After 20 years plus of preparing rental property tax returns, I’ve come up with my list of the “Top 10 Rental Property Tax Return Mistakes”.

1. Co-owned properties – Apportioning expenses and income

If you own a rental property with someone else, you must declare rental income and claim expenses according to your legal ownership of the property.

As joint tenants, your legal interest will be an equal split (50/50), any expenses paid by either joint tenant is assumed to be paid on behalf of both equally, regardless of

Property Spruiker Seminars do your own research.

With interest rates so low, and property prices in many capital cities have come back in value, coupled with rising rents in selected areas. Property Spruikers are coming out of the woodwork to make their perennial cash grab from the uneducated aspiring property investors.

Perennial Cash Grab by Property Spruikers

Don’t get me wrong, there are great opportunities to invest in property, if you can’t find a cash flow positive rental property at the moment, then you aren’t looking hard enough. As with all investments, returns,

Brisbane has currently one of the most affordable housing prices

Brisbane’s housing affordability has improved over the most recent quarter due to increasing household incomes rising faster than dwelling values.

Over the past decade, affordability has improved because household incomes have increased by 31.2 per cent while median values have increased by a lower 25.8 per cent,” the report notes. The overall household increase in incomes has been more than house prices in real terms. This is great news for first home buyers.

It also found Darwin is now the most affordable

Single Baby Boomers Cooperative Living

Emerging trends

Some single baby boomers are using their home as a money box to sell up, pool resources and move in together.

Cooperative living for older people is a well-established
movement in countries such as the US and many European countries, with some
people successfully living together for decades.

In Australia it is only beginning to become popular. There
are more single women living on their own than men. Women make up nearly 30% of
women aged 64-75 living on their own compared with 18% of men.

Frequently the family home is

Subdivide the backyard

We are getting a number of inquiries from people living on large blocks of land, (i.e.) 800m2 plus in suburbia, or areas surrounding, looking to subdivide for various reasons some of the lands, to help fund things like:-

major renovations to their existing home, which they may not be able to afford otherwise, so they can stay put.build their dream home, without having to move from the area they know and love.unlock equity from their home, to fund retirement, without having to move, or consider a reverse mortgagefund holidays, health

No CGT discount for non-residents,
however former Australian residents will get a pro-rata discount.

From 9 May 2012, the 50% CGT discount allowed for gains made by individuals is reduced for any periods in which the taxpayer has been a foreign resident during the period of ownership (s 115-105 ITAA 1997). This applies irrespective of whether the asset is held directly or through a trust. For these purposes, a foreign resident includes a temporary resident.

The method of calculation varies
according to when the asset was acquired. For example:

If a resident holds an asset as at 8 May 2012, but

A luxury property developer who caused a loss of $3.4 million to the Commonwealth through GST fraud has been sentenced to six years’ jail after an ATO investigation.

Mr Ensor’s conviction came after an ATO investigation found he had structured his companies to fraudulently obtain GST credits and failed to report property sales to avoid paying GST, causing a loss to the Commonwealth of $3.4 million.

Failed to Report GST on Sales while claim GST to fund developments

Between 2008 and 2011, Mr Ensor lodged false BAS statements on behalf of nine companies

Trusts tax reform set to go ahead under Labor

After first being announced in 2017, Labor’s proposed tax for discretionary trust distributions is shaping up to be a key election issue.

About two years ago, opposition leader Bill Shorten announced that Labor would reform the taxation of discretionary trusts to prevent income from being allocated to household members in lower tax brackets.

As part of its reforms, Mr Shorten outlined that :-

Labor would introduce a minimum 30 per cent tax rate on all trust distributions to adult beneficiaries if elected  in 2019.

Following the release of a report on trusts

New market research indicates about 900,000 interest-only loans will revert to principal and interest payments this month, following a tougher year on the mortgage market for property investor clients.

Comparison site finder.com.au drew this estimate from an analysis of housing finance data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The expirations follow restrictions from the banking regulator, APRA, on interest-only lending. APRA’s cap saw interest-only loan approvals fall by about 55 per cent in the 12 months to June 2018.

APRA’s restrictions and the revelations of the royal commission also formed part of

Labor’s Negative Gearing – limited to New Construction

Labor may implement tax policies of negative gearing restrictions, reduction of the CGT discount, and ending excess dividend imputation if it wins government next year. If you hold any investments you may be subject to Labor’s negative gearing restrictions which would likely be limited to newly-constructed housing.

The restrictions would apply on a global basis. For example, Ian obtains a loan to buy shares after Labor’s negative gearing restrictions come into effect, shortly after he receives an unexpected windfall and uses the money to purchase