Invest
Major blitz coming for property investors
Almost all property investors are making errors on their tax deductions, and the Tax Office is set to launch a major crackdown to correct and catch inappropriate claims.
Major blitz coming for property investors
Almost all property investors are making errors on their tax deductions, and the Tax Office is set to launch a major crackdown to correct and catch inappropriate claims.
The Tax Office recently conducted an audit of over 300 rental property claims. It found errors in almost nine out of 10 returns reviewed.
“We’re seeing incorrect interest claims for the entire investment loan where it has been refinanced for private purposes, incorrect classification of capital works as repairs and maintenance, and taxpayers not apportioning deductions for holiday homes when they are not genuinely available for rent,” said ATO boss Chris Jordan.
“And when you consider that rentals include over 2.1 million taxpayers claiming $47.4 billion in deductions, against $44.1 billion in reported income, you can get a sense of the potential revenue at risk,” he said.
The ATO is now set to target these inappropriate deductions, on top of the compliance work it is already doing with property investors.
Short-term rentals are on the ATO’s watchlist, as platforms like Airbnb continue to grow in popularity.
By using the new data provided by online rental platforms, including income received per listing as well as listing dates, enquiry and booking rates, prices charged or quoted per night, and other information, the ATO will seek to identify taxpayers not meeting their registration, reporting, lodgement or payment obligations.
The new data complements long-term rentals information that the ATO already receives from state and territory bond boards.
Further, the ATO is monitoring compliance with new rules about travel deductions to and from investment properties.
Under legislation that applied from 1 July 2017, taxpayers are no longer able to claim any deductions for the cost of travel to their investment property, with very few exclusions.
Further, income tax deductions for the decline in value of previously used plant equipment in an investment property are no longer allowed.
You can read more about this here.
Property
Aussies swap housemates for home ownership
The number of younger Australians looking to enter the property market in the next five years has doubled, as COVID-19 restrictions sees home ownership goals increase, according to research released ...Read more
Property
Falling loan deferrals prove market recovery: REIA
The reduction in loan deferral defies doom and gloom forecasts in the property market, the Real Estate Industry of Australia has said. ...Read more
Property
Why are expats returning to property market?
Expats are returning to Australia in droves, eager to put their money into safe investments. ...Read more
Property
Stamp duty to be phased out under new proposal
The NSW government has stated that it could phase out inefficient taxes such as stamp duty as it looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. ...Read more
Property
Melbourne rents continue to decline
While most capital cities recorded increases in asking rents, Melbourne continued to see declines in both houses and units, according to latest data from SQM Research. ...Read more
Property
Why investors should focus on the next 1-5 years
Investors are being urged to look beyond their own backyards into opportunities over the next one to five years. ...Read more
Property
Distressed sales fall to pre-pandemic levels
Urgent property sales have dropped back to pre-pandemic levels in most cities – proof of Australia’s continuous recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. ...Read more
Property
Top tips for managing your own property portfolio
Managing investment properties can feel very much like rolling a dice, you can never be quite sure what you’re going to encounter and, in most cases, you possess minimal control over what happens ne...Read more
Property
Aussies swap housemates for home ownership
The number of younger Australians looking to enter the property market in the next five years has doubled, as COVID-19 restrictions sees home ownership goals increase, according to research released ...Read more
Property
Falling loan deferrals prove market recovery: REIA
The reduction in loan deferral defies doom and gloom forecasts in the property market, the Real Estate Industry of Australia has said. ...Read more
Property
Why are expats returning to property market?
Expats are returning to Australia in droves, eager to put their money into safe investments. ...Read more
Property
Stamp duty to be phased out under new proposal
The NSW government has stated that it could phase out inefficient taxes such as stamp duty as it looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. ...Read more
Property
Melbourne rents continue to decline
While most capital cities recorded increases in asking rents, Melbourne continued to see declines in both houses and units, according to latest data from SQM Research. ...Read more
Property
Why investors should focus on the next 1-5 years
Investors are being urged to look beyond their own backyards into opportunities over the next one to five years. ...Read more
Property
Distressed sales fall to pre-pandemic levels
Urgent property sales have dropped back to pre-pandemic levels in most cities – proof of Australia’s continuous recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. ...Read more
Property
Top tips for managing your own property portfolio
Managing investment properties can feel very much like rolling a dice, you can never be quite sure what you’re going to encounter and, in most cases, you possess minimal control over what happens ne...Read more
More articles
Website Notifications
Get notifications in real-time for staying up to date with content that matters to you.
