Selling a business

Our accountants will help you understand the tax implications of selling a business

Liston Newton Advisory
Liston Newton Advisory is rated 4.8 from 32 reviews
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Considering selling a business? It’s crucial to get the right advice


Selling your business is a significant event in the life of every business owner. You’ve spent your years working hard, taking risks, and working towards this point.

A successful sale at the right time can make it all worth it. When you sell your business at the right time, it can allow you the time and the funds to focus on your next pursuit.

And when selling your business the tax concessions can be quite generous, so it’s critical to get the right advice well before the sale is finalised.

  • Tax minimisation planning
  • Capital Gains Tax (CGT) concessions
  • Tax structure advice
  • Valuation advice
  • Financial planning after-sale

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The direction and advice you need to successfully navigate one of the biggest sales of your life

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A wealth of experience

With over 40 years of experience, we’ve helped business owners of all sizes understand and manage the capital gains tax on the sale of their business.

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Long-term client partnerships

The best time to start planning for CGT concessions on your business sale is now. We’re here for the long term to make sure your future sale is stress-free.

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A full range of services

As well as understanding the CGT on the sale of your business, we provide a wide range of business and financial advisory services to help you reach your goals.

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Leading industry innovation

Your business tax requirements can change. So we stay up to date with the latest changes in tax policy to ensure you continue to get the full benefits for your business.

Learn more about your business with our comprehensive guides

At Liston Newton Advisory, we take pride in helping business owners get more out of their hard work. Our downloadable guides can give you an in-depth look at strategies and technologies that will help your business grow.

  • Discover tax strategies and business structures available to you
  • Understand and apply new business management technology
  • Get in touch with us for information tailored to your business

When thinking about selling your business, you need the experts

As a business owner, we understand that you’ve worked hard to build your business to where it is today. And a lot of the time, selling your business is about more than just the numbers.

Our team will work with you to help plan the sale of your business, from start to finish. We’ll make sure you’re doing the right things by the ATO, and that you understand the capital gains tax obligations on selling your business. We can run you through paying capital gains tax, the CGT concessions available to you, and what this means for your future.

Stewart Lane, Partner & Head of Tax

Meet our team of business tax specialists

We have worked with Liston Newton's Accountancy and Advisory Team for over a decade. During that time, our business has grown substantially both organically and through purchases. This wouldn’t have been possible without Liston Newton Advisory to assist with our business planning, providing proactive advice and ensuring our accounts were always compliant in a complex and volatile industry.
Karsten Horne
CEO, Reho Travel
Liston Newton's Accountants analysed our financial and business situation and helped us implement strategies to improve our position. Their strategies turned our business from making a loss, to recording a 6-month net profit of 36 per cent. And we are now on track to show a 240 per cent increase in turnover over the next financial year.
Lisa Clarke
SL Constructions
Liston Newton helped us move our accounting over to Xero. Their Accountant managed the set up and training so we felt comfortable with the software. We now have all our processes streamlined which gives us improved visibility of our business performance. This has allowed us to open 2 more stores without a significant increase in administration effort.
Peter Luskan
Pandora

Our methodology for business success

Understanding the tax implications of selling your business can make the difference between a successful sale and regret. It all comes down to planning.

At Liston Newton Advisory, we understand every business owners’ needs are different. So we help you take a holistic view of your business and goals, so you can see the bigger picture of what this sale means.

To achieve this, we’ve developed a unique approach to our service, built on our 40 years of experience providing business owners with guidance and support. We call it Get Set, Get Moving, Get Free.

Find out how we do things
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Expertise you can trust

Get expert advice and guidance on how to manage the tax implications on selling your business.

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Get the right advice when selling your business

Selling your business can be challenging. We’re here to help you manage the process from start to finish.

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Frequently asked questions

I’m thinking of selling my business. When should I engage an adviser?

The best time was back when you started the business. But the second-best time is now. How much tax you pay on the sale of your business (and cash you keep in your pocket) is largely determined by the tax structure your business operates under.

Using the right combination of companies and trusts can dramatically reduce your tax bill when you sell your business. That's why it's crucial to get the right advice early. Your adviser can help you determine which is right for you. So if you haven’t already put the wheels in motion, there still may be time to alter your structure to get the most benefit.

They’re there to guide you through the ups and downs that come with your business sale. Occasionally, it can actually make more sense to accept a lower price for your business to minimise your tax bill. Your adviser will be able to tell you when this may occur.

So if you’re thinking of selling your business, you should seek advice as soon as possible. That way you can start planning how you can keep the maximum amount of cash from your business sale in your account.

Who can access the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Concessions?

There are some very generous tax concessions available to small business owners when they sell their business. But the rules around accessing the concessions are quite complex, and expert advice is a must.

In some circumstances, it can even be possible to pay no tax at all when you sell your business. This is why it’s critical to get the right advice.

To qualify for CGT concessions, you must have an annual turnover of less than $2 million, or your net assets must be less than $6 million.

What should I do with my money after a sale?

For many business owners, the value of the business makes up most of their assets. Often things like superannuation and investments are neglected while the business has been built.

Selling a business is a great time to take a high-level overview of your personal wealth situation. So it’s a good idea to engage a business tax expert to plan out how best to utilise your cash.  Often a large contribution to super is done as part of accessing the Small Business CGT Concessions, so it's best to make sure the money inside your super is invested in line with your long-term goals.

With the right advice and the right plan in place, it can be possible to use the sale of your business as an opportunity to reach financial freedom. But speak to your adviser first to discuss what financial freedom means to you.

What tax do I pay when selling a business?

For tax purposes, selling your business is considered part of your business’ income, so the sale of your business is taxed under the appropriate tax rate for your business structure.

On top of this, you will also be charged Capital Gains Tax on the sale of your business.

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