Basic Tax Questions

I was told above you can claim it on an investment property, if the accountant says no then ok

 

IIRC Pat Cash had a live-in nanny not granny. (AKA Queen).

 

You may be able to calculate and claim a % of OWNERSHIP costs based on area / floorspace. However some costs wont be apportioned that way. Water is a good example (elec, gas etc are others). You need to consider the % of consumption that relates to the occupants. If three people lived there and one was a tenant that could be 33.33% or if its two maybe 50%. But other costs may not be so linear. For example internet. If the tenant has no use of a private wifi service then 0% is deductible but if there was a separate one for them it could even be 100%.

And also consider "time"in these calcs. Lets say the 50% tenancy starts in April then you may only be able to deduct 3/12x50% = 12.5% in that year.

I would never recommend a blanket % on all things. Its just indicates lack of diligence and is easily argued as excessive by the ATO.

 

Thanks, makes sense to add up each item individually to be accurate. I didn't know internet was deductible, that is cool

 

It may be. But if its part of a bundled deal with unlimited use its arguable that $0 relates to the tenant. But the ATO accept apportioning based on records over 4 weeks. You can access this information on the router under the admin login !!! I did this last year and cleared the stored data and four weeks later checked it again. I was able to identify users, traffic volumes and use this.

ATO says:
Internet

• the amount of data downloaded for work as a percentage of the total data downloaded by all members of your household
• any additional costs incurred as a result of your work-related use – eg if your work-related use results in you exceeding your monthly cap.

 

In many parts of Australia, the landlord pays for the water and sewerage. Different rules in diff. states.