Purchased my first IP, what things should I note/do wrt to tax implications?

Hello Guys,
As I understand, saving on, and legally minimising your tax through various tax implications is one of the greatest benefits offered to the property investor.
As the owner of an investment property, you can generally claim a tax deduction on related expenses while your property is rented or available for rent. You may be able to claim immediately (deducted against your current year's taxable income) management and maintenance costs including interest on loans.

Can you share some tips or list things which I should note/do wrt to tax implications?
PS: I am planning to do some small repair works ( few small jobs total costing around $1000) is it something I can fully add to the my tax deductions etc?

Thanks in advance for sharing your tips.

 

I have written over 350 tax tips on the forum. Have a read of those as a starter.

Terry's Tax Tips

 

The size of tax benefits is not so great now that interest rates are low, and the rules around depreciation and travel have been tightened up.

Some quick tips though:
- Find a good accountant
- Get a depreciation schedule prepared for the property, you can claim the depreciation on tax and can use it for the next 20+ years (the cost of this report is deductible as well).
- If you are renting the property out (or it is available for rent) you can claim ongoing costs like council rates, water rates, interest payments (note you cannot claim principal payments), property agent fees, insurance, advertising.
- I like to keep an excel spreadsheet of all the costs I incur, it makes record keeping easier
- If you make repairs to the property just after you purchase it, it may be classed as 'initial repairs' and you can only claim the cost as capital works (2.5% per year I believe). It depends on the circumstances though, but large repairs done closer to the purchase date are more likely to be classed as initial repairs.