Property depreciation is defined as the decline in value of a building and its assets over the time due to wear and tear as well as physical deterioration. Depreciation on rental property or investment property is treated as an expense and is a part of the income statement. Actually property depreciation can be applied only to the building and not the land, since land is not considered to wear out over time.
Generally there are two types of costs that can depreciate for an investment property;
1. Wear and tear of the fixtures and fittings of a property. 2. Capital works deductions, which are applicable to the cost of the construction and are spread over the lifetime of the property.
One of the biggest advantages of property depreciation is that they are non-cash deductions. It means that you do not need to outlay funds for claiming the deductions. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) allows you to claim the depreciation on rental property because they realize that the value of fixtures, fittings and other assets of a building reduce over time and will require replacement.
Claiming depreciation on rental property, will help you to offset the rising cost of interest rates. Just like you can claim wear and tear on the car you purchased, you can also claim property depreciation on your investment property.
Calculating property tax depreciation schedule is a complex task, which requires skill and experience in both construction costs and tax laws to generate an accurate report.
It’s important for property investors to at least investigate whether or not they are eligible to any tax deductions on their investment property. The easiest way to find out is to contact a reputable quantity surveying firm such as Property Returns, which specialises in preparing property tax depreciation report for residential as well as commercial properties. We will just ask you a few standard questions to ascertain whether it is worthwhile, and how much deductions you can claim. The fee to prepare a tax depreciation schedule is 100% tax deductible.
How much property depreciation you can claim?
The amount of property depreciation deductions you can claim depends on the four factors, mentioned below:
1. Plant Assets: The value of plant asset items bought with the property at settlement. 2. Building Allowance: The historical cost to build the original structural element of the property, note that this allowance is only applies to properties built after 1988. 3. The cost of any improvements like renovations or extensions on pre-purchase property to change the original structure by the previous owner. 4. The cost of any expenditure by the owner after settlement is considered as post purchase expenditure.