If you are selling a property, transferring shares in a private company, or disposing of a boat or a business, Capital Gains Tax is probably the first question you should be asking — and often the last one people think of, usually about a week before settlement.
Fiji's CGT is 10%, and has been since 1 May 2011. It is imposed on a self-assessment basis, the vendor is liable, and it is calculated on the VAT-exclusive price.
What assets attract CGT
Under the Income Tax Act 2015, disposal of the following can trigger CGT:
Real property, structural improvements, or an interest in real property
A lease of real property
Yachts, ships and boats
A membership interest in a company, a security, or another financial asset
Intangible assets such as goodwill
An interest in a partnership or trust
An aeroplane, helicopter or other aircraft
An option, right or other interest in any of the above
Trading stock and business intangibles are excluded. "Disposal" is broad — it covers a sale, exchange, transfer or distribution, and also an asset being cancelled, redeemed, relinquished, destroyed, lost, surrendered or expired.
Residents pay CGT on capital assets wherever they are located. Non-residents pay only on Fiji assets — which includes Fiji land, shares issued by a resident company, and, importantly, shares in an offshore company whose assets consist principally of Fiji land held through interposed entities.
The exemptions that actually apply to most people
The $30,000 threshold. A capital gain made by a resident individual or Fiji citizen that does not exceed $30,000 is exempt. Two traps here that catch people constantly:
The test is applied to the total gain made by all owners of the asset, not to each owner's share. So a jointly owned property producing a combined gain of $50,000 fails the test — even though no individual owner made more than $30,000.
Splitting a disposal doesn't work. If FRCS is satisfied that an asset was disposed of in two or more parts to get under the threshold, the exemption applies only if the aggregate gain does not exceed $30,000.
Note the statutory test is "does not exceed $30,000" — a gain of exactly $30,000 is exempt.
The exemption is available to a resident individual or a Fiji citizen. A Fiji citizen living abroad who is not a resident for tax purposes still qualifies, and so do dual citizens. Non-residents who are not Fiji citizens do not get it at all — CGT applies from the first dollar.
First residential property or principal place of residence. A resident individual or Fiji citizen is exempt on the first disposal of either their first residential property or their principal place of residence.
This is a once-only exemption. It was originally read more generously — as covering the first residential property and any later home you lived in — but FRCS has confirmed that was never the intent. You get it once.
The two limbs work differently:
First residential property turns on ownership, not occupation. You do not have to have lived in it. Vacant land zoned residential qualifies, and so do strata titles.
Principal place of residence turns on occupation, and you must be living in the property at the time of disposal. A Fiji Tax Tribunal decision refused the exemption to a taxpayer who had moved overseas and was renting the property out.
A change worth knowing about: until 1 August 2025, the first residential property exemption was lost if you co-owned the property with anyone outside a defined list of family members. That restriction was removed by the Income Tax (Budget Amendment) Act 2025 — the definition now covers co-ownership with any other individual. FRCS has published a guideline on the 2025–2026 budget amendments confirming this and working through examples, including friends co-owning a house. Be aware, though, that the older real property guideline that FRCS's CGT page still points to has not been revised and continues to state the family-member restriction. If you were told in the past that co-ownership with a friend or business partner disqualified you, that advice is now out of date.
Other exemptions worth knowing:
Shares listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange — exempt for any person, any amount, and no CGT return is required.
Family home transfers to an existing joint tenant or tenant in common, where family members hold interests. They don't need to be living there.
Deceased estates — where the gain would have been exempt to the deceased, provided the asset is disposed of within two years of death, or such further time as FRCS allows.
Assets used solely to derive exempt income (excluding shares).
New from 1 August 2026 — gains made through equity crowd funding, small offers, or innovation hub companies under the Access to Business Funding Act 2025.
How the gain is calculated
The formula is simple; the detail isn't.
Capital gain = consideration on disposal minus cost of the asset
What goes into the cost base:
The acquisition cost — or, if you built it, the cost of the land plus the cost of construction
Incidental expenditure on acquiring or disposing — professional fees for an agent, lawyer, valuer, auctioneer or surveyor, and advertising costs
Improvement costs — installing, altering, renewing, reconstructing or improving the asset
What does not:
Repairs and maintenance. These are not improvement costs for CGT purposes, although they may be deductible for income tax.
Anything already claimed as an income tax deduction — you cannot claim the same expense twice.
Grants, subsidies, rebates or other assistance received in respect of the acquisition. A loan is not "assistance".
Three further rules that regularly change the number:
Non-arm's length transfers are taxed at fair market value. Selling a $150,000 property to a relative for $5,000 does not produce a $5,000 sale price for CGT — FRCS deems the consideration to be $150,000.
Insurance proceeds are added to consideration. If the asset was lost or destroyed, any insurance, indemnity or damages received are added to what you received on sale.
Missing records are not fatal. If you cannot produce records and FRCS refuses your claimed expenditure, you can apply to the Solicitor-General to appoint an independent assessor, whose decision binds all parties — and whose costs are borne by the Solicitor-General, not by you. It is a slow process and a poor substitute for keeping the receipts, but it exists.
Capital losses do not help you. The Act says expressly that a capital gain is not reduced by a capital loss on another asset. There is no offset and no carry-forward. A $10,000 gain and a $2,000 loss in the same month means CGT on $10,000.
When it's income tax instead — and why that matters more than most people realise
For any given asset, only one of CGT or income tax applies — never both on the same gain. If the disposal falls under sections 17 or 18 of the Income Tax Act 2015, it is taxed as income — at your marginal rate, or 25% for a company, rather than 10%.
The section 18 test is profit motive at the point of acquisition. FRCS weighs four factors:
Holding period. As a rule of thumb, FRCS treats a holding period below three years as an indicator that the property was acquired for resale at a profit. You may see a shorter period quoted: FRCS's own public brochure on CGT refers to renovating and selling within less than two years. The Standard Interpretation Guideline is the authoritative statement of the CEO's position, and it says three.
Reason for sale. A sale timed to maximise gain points to profit motive. Forced sales — court orders, matrimonial settlements, genuine financial distress — may keep you in CGT.
A series of disposals. Several properties sold in quick succession invites the inference. But a single transaction can be enough where it has "the character of a business deal".
Purpose of acquisition. Property acquired for subdivision shows a clear profit motive at acquisition — even if you never completed the subdivision.
There is one important case where a single transaction produces both taxes, on different components. If you sold a property with a building you had been depreciating, depreciation previously claimed is recouped into your income up to the amount by which the sale price exceeds written down value, and only the excess over original cost is CGT. Income tax on the building, CGT on the land value uplift.
The CGT certificate — the bit that holds up settlement
You cannot register a transfer without one. The Registrar of Titles is prohibited from registering a transfer of a capital asset unless FRCS has certified that CGT has been paid, that satisfactory payment arrangements are in place, or that no tax is payable. The same prohibition applies to the Registrar of Companies (share transfers), the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji, and the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji.
Apply through the TPOS Request tile. FRCS states a turnaround of three to seven days. The application runs through seller and buyer details, asset type and details, CGT computation, an undertaking step (which only activates where tax is payable, and requires the trust account details of the solicitor, bank, accountant or tax agent giving the undertaking), and declarations.
New from 1 August 2026: where a CGT certificate has been issued but the proposed transfer does not proceed or is not completed, you must now notify FRCS. The Act prescribes no form and no deadline — so notify in writing and keep the evidence.
Filing and penalties: the CGT return is due within one month of the disposal. Late lodgement attracts a penalty of 20% of the CGT payable; late payment attracts 25%.
One piece of good news: there is no stamp duty. The Stamp Duties Act was repealed with effect from 1 August 2020, so transfers executed since then carry no duty. Instruments dated before that still do.
How Alvin Kumar & Associates helps
Pre-sale CGT estimates — so you know the number before you sign, not after.
Exemption assessment — particularly the first residential property and principal place of residence tests, where the rules changed in August 2025 and some of FRCS's published guidance still reflects the old position.
Cost base reconstruction — assembling and substantiating acquisition costs, improvements and incidental expenditure, including where records are incomplete.
CGT certificate applications through TPOS, coordinated with your solicitor's undertaking so settlement isn't held up.
Section 17/18 risk assessment — an honest view on whether your disposal is a 10% CGT event or a much more expensive income tax event, with the reasoning documented before FRCS asks.
Share transfers and reorganisations — including the deferral rules for group restructures and transfers into a company, and the new CEO discretion from August 2026 where a minority shareholder holds 5% or less.
If you have a sale in progress, or you're weighing one up, talk to us before the sale and purchase agreement is signed. Almost every expensive CGT outcome we see was avoidable at that stage.
Email: alvin@akfiji.com
WhatsApp: +679 714 2741