Important changes to tax depreciation legislation

In one of the most dramatic changes to property depreciation legislation in more than 15 years, Parliament has passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Tax Integrity) Bill 2017 as at Wednesday 15th November 2017, with the Bill now legislation.

The new legislation means owners of second-hand residential properties (where contracts exchanged after 7:30pm on the 9th of May 2017) will be ineligible to claim depreciation on plant and equipment assets, such as air conditioning units, solar panels or carpet.

The good news is that there are still thousands of dollars to be claimed by Australian property investors, as there has been no change to capital works deductions, a claim available for the structure of a building and fixed assets such as doors, basins, windows or retaining walls. These deductions typically make up between 85 to 90 per cent of an investor’s total claimable amount.
Previously existing depreciation legislation will be grandfathered, which means investors who already made a purchase prior to this date can continue to claim depreciation deductions as per before.

Investors who purchase brand new residential properties and commercial owners or tenants, who use their property for the purposes of carrying on a business, are also unaffected.

Owners of second-hand properties who exchanged after 7:30pm on the 9th of May 2017 will still be able to claim depreciation for plant and equipment assets they purchase and directly incur an expense on.

It’s more important than ever to work with a specialist Quantity Surveyor to ensure that all deductions are identified and claimed correctly under the new legislation.