At First National Real Estate Charles L King & Co Cohuna | Barham, our property managers don’t just collect the rent and manage maintenance requests from our rental customers. We are always looking for ways to strengthen relations with our tenants while adding value to the service we provide for our many landlords throughout the region.
With the new financial year underway, we’ve been talking to Cohuna, Koondrook & Barham landlords about how maximising tax efficiency can unlock higher yields, without needing to increase your rent and risk a vacancy period.
There are obvious benefits to keeping good tenants in your investment property, and with landlords appreciating the cost-of-living pressures everybody is feeling, we’ve outlined three of our best tips to maximise your tax efficiency.

1. Address rental repairs now rather than later
   Repairs such as fixing leaking taps, patching holes and cracks in walls and fixing part of a broken gate or fence are all 100% tax deductible.
   Addressing the ‘not-so-urgent’ repairs now rather than later also allows landlords to claim back the expense in their upcoming tax lodgement, rather than waiting another financial year.
2. Use the tools that help collate expenses
   Claiming property-related expenses is certainly a perk of owning a rental investment property. But doing the paperwork can make it feel more like a chore. We recommend our landlords use tools that are available to make their paperwork easy. For instance, MyBMT is a free tool from BMT Tax depreciation that includes an income and expenses feature. This allows landlords to easily store records and receipts and share them directly with their accountant through the tool. 
3. Ensure you are claiming depreciation
   Depreciation is a tax deduction claimed for the natural wear and tear of an income-producing property and its assets over time. Property investors can claim it each financial year.

A costly myth surrounding this beneficial deduction is that investors need to wait an entire financial year to claim it, but this isn’t the case.

Partial year depreciation deductions are still available and have the potential to fall into the thousands of dollars.

As a landlord, you can claim a deduction for assets you already own and this will reduce your taxable income and help you prepare for the new financial year.

If you want to know more about depreciation, call us or BMT on 1300 728 726 or visit their website.