Rental property tax returns from $299
That is your wages plus one investment property. Each extra property is priced separately, and a place you own with a partner is charged once.
- Depreciation and borrowing costs claimed properly
- Repairs and improvements treated the right way
- Lodged by a registered tax agent
What a property costs to add
The base fee covers your wages and anything the ATO prefills. Each rental property is an add-on on top, and it gets cheaper once you hold a few.
How it adds up
- Wages and one property: $299
- Wages and two properties: $449
- Each property from the third: $100
Prices exclude GST. Sold a property during the year? That is a capital gains event and priced separately.
If you own it with someone
You each lodge your own return and each declare your share of the rent. The property itself is only charged once across the two returns, not twice.
A couple on wages with one shared rental comes to $448 for both returns together.
What you can claim
Interest and agent fees are the ones everybody knows. Depreciation is the one most often missed, and on a newer property it can be worth thousands a year.
Running the property
- Interest on the loan
- Property manager and letting fees
- Council rates, water and strata levies
- Landlord insurance
- Advertising for tenants
Spread over years
- Depreciation on the building
- Depreciation on carpet, appliances and blinds
- Borrowing costs such as loan fees
- Improvements, written off over time
Repairs and improvements are treated differently, and it is the mistake we correct most often. Fixing a broken fence is a repair you claim this year. Replacing that fence with a better one is an improvement, written off gradually.
What we need from you
Your annual rental statement
Your property manager issues one after 30 June. It covers rent received and most of what they paid on your behalf.
Loan interest for the year
Your lender statement, or the interest figure from online banking. Only the interest is claimable, not the principal.
Your depreciation schedule
If a quantity surveyor has prepared one, send it. If not, tell us the age of the property and we will say whether one is worth getting.
Anything you paid directly
Rates, insurance, strata and any repairs you organised yourself rather than through the agent.
Questions landlords ask
My property made a loss. Do I still lodge it?
Yes, and you want to. A rental loss reduces the tax on your other income, which is what negative gearing means in practice. Leaving it out costs you the refund.
Is a depreciation schedule worth getting?
On a property built after 1987, usually yes. A schedule is a one-off cost that keeps producing deductions for years, and the fee itself is claimable. Tell us the age of the place and we will give you a straight answer.
We own the property together. Do we need two returns?
Yes, you each lodge your own return and declare your share. We only charge for the property once across the two, so a couple on wages with one shared rental is $448 in total.
What if I sold the property this year?
That is a capital gains event and it is priced on top at $180. Send us the purchase and sale contracts and we will work out the gain, including the discount if you held it more than a year.
I rented it out for part of the year only
That is fine and it is common. We apportion the deductions across the period it was genuinely available for rent. Just tell us the dates.
Find out what yours will cost
A few questions and you will have your price. Nothing to fill in first.