101 Businesses For Sale in Australian Capital Territory

Capital gains tax applies to a business sale in the ACT. There are currently four small business concessions that could reduce your CGT payable. According to the ATO, these concessions currently include; 15-year exemption - if you have owned the business for at least 15 years and are over 55 years;  Active Asset reduction - only pay tax on 50% of the capital gain; Retirement Exemption - if you are under 55 and place the money from the disposal into a retirement fund; Rollover - deferring payment for two years whilst you purchase another business. It's important to engage an Accountant who will guide you through the process of selling a business and assess your tax obligations. These exemptions may change, and it's important to check the current requirements when you are selling a business. A helpful section on the ATO website outlines what happens when changing, selling or closing a business.  

In the Australian Capital City, there are currently hundreds of businesses listed for sale on Bsale. Buying an existing business allows you to buy elements such as established systems, processes, client databases, distribution channels, branding and more. To find a business for sale in the ACT, simply start typing ACT into the location and hit ‘Go’; you can then narrow it down by keyword, category or price. It's a good idea to save your search results and listings so you can easily find them later. Once you have found a suitable business, you can contact the seller via the form. They may request you complete an NDA to keep the business details confidential. You can then discuss the business further and conduct due diligence. 

Selling a business in the ACT can be done by the business owner or by engaging a licensed ACT business broker or real estate agent. It is important to have an exit strategy for your business to increase your chance of obtaining an optimum sale price for the business. Check out Bsale’s 6 Steps to prepare a business for sale; it will provide a check-list and a general step-by-step guide. There are licensed business brokers in the ACT who can assist during the sale process and list your business on websites such as Bsale. Check out our ‘find a business broker’ section to find a broker to sell your particular business. Bsale offers advertising to business owners, brokers and franchise groups. 

In the Australian Capital Territory, all business brokers must be licensed to operate on your behalf. The ACT Government oversees the licensing of real estate agents and business brokers. When you search for a business broker, you will need to enter their name or license number into the public register for Licensed Business Agents. Once you start typing, they should appear. If you press ‘details’ it will show you: Licence type(1): Licensed Business Agents and the expiry date. You can check an ACT business brokers license here.

State nomination is required if you wish to migrate to ACT on a business visa. The ACT offers nomination of a Business Migration Visa for successful overseas business people who wish to establish a new business, invest in an existing business or invest under the Significant Investor Stream. Nominations are available for temporary or permanent visas.

Business Talent (permanent) (subclass 132).
This visa has two streams:
Significant Business History stream: This is a permanent visa for affluent owners of a business who have entered into a contractual arrangement to invest AUD$2 million into an existing business in Canberra.
Venture Capital Entrepreneur stream: this is a permanent visa is for people who have entered into an agreement to receive at least A$1 million venture capital funding.

Business Innovation and Investment (provisional) (subclass 188)

This visa has three streams:
Business Innovation stream: this is a provisional (4 year) visa for people who want to invest at least $200,000 to establish or purchase a business in Canberra

Investor stream: the ACT does not participate in this stream.

Significant Investor Visa (SIV) stream. This is a provisional (4 year) visa for people who want to invest AUD$5 million into a Complying Significant Investment. The SIV Balancing Investment must have an economic benefit to the ACT.

Business Innovation and Investment (permanent) (subclass 888)

This visa has three streams:

Business Innovation stream: this is a permanent visa for people who hold a subclass 188 visa, have invested at least A$200,000 to establish / purchase a business in Canberra, and have managed that business for at least 2 years.

Investor stream: the ACT does not participate in this stream.

Significant Investor stream. This is a permanent visa for people who hold a subclass 188 visa and have invested A$5 million into a Significant Complying Investment for the last four years.

Full details of business and migration visas available can be found on Access Canberra.

There is no stamp duty payable on the sale of a business in the ACT, according to Revenue ACT. The only exception is for property and motor vehicle assets. If you do incur stamp duty, it is payable within 90 days. You can obtain an estimate of the transfer duty on this calculator. It's important to seek professional advice when buying a business, especially an accountant who will help you understand your tax obligations. 

Bsale makes it easier for buyers to find a suitable business by allowing them to search via a specific suburb or region. As the ACT is a small state, there is just one region of Canberra ACT.