[REVIEW: to be reviewed by a registered tax agent — arranged by Fadi]

Co-ownership means two or more people hold legal title to the same property together. Fractional investing means buying an economic interest in a property — sometimes called a Brix — without holding any legal title at all. They solve a similar problem (splitting the cost and the upside of property between more than one person) in structurally different ways.

What is co-ownership of property in Australia?

Co-ownership is when two or more people are on the title of the same property at the same time. Australian law recognises two forms: joint tenants and tenants in common.

Joint tenants each hold an equal interest in the property, by law. The Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 treats joint tenants as if each owned “a separate CGT asset constituted by an equal interest in the asset” — so two joint tenants are always deemed a 50/50 split for capital gains tax purposes, four joint tenants 25% each, and so on.

Tenants in common each own a stated percentage of the property, and those percentages don’t have to be equal. The Australian Taxation Office describes it plainly: “Tenants in common are 2 or more people who separately own a percentage of a property. The percentages may be unequal,” and each owner “has the right to sell, mortgage or lease their share of the property” without the others’ agreement.

The two forms also differ on what happens when an owner dies:

	Joint tenants	Tenants in common
Share size	Always equal, by law	Any percentage split
On the owner’s death	Right of survivorship — the surviving owner(s) automatically take the deceased’s interest; it isn’t part of their estate	No right of survivorship — the deceased’s share becomes an asset of their estate
CGT on the deceased’s interest	Treated as passing in equal shares to survivors, which can preserve a main residence exemption on the acquired interest	Passes through the estate under ordinary deceased-estate CGT rules

Whichever form co-owners choose, each is assessed individually for capital gains tax “in accordance with your ownership interest in the property” — not as a couple or a combined taxpayer.

For a broader look at what buying an investment property involves beyond the ownership structure — costs, income and risk — see our guide to what property investment is in Australia.

What is fractional property investing?

Fractional investing is different in one fundamental way: you don’t go on the title at all. You buy a fractional economic interest in a property — MyBrix calls this a Brix — which represents a proportional share of the property’s value and, where the property is rented, its income. Under MyBrix’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Brix “do not confer legal ownership of the underlying property” and instead “represent a fractional economic interest” in the property’s net sale proceeds and, where applicable, rent and other proceeds.

That distinction matters for how the investment behaves. A co-owner is a registered legal owner with all the rights and obligations that come with title — the ability to occupy, mortgage or sell their specific share, but also joint decisions with the other owner(s) about the property. A fractional investor holds a financial product instead: no title, no occupation rights, and (on most platforms) no say in day-to-day property decisions — those sit with the property’s registered owner and manager.

How does fractional investing work in Australia?

Because a fractional interest is a financial product rather than a piece of real estate, it’s regulated as one. Moneysmart, the government’s consumer finance site, puts it simply for property schemes generally: “An investment manager must give you a product disclosure statement (PDS). The PDS tells you how the property scheme works” — including fees, structure and risks. A Target Market Determination (TMD) sits alongside the PDS, describing the type of investor the product is designed for.

Entry minimums are set by the individual platform, not by any government rule — Moneysmart’s property-funds page publishes no cross-platform minimum, and directs readers to each product’s own PDS. As an example, MyBrix’s NestEgg product sets a minimum contribution of $100 a month; if a monthly contribution is below the current price of a Brix, it accumulates until a whole Brix can be bought.

Where the underlying property is tenanted, rental income doesn’t arrive as a lump sum. Under MyBrix’s PDS, net rental proceeds (rent left after property management fees) are distributed monthly to Brix holders, in proportion to their holding at the time of the distribution — so if you sell part-way through a month, the next distribution generally goes to the buyer, not you.

What are the tax implications of each?

Tax outcomes depend on your circumstances — speak with a registered tax agent before acting.

For co-owners, the mechanics are settled: your capital gain or loss follows your ownership interest, calculated individually, using the joint-tenant/tenants-in-common rules above.

For fractional interests, it’s less settled — and structure-dependent. The ATO publishes nothing that treats “fractional property income” as its own tax category; the outcome depends on the legal structure behind the product. Where a scheme is structured as a trust, ATO guidance is that “net income of a trust is taxed in the hands of the beneficiaries … based on their share of the trust’s income … that they are ‘presently entitled’ to,” regardless of when it’s actually paid out. MyBrix’s own PDS tells investors that distributions “may be assessable income in the year you receive them,” that the timing and character (income versus capital) can vary with the structure of the listing and the investor’s own circumstances, and it directs investors to independent advice from a registered tax agent.

There’s also an open question worth flagging for anyone holding property (co-owned or fractional) long-term: a reform enacted in 2026 (Royal Assent 26 June 2026) ends the 50% CGT discount for individuals and trusts on capital gains from 1 July 2027, replacing it with CPI indexation of the cost base and a new 30% minimum tax on the gain, subject to exceptions. As at July 2026, no ATO guidance has been published on how those 2027 changes apply specifically to fractional or indirect interests in property — that mapping simply hasn’t been done yet, so don’t assume either the old or the new rules apply to a fractional interest without checking with a registered tax agent closer to any sale.

Can I hold either through a self-managed super fund?

MyBrix’s PDS names self-managed super funds (SMSFs) among the investor types who can participate. It does not, however, specify which account category or brand terms apply to an SMSF specifically — that’s a question for your fund’s trustee, not something this article can answer for you.

Superannuation rules are complex and penalties for breaches are significant — seek advice from a licensed financial adviser before making SMSF decisions. One thing an SMSF trustee has to weigh regardless of which path they’re considering: the fund’s investment strategy must address the liquidity of its assets — how easily they convert to cash to pay member benefits and expenses — and an unlisted fractional interest (or an illiquid co-owned property) is exactly where that test gets exercised.

Co-ownership vs fractional investing: how do they compare?

	Co-ownership	Fractional investing
What you hold	Legal (or equitable) title to a share of the property	An economic interest — no legal title
Who manages the property	The co-owners, jointly	The platform/registered owner, per the PDS
Entry cost	The cost of a full ownership share (plus your share of the deposit, loan and settlement costs)	Set by the platform — e.g. from $100 a month via MyBrix’s NestEgg
Regulatory framework	Conveyancing, property and family law — not a financial product	A financial product — requires a PDS and TMD
Rental income	Shared directly between co-owners, by agreement	Distributed periodically (e.g. monthly under MyBrix’s PDS), proportional to holding at distribution time
Exiting	Sell, transfer or subdivide your legal share, subject to the other owner(s) and any mortgage	Governed by the platform’s own exit process set out in its PDS — check it before investing
Tax treatment	CGT follows your ownership percentage; settled ATO rules	Depends on the product’s legal structure; distributions may be assessable in the year received — get advice

What should I check before choosing between them?

Neither path is universally better — the right one depends on what you’re weighing: how much capital you have to commit, how hands-on you want to be, whether you need to be able to exit part of your holding without selling all of it, and how the structure interacts with your own tax and superannuation position.

Before committing to either, it’s worth checking:

• For co-ownership: how you and your co-owner will hold title (joint tenants or tenants in common), and what happens if one of you wants to sell, can’t meet mortgage repayments, or dies — ideally documented in a co-ownership agreement with a solicitor.
• For fractional investing: read the PDS and TMD for the specific product, not just the marketing page — they set out the fees, the exit process and whether the product is designed for your risk profile.
• For either: a licensed financial adviser can help weigh the structure against your broader financial position, and you can verify an adviser’s licence on ASIC’s Financial Advisers Register.

This article is general information — it doesn’t take your personal circumstances into account, and it isn’t a recommendation to use either structure.