with cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax rate on capital gains accruing from that date.
• New builds keep a choice. Investors in eligible new builds can choose between the existing 50% CGT discount and the new arrangements, and new builds retain access to negative gearing.

Mr Bassett says investors who once saw the tax treatment of property as relatively straightforward are now confronting changes that could materially affect their after-tax returns. That is prompting many to take a closer look at how their investments are structured.

Why 83% matters to your book

The new-build carve-out is significant because established homes have historically made up the overwhelming majority of investor purchases. According to the Budget overview, 83% of new investor loans in 2025 were for existing properties rather than new housing.

Put simply, the product most of your investor clients have been buying is the product most affected. Expect three things on live files:

• More questions about new builds, which bring their own lending considerations around construction, off-the-plan valuations and lender appetite.
• More interest in entity borrowing, which narrows the lender panel and changes documentation.
• A timing lens. Clients will want to know whether a purchase falls before or after key dates. The 12 May 2026 date has already passed, so any established purchase since then sits under the new rules.

The company structure conversation

One option drawing growing interest is buying through a company. Companies are still subject to the new negative gearing restrictions, but they operate under different tax treatment and potentially a lower tax rate, depending on the investor and the company.

Companies are generally taxed at either 25% or 30%, depending on whether they qualify as a base rate entity (current for the 2025-26 tax year). Individual marginal rates can be higher for higher-income investors. Rental income is classed as passive income when working out whether a company qualifies for the lower rate.

Note the phrase “borrowing arrangements”. Mr Bassett cautions that company structures come with their own lending and administrative implications and will not necessarily leave an investor better off. For brokers, that is the practical core of the story. A company or trust purchase typically means:

• a smaller pool of lenders willing to lend to the entity, with policy that varies lender to lender
• directors or individual trustees usually being asked for personal guarantees
• extra documents, such as company extracts, trust deeds and entity financials
• servicing that may need to consider the entity and the guarantors together
• pricing and fees that can differ from a standard personal investment loan

None of those is a reason to avoid a structure. They are reasons to model the loan before the client commits to an entity based on tax alone.

No single right structure

Mr Bassett says investors should get independent tax advice before deciding how to structure a purchase. That is the right sequence for brokers too: tax and legal advice sets the structure, then the broker finds finance that suits it. Where the client is still deciding, you can help by showing how each option changes the lending picture, so the adviser and client are working with real numbers.

Where the broker fits

Best Interests Duty asks brokers to act in the consumer’s best interests and prioritise their interests when providing credit assistance. When a structure question is live, that looks like:

• Ask early. Add “who will own this property?” to the first meeting for every investor file.
• Show the lending trade-offs. Lender panel, guarantees, documentation and servicing for personal, company and trust options.
• Refer and record. Refer tax and structuring advice to an accountant, tax agent or lawyer, and note it on the file.
• Check the dates. Confirm when the client bought any existing properties, since grandfathering depends on the 12 May 2026 date.
• Keep the property in view. A good structure will not fix a weak purchase.

Fundamentals still decide the file

Mr Bassett’s closing point is one every broker can repeat. The Budget has changed some tax considerations around property investment, but the basics of a sound investment are the same regardless of how it is owned.