Investment Property Tax Tips

Things you can claim in this financial year

You may claim costs you’ve incurred to get tenants into (or out of) your investment property. This includes preparing a property for lease including the rental agreement, repairing or maintaining the investment property and even the cost of having a property agent manage the property. If you need to travel to do property inspections, you may be able to claim your travel costs – as long as you’re only traveling to inspect the property.

Remember too, that interest on a loan may be tax deductible if you borrow to buy a rental property (or land that you’re going to build a rental property on). This is also the case if you take out a loan to renovate or improve your rental property in that financial year.

Deductions to claim over several years

There are some expenses that you need to claim over a number of years, rather than all in one year.

For example, appliances such as hot water systems, carpets, and heating and cooling systems are known as depreciating assets, so you need to claim their value as it declines over the years.

You may also be able to deduct capital works expenses, such as the money you spend on construction, generally over 25 to 40 years¹

Things you can’t claim

Obviously, you can’t claim anything that your tenants pay for, such as the electricity or gas bills. Nor can you claim any costs of staying in the property yourself (for example, if you use your rental property investment as a personal holiday house in the summer).

Advice can help

Claiming on investments can be complex – and tax law does change frequently. So it’s important to seek advice at tax time to be sure you get every claim you’re entitled to.