Property & Development Accountants

Industries · Property & Development

Accountants who understand how a property project really returns.

Property development turns on decisions made before a sod is turned. The structure, the GST treatment, the funding and the tax plan are set at the start, and they decide what the project returns at the end. We work with established developers and investors, on the numbers behind feasibility, structuring and tax that separate a profitable project from a busy one.

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In short

Prime Partners advises established property developers and investors on the financial decisions that run across the life of a project. That covers feasibility and funding, entity structuring for each project, GST and the margin scheme, the tax on development profit, and succession or the eventual drawing out of wealth. We bring the technical depth of a specialist practice and the accessibility of a team that knows your business by name.

We work with residential and commercial property developers, land subdividers, property investors and syndicates, build-to-rent and build-to-sell operators, commercial landlords, and property funds and joint ventures.

The pressures you carryWhat we doHow we workMoments that matterCommon questions
The pressures you carry

The financial questions that sit underneath every development.

A property business earns its return across a project where the most consequential decisions are made at the very start. Structure, GST and funding all lock in early, and getting them wrong is expensive to undo. These are the recurring pressures we help developers and investors hold.

Structuring each project
The entity that holds a project decides its tax, its GST and how risk is quarantined from the rest of what you own. It is set before the project begins, because changing it later can trigger tax and duty you cannot recover.
GST and the margin scheme
GST on new property is one of the largest single costs in a development. Whether the margin scheme applies, and how it is calculated, can shift the return materially, and it depends on decisions made at acquisition.
Feasibility and funding
A feasibility is only as good as the numbers behind it. Funding costs, the timing of drawdowns and the tax on profit all belong in the model from the outset, not discovered once the project is underway.
Tax on profit and proceeds
Development profit is usually taxed as income, not capital, and how proceeds reach the people behind the project depends entirely on the structure. The tax plan and the structure are decided together, at the start.
Holding versus selling
The decision to develop and sell, or to hold and lease, changes the tax, the GST and the structure completely. For investors moving into development, or developers holding stock, the line between the two needs careful handling.
What we do

The same journey we take every client on, told for a property business.

Most developers and investors come to us for one project and stay for the rest. The work tends to follow a natural order, from getting the structure and foundations right through to planning how wealth is eventually drawn out. Each step below is a service in its own right, and each one links through to the full detail.

Accounting clean-up→
Where the records across several projects or entities have fallen behind, we bring them back to a standard you can rely on, so each project’s position is clear before any decision is made on it.
Business accounting and tax→
Year-end accounts, tax and the GST treatment, prepared with the way a development earns and is taxed properly understood. The foundation everything else sits on.
External finance team→
The reporting a developer actually needs, including position by project, GST and funding drawdowns, and the consolidated picture across your entities, run by a team alongside the business rather than a once-a-year file.
Business structure review→
The structure decision that sits at the heart of every project. We set up each project in the right entity and review whether your wider group still protects your assets and fits the work you now take on.
Business growth→
The decisions that come with scaling a property business, from funding larger projects and bringing in investors to managing the tax across a growing portfolio, so growth strengthens your position rather than complicating it.
Business succession→
Planning how the portfolio or business passes on, including the transfer of property and entities to the next generation, handled so the value you have built carries on without an avoidable tax bill.
Private client advisory and SMSF→
The personal side of building wealth through property, including individual tax position, investment structures, self managed super and holding property in the right hands.
R&D tax incentive→
A specialised area in its own right. Where your projects develop genuinely new construction methods, materials or building systems, we assess eligibility and prepare the claim properly.
How we work

A senior-led relationship, not a once-a-year file.

Every engagement is led by a senior practitioner who knows the business and stays close to it. The way we work follows the same shape, whatever the project.

1
Understand the business
We start with the projects you take on, how you fund and structure them, where the tax and GST exposure sits, and what you are trying to build over the next few years.
2
Get the structure right
Each project set up in the right entity, the GST treatment confirmed, and the tax plan agreed before the project begins, so the foundations are right while they can still be changed without cost.
3
Advise on the decisions that count
Feasibility, funding, GST and the tax on profit addressed as each project moves, with the analysis to support a real decision rather than a hunch.
4
Stay alongside the business
A continuing relationship where you can pick up the phone before you acquire a site or commit to a project, rather than explain it after the fact.
5
Plan the handover
When the time comes to step back, we plan the succession well ahead of it, from the transfer of property and entities to the tax that comes with it, so the portfolio carries on and the owner who built it leaves on their own terms.
Moments that matter

The decisions that shape a property business deserve more than a once-a-year accountant.

Structuring the project that is larger than anything you have done before. Acquiring the site where the GST and tax treatment will decide the return. Bringing in the investors who will fund the next stage. Passing the portfolio to the next generation and stepping back well. These are the moments where good advice is worth far more than the work that surrounds it, and they are the moments Prime Partners exists for.

Common questions

Questions property businesses ask us.

What does an accountant for a property developer do?
An accountant for a property developer handles the financial work that runs across the life of a project, from feasibility and funding through to sale and tax. That means structuring each project in the right entity, getting the GST treatment right, managing the tax on profit and the interaction with financiers, and planning how proceeds are drawn out. At Prime Partners we cover the routine accounting as a matter of course and focus the relationship on the structuring, GST and tax decisions that decide what a development actually returns.
How does GST work on a property development?
GST on a property development generally applies to the sale of new residential premises and most commercial property, with GST credits available on development costs along the way. Many developers use the margin scheme, which calculates GST on the margin between the sale price and the original purchase price rather than the full sale price, often reducing the GST payable. The treatment depends on how and when the property was acquired, so it needs to be planned at the start of a project rather than worked out at the end.
What is the best structure to hold a property development?
The best structure to hold a property development depends on whether you are developing to sell or to hold, who the investors are, and how you want to manage tax and risk. Developers commonly use a separate entity for each project to quarantine risk, often a company or a unit trust where there are outside investors, with the choice affecting GST, income tax and how profits are distributed. The right structure is decided before a project starts, because changing it later can trigger tax and duty.
How is profit from a development taxed?
Profit from a development is generally taxed as ordinary income rather than as a capital gain, because developing to sell is treated as a business activity. That means the capital gains tax discount usually does not apply, and the timing of when profit is recognised matters for the tax position. How the profit is taxed also depends on the entity holding the project and how proceeds are distributed to the people behind it, which is why the structure and the tax plan are set together at the outset.
Do you work with property investors as well as developers?
Yes, we work with both property developers and investors holding portfolios of residential or commercial property. The work differs between the two, with developers focused on project structuring, GST and income tax, and investors focused on holding structures, negative or positive gearing, land tax and long-term capital position. We advise on both, and on the point where an investor moves into development.
Where is Prime Partners located?
Prime Partners has offices in North Sydney and Orange, NSW. We work with property developers and investors across both metropolitan and regional New South Wales, and nationally where the relationship calls for it.
Talk to us

Start a conversation about your project.

If you are structuring a new project, acquiring a site, bringing in investors, or planning how to draw wealth out of what you have built, we would be glad to talk it through.

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