What is a Property Tax Depreciation Schedule?

Depreciation itself means that the values of particular assets decrease over time because of constant usage (wear and tear). Tax depreciation schedules are documents that list all of these assets and their respective decline in value. Property investors can then use this data to claim their annual income tax returns. An income tax depreciation report helps you reduce your taxable income and claim tax deductions on your investment property.

Sample Tax Depreciation Schedule
Tax Depreciation Schedules

Australian tax depreciation schedules calculate by determining the building’s original construction cost and the assets’ plant and equipment costs.

A residential tax depreciation schedule, for example, might show that the original construction cost for a house was $250,000. Two categories separate the depreciation deductions:

  1. Division 43: Capital Works/Building Allowance
  2. Division 40: Plant and Equipment

Let’s say the Capital Works Allowance component makes up $220,000 of the $250,000 total cost. This includes structural elements, such as roofing, shower screens or windows. Investors are eligible to claim this cost at 2.5% per annum.

The plant and equipment, totaling the remaining $30,000, cover items like cooktops, exhaust fans, and window curtains. These depreciable assets typically depreciate faster based on their effective lives.

How much does a depreciation schedule cost?

Depreciation schedules for residential properties vary depending the type of property, location and whether an inspection is necessary.

The best way to work out how much a depreciation schedules costs is to get a quick quote below:

Get a Free Depreciation Quote Now

How much can I save by getting a depreciation schedule on my property:

For an accurate estimate of your investment property’s depreciation, try our free depreciation schedule calculator:

Property Depreciation Calculator
Find out the potential return on a property

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2010
2024
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Estimated Results

Years Diminishing Value Prime Cost
Year 1 $0.00 $0.00
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Why would I use Washington Brown?

Well our reviews are a testament to our success – you can review our live Trust Pilot reviews here:

Why are tax depreciation schedules required?

Tax Depreciation Schedules

Legally, you require a depreciation report for rental properties to decrease the taxable income on your investment property using depreciation. Furthermore, you would wish to engage a qualified quantity surveying organisation to do your tax depreciation.

Washington Brown, established in 1978, is among the longest-standing and highly respected quantity surveying firms in Australia.

Furthermore, when you arrange a tax depreciation consultation with us, our quantity surveyors will assess whether an inspection is necessary for your investment property and expedite the process promptly.

Our property depreciation schedules are based on three crucial pillars:

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Not understanding the importance and positive outcomes of a QS carrying out the report. Back to top

    Tax Depreciation Schedules for Rental Property
    There are little things that can make a big difference to your deductions. For example we start your report from the settlement date, (other companies) do a generic full year so you are pro-rating items under $300 and Low pooled items by how long you own them. This is incorrect and the items should be claimed at 100% and 18.75% whether you own them for 1 day or 365 days of the 1st year.

     

  • Worried your proceeding with a report that might not be worthwhile? Back to top

    The initial stage of the report process involves our team looking over the information received and reviewing whether or not it’s worth your while. Our mission is to provide our clients with a good return on their investment and be satisfied with the result. Our guarantee to you is if we don’t save you twice our fee in the first year, your report will be FREE.
  • Information on the rental property too hard to get your hands on? Back to top

    That’s fine, simply provide the information that is available to you and leave the rest for the expertise of our customer service team and qualified QS to find the information for you e.g. RP data. Any uncertainties, one of our Quantity Surveyors will personally discuss with you.
  • Why can’t a QS estimate renovation work if the costs are known? Back to top

    It is an ATO requirement that if the costs ARE KNOWN then the information must be provided. In the case where you cannot provide the information (as we know everyone’s situation is different), we ask you provide the renovations details best to your knowledge.
  • Washington Brown seems too expensive compared to cheaper companies Back to top

    In a sense, it’s like using the cheapest builder, or the cheapest accountant. We send out qualified staff and try and get you every legitimate deduction you are entitled to. We are ATO compliant and in the short term you might be saving a few hundred dollars though in the long term you could be missing out on thousands of dollars which YOU are entitled to, simply because we are good at what we do.
  • My Rental Property is really old – how can there still be depreciation left to claim? Back to top

    A misconception is that if the rental property is older than 1987, an investor can not claim any depreciation. The tax deductions are higher on a newer rental property but are still available on most investment properties due to the renovations on older properties that’s allowed to be claimed.
  • How far can you backdate your tax? Back to top

    Yes you can backdate up to 2 years from the last time you submitted your last tax return.
  • can you claim on renovations that previous owners have carried out? Back to top

    Yes – when inspecting the rental property, we take into account all renovations that may have been carried out to the property and then estimate for the depreciation you are eligible to claim for.
  • Can you claim depreciation on an overseas property? Back to top

    No matter where your property is in the world, you can claim depreciation if you are an Australian tax payer. We have serviced such countries as New Zealand, USA, Indonesia, UK.
  • Why use a Quantity Surveyor to prepare my tax depreciation schedule and not an Accountant? Back to top

    As stated in the Tax Ruling 97/25 issue by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), your accountant is not allowed to prepare a tax depreciation schedule if the property is newer than 1987. If older, they can carry out the report, though at what expense? They will not be inspecting your rental property and you may miss out on major deductions which we can guarantee, as Quantity Surveyors we make sure you claim every cent you are eligible to.

Get a quote for a property tax depreciation schedule on your rental property – or use our free property tax depreciation calculator to work out your potential cash flow tax saving.

Washington Brown’s fee is 100% Tax Deductible.