Bookkeepers and Mobile Bookkeeping Services

Clients ask us about what they can claim for their rental properties – since we are not registered tax agents we cannot give any information in that regard. If you go to the Australian Taxation Office website (ato.gov.au) you may be able to navigate to the correct page. The information below is taken from their website.

The types of borrowing expenses you can claim as income tax deductions for taking out a loan to purchase a rental property:

* stamp duty charged on the mortgage
* loan establishment fees
* title search fees charged by your lender
* costs for preparing and filing mortgage documents
* mortgage broker fees
* fees for a valuation required for loan approval, and
* lender’s mortgage insurance, which is insurance taken out by the lender and billed to you.

You can’t claim:

* stamp duty charged by your state/territory government on the transfer (purchase) of the property title

This stamp duty may be included in calculating the ‘cost base’ of the property for capital gains tax (CGT) purposes. For more information about calculating the cost base of a CGT asset you can refer to What is the cost base? and Calculating the cost base of real estate.

* stamp duty you incur when you acquire a leasehold interest in property such as an Australian Capital Territory 99-year crown lease (you may be able to claim this as a lease document expense)
* insurance premiums where under the policy your loan will be paid out in the event that you die, become disabled or unemployed (this is a private expense), or
* borrowing expenses on the portion of the loan you use for private purposes (for example, money you invest in a super fund).

If your total deductible expenses are more than $100, the deduction you claim for those expenses must be spread over five years or the term of the loan, whichever is less. If the total deductible borrowing expenses are $100 or less, you can claim the deduction in full in the income year you incur them.

We are not registered tax agents we cannot give any information regarding taxation, information above is taken from the Australian Taxation Office website (ato.gov.au)