our place of resident i.e. home is generally exempt from Tax. However, if you have any investment property, build or renovating your property for profit then may be liable for income tax, Capital gain Tax (CGT) and Good and Services Tax (GST).

If you have rented out your property then you need to calculate the income that you have gained from the financial year and expenses you did that you made again the property may be claimed as a deduction. You do need to maintain proper bookkeeping records for your investment property. Bookkeeping services categories these record keeping process into two useful brackets: Income & Expenses.

Income

As a part of bookkeeping process, you need to declare any income which is been paid to you or by your agent to you is subject to be declare in income tax return and if you are registered for goods and services tax then you have to pay input tax credits on the funds that you have received.

Income that is rented related is bond income as you will retain the bond if the tenant defaults on your rent or damage the property in any scenario. You cannot claim the expenses from the bond money if you have not claimed bond money as an income. As a part of proper bookkeeping process, you declare the bond as an income and if the bond is fully refunded then you claim it as an expense.

However, if you have insurance and your insurance company has made the payment to you for the damage, then it is also the part of your income. You can claim your expenses as a deduction. However, you should show insurance compensation as an income.

Any booking fee you have received as part of rental agreement is also classified as an income.

If you also received rebate from the government against the depreciable asset, it also classify as an income and should be reported.  In turn of expenses, you can claim deduction of your asset value i.e. the funds to contribute plus the rebate you have received from government over the life of the asset. These assets can be solar hot water system.

Expenses

You can claim expenses for the investment property over the rented period if your property were ready to be leased.

You can claim any interest that you pay on your loan. The interest is classified as an immediate deduction in the tax return. If you are registered for GST, Interest expenses do not attract input tax credits. Therefore, You cannot claim GST on it.

You can claim any borrowing expenses, depreciation of any asset you brought for the purpose of renting the property and any capital work you may have performed. These expenses are claimable over a number of years.

You cannot claim the expenses that is not paid by you such any utility bills. To get more information on Investment properties or tax related queries in Australia, contact us on 03 9310 7871