Who needs a date-of-death valuation?

Executors administering an estate that holds digital assets, and their accountants, generally need one to establish the estate's tax position and beneficiary cost bases.

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Glossary

Date-of-death valuation

A date-of-death valuation records the market value of each digital asset holding at the date of death, in AUD, with the sources and methodology documented for the estate's tax and audit records.

Bitcoin trades continuously across many venues, so a screenshot is not a valuation. A defensible figure states the venue or index used, the timestamp convention, the AUD conversion basis and the on-chain balances it applies to.

The same rigour applies to SMSF reporting, where auditors need to see the holding, the ownership evidence and the valuation method rather than a number typed into a spreadsheet.

BlockByte explains what a defensible valuation records; preparing the valuation and reaching the tax and audit conclusions remain with the accountant and auditor.

Related terms

Executor (digital assets) - The person who must actually recover your Bitcoin after death.
In-specie transfer - Transferring Bitcoin itself to a beneficiary rather than selling it.
SMSF crypto custody - Holding Bitcoin in a self-managed super fund with clean separation.

Common questions

Date-of-death valuation: common questions

Who needs a date-of-death valuation?: Executors administering an estate that holds digital assets, and their accountants, generally need one to establish the estate's tax position and beneficiary cost bases.

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