How To Get Your Accountant, Broker And Planner Aligned On Gearing

A geared property strategy only works when your accountant, mortgage broker and financial planner agree on the same numbers: how much you can safely borrow, what’s deductible, and how quickly you’ll reduce risk. The most effective way to coordinate them is to set shared rules on gearing, cashflow and exit plans, then get all three in one conversation at least once a year – and whenever you buy, sell or refinance.

In practice, that means: 1) agreeing on safe repayment limits (usually under 30–35% of after‑tax income at rates 3% higher than today), 2) mapping every loan, offset and entity on a single page, and 3) having your accountant drive tax structure, your broker drive bank‑friendly loan design, and your planner drive risk protection and long‑term goals.

A single one-page map keeps your accountant, broker and planner aligned.

1. Why your advisers must act as one team

Three different lenses on the same debt

• Accountant – designs entities, tax treatment, records and timing of gains/losses.
• Mortgage broker – negotiates with banks, structures loans, manages refinancing risk.
• Financial planner – balances property with super, shares and insurance; manages lifestyle risk.

When they work in silos, you get classic clashes:

• Accountant targets maximum negative gearing, while planner wants lower leverage under the 2026–27 reforms.
• Broker stretches borrowing to win an auction, but the accountant knows next year’s taxable income will fall.
• Planner recommends extra insurance premiums that the broker hasn’t factored into serviceability.

The RBA’s 2026 statements show financial conditions remain tight and rate paths uncertain. In that environment, mis‑aligned advice is how high‑income professionals end up over‑geared without realising it until something breaks.

The shared safety line: cashflow first

Across our articles, a consistent safety rule emerges: keep total home and investment loan repayments under about 30–35% of after‑tax income, modelled at current rates plus 3% (in line with APRA’s common servicing buffer).

That rule should sit at the centre of your team’s planning – especially if you’re:

• a high‑income professional using multiple investment loans
• self‑employed with lumpy income
• running both business debt and home/investment loans

Your accountant, broker and planner should all sign off on that limit before any new purchase or refinance.

2. Who owns what: clear roles in a geared strategy

Accountant: structure, records and future tax

Your accountant should lead on:

• Ownership and entities – personal vs company vs trust vs SMSF.
• Deductibility – ensuring each loan split’s purpose is clearly documented.
• Future exits – staging sales and CGT across financial years, especially under 2026–27 Budget changes.

For example, when you eventually sell a geared property, capital gains tax and changing deductibility across remaining loans can be material. That’s why we stress pre‑sale planning in /insights/tax-cgt-when-selling-down-geared-properties.

Mortgage broker: bank‑friendly structure and flexibility

Your broker should own:

• Loan structure – separate splits for home vs investment debt so you can pay down non‑deductible debt faster.
• Security – avoiding cross‑collateralisation where possible.
• Cashflow shape – mix of interest‑only on investment vs P&I on home loans.

For first or next investments, this is exactly the logic in /insights/first-green-square-investment-property-flexible-finance-structures and in our guidance choosing between a digital broker and a local specialist: /insights/digital-broker-vs-local-alexandria-specialist.

Financial planner: risk, lifestyle and non‑property wealth

Your planner’s job is to integrate the gearing plan with:

• Super and investments – how much of your future should be tied up in property vs liquid assets.
• Personal risk cover – income protection and life/TPD sized to your loan levels, as we expand in /insights/insurance-risk-protection-essentials-geared-property-investors.
• Lifestyle goals – schooling, career breaks, practice buy‑ins, semi‑retirement.

They’re the one asking, “If you couldn’t work for 2–3 years, does this gearing still survive?”