The Tax Office is reminding individuals who either own or are looking to purchase a rental property that there are essential record-keeping and taxation obligations that they must meet.
Examples of records to keep (for the period the individual owns the property for and up to five years after it is sold), include:
– Rental income
– Contract of purchase and sale
– Expenses
– Loan and refinancing documents
– Periods when the property was used for private use (i.e., family use)
– Steps taken to rent out the property (i.e., advertising)
Individuals must also declare all income they receive from renting out their property.
Examples of income may include:
– Rent received (before fees or expenses)
– Reimbursement for deductible expenditure
– Any fees collected from cancelled bookings
– Insurance payouts
– Booking or letting fees
Individuals can claim many expenses related to the property as immediate tax deductions or deductions over a number of years.
Immediate expense deductions include:
– Repairs and maintenance on the property
– Loan interest
– Property management fees
Expenses to claim as deductions over a number of tax returns include:
– Depreciating assets
– Capital works or improvements
– Borrowing expenses
Expenses accrued in buying or selling the property, using the property for personal use or travelling to inspect the property will not qualify for tax deductions.
While individuals can not claim expenses relating to buying or selling the property, these will form part of the Capital gains tax (CGT) calculations.
Whether you are a newcomer to the workforce or have been working full time for 30 years, you must have come across the concept of superannuation. Chances are, you’ve already been steadily building your retirement funds in one of the 500 Australian superannuation funds but are still unfamiliar with how exactly your super is being managed and where your super fund is investing your money in.
With the beginning of a new decade and social issues on the rise, it is time to take a more conscious stance on what you are doing with your super and what causes you are supporting through the employment of your money through your super fund.
A recent investigation into Australian super funds by the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), released in February 2020, found that 50 of the largest super funds in Australia are proxy voting against local climate-change initiatives. These organisations are instead approaching climate change from a global perspective, whilst ignoring more pressing domestic challenges to reduce carbon emissions..
The lack of support from Australian super funds for localised climate action is growing problematic, as Australia fails to address its appalling record on carbon emissions and is falling behind new-age global goals to fight against environmental degradation and climate change.
In contrast, some of Australia’s most environmentally and socially conscious super funds lack the reputation to attract long-term users. To look for more environmentally friendly Australian super funds, the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) grades supers based on their ethical contributions and makes this information available to the public.
Instead of mindlessly joining Australian super funds that are neglecting growingly problematic domestic climate change issues, Australians need to become more conscious of our indirect actions and super investments. Rather than investing in an unethical super fund, looking into self-managed super funds may be another good option. We need to learn to take matters into our own hands and become more socially conscious of where exactly our money goes.
