Craig Smith

Tax time is coming – Are you paying too much tax ?

Do you own or have you bought an investment property in the past financial year?

Or…  have you recently refurbished, altered or extended your investment property in the past financial year?Tax time

Or…  do you own an investment property but have never claimed depreciation in the past?

Or… own any property including commercial, retail, industrial, residential, pubs, clubs, sporting – we are experts in them all.

If your answer is yes to any of these questions then you may very well be paying too much tax on your income if you don’t claim your depreciation deductions.

Property tax allowances (commonly known as depreciation) provide an opportunity for owners of income producing property to reduce their taxable income, thus reducing the tax payable.   Continue reading

Budget 2017 Depreciation Deductions

House roofsIn the Federal Budget on 9th May, depreciation allowances forming part of an investors income tax deductions for second hand residential investment properties were effectively killed off.

This will apply to the purchase of any second hand properties where the contract to buy is entered into after 7.30pm on 9th May 2017.

Contracts entered into prior to this date will be grandfathered and deductions will still be able to be claimed.

What this means is not entirely clear yet.

Will this mean, for example, that items previously considered to be plant and equipment and therefore deductible under Division 40 of the ITAA could now simply form part of the building and therefore become deductible as part of the building and included under Division 43 Capital Works deductions? Continue reading