Posts Tagged ‘depreciation’
Why would a Quantity Surveyor be the life of the party?
Listen. I’m a Quantity Surveyor (QS) who specialises in tax deprecation so, frankly, I’ve heard them all: Q. How can you tell if a QS is extroverted? A. In conversation, he looks at your shoes instead of his own. Q. How does a QS make a bold fashion statement? A. He wears dark grey socks…
Read MoreWhat you need to know – Tax depreciation effective lives 2018/2019 – TR 2018/4
From the 1st of July 2018, new effective life rulings have been in affect that govern how plant and equipment assets are depreciated. The new ruling is TR 2018/4 and replaces TR 2017/2 (I don’t know how they come up with such whacky names). If you happen to be in any of the following industries,…
Read MoreDepreciable asset or repairs and maintenance? – How to make the call
Owning an investment property will invariably result in having to spend some money on it. The good news is that the tax man (perhaps we need a gender-neutral term but technically the tax commissioner is a man) will let you claim that expenditure as a deduction. However, not all deductions are equal. Spending money on…
Read MoreHow common property assets can supercharge your upfront deductions
Most investors would be aware that if you own a unit within a complex, you’ll have an entitlement to claim over the common property assets based on your share of ownership. This percentage share is commonly referred to as a unit entitlement and can be found on your strata plan or plan of subdivision. You’ll…
Read MoreWhat is a tax depreciation schedule and how can it change your tax return?
Albert Einstein said if you can’t explain something simply, then you don’t understand it well enough. So, it’s time to test my understanding of tax depreciation schedules! A tax depreciation schedule is simply a report detailing the depreciation entitlements available to you within your investment property. The depreciation entitlements can be broken into two simple…
Read MoreInvestors are losing to depreciation changes to plant and equipment
We recently analysed 1,000 residential depreciation schedules and found that 82% of them would still benefit from having a depreciation schedule completed, given the impact of depreciation changes to plant and equipment. In some ways, it’s good news for investors (and quantity surveyors especially) that the impact wasn’t worse. Certainly, abolishing negative gearing would be…
Read MoreCritical misinformation around property depreciation changes
The senate has passed the depreciation changes (as of writing it is awaiting royal assent), but unfortunately a number of large quantity surveying firms have been reporting incorrect or incomplete analysis of the changes. I’ve been modelling the impacts of the recent depreciation changes by analysing the reports in our system as well as looking…
Read MoreWhat you need to know – Investment Property Budget Changes
Investment property tax deductions hit the headlines when the 2017-18 Federal Budget was handed down on 9 May 2017. As the second biggest tax deduction after interest, depreciation deductions against investment properties save investors thousands of dollars and can make or break the profitability of a property investment What deductions can you claim against…
Read MoreWhy buying brand new is now the key to maximising your tax deductions
People often ask me questions like “I should buy a new investment property because it’s better for tax right?” The answer is yes and at the same time, no. Buying a brand-new property because of the available deductions is not a sophisticated strategy. Accountants tell me the same thing, people say they need an investment…
Read MoreOccupying your investment – The accidental investment property
We’ve often wondered how many investors convert their primary place of residence into an investment. We’ve seen a lot of first home owners buy a property for stamp duty concessions or first home owner bonuses and live in their property for 6-12 months before promptly converting it to a rental. However, anecdotally most of the…
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