Backdating from depreciation schedule for tax return

My golden rule regarding residential properties and building age is:

If a property was constructed after 1987, investigate a depreciation schedule. If a property was built before 1987 and has had substantial improvements, whether by you or a previous owner, investigate a depreciation schedule. Any QS should be able to give you a preliminary estimate.

In some cases, the deductions are confined to the current owner's renovation costs and there can still be a benefit. On one such occasion, a client engaged us and, mid-engagement, the accountant told her not to worry and that she would just do it herself. The client was happy for me to talk to the accountant, so I phoned her with our preliminary results.

The accountant's response? "Oh. That's ... not what I have in my worksheet. Carry on!"

Everyone was happy.

 

I think I may have seen you comment similar previously, which probably made me less worried about getting it done. The houses are definitely pre-1987, and have had virtually zero work done on them

Is it a good idea to get a depreciation schedule to establish a baseline before doing any reno/maintenance work?

Cheers.
Inertia.

 

Probably not. If you can't claim depreciation on it, you can't claim scrapping deductions for it as part of a renovation, if that's what you're asking. If it's for CGT purposes, a depreciation schedule is rarely the most cost-effective way to do this.

Depreciation-wise, you say they've had virtually zero work done to them, you may as well just wait until after a renovation. If you want to message me the addresses, I can take a look at any pics online, just to give you a more informed opinion.