Immediately Write Off $300 and Low-Value Pooling

(NOTE: Deductions for these plant and equipment items may only apply if you bought the property prior to May 9, 2017 – Read about the Budget changes here).

Depreciation deductions are pro-rated depending on when you take ownership of a property. However, like with everything, there are exceptions to the rule.

For example:

claim low value pooling
A Sydney client of ours settled on a one-bedroom Chatswood unit on June 25th last year. The property was brand new and the purchase price was $850,000. Yet, their total tax deduction, which was for five days only, was more than $5,000.

“What’s the catch?” I hear you ask. Well, there isn’t one! The ability to make such a significant deduction for just a short period of time is due to the immediate write-off and low-pooling of items that are classified as plant and equipment.

The costs of ‘small items’ (valued at $300 or below) and ‘low-pooled items’ (totalling no more than $1,000) should not be pro-rated, instead they can be written off immediately. You can maximise these items whether the property has been owned for 1 day or 365 days. And the age of the property is not relevant to claiming small items or low-value pooled items. Plant and equipment in properties need to brand new property to claim depreciation.

There is a saying that goes, “a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow”, so deduct these items as quickly as possible.Depreciation Quote Schedule

What if you are a joint owner of a property?

For example:

Say an electric motor to the garage door cost the owners of an apartment block $2,000. If there are 50 units in the block, your portion is $40. You
can claim that $40 outright as your portion is under $300. Provided your portion for any joint area is under $300, you can still write it off in your taxes.

Items that depreciation faster:

Another tip is to buy items that depreciate faster. Items costing between $300 and $1,000 fall into the low-pool category and attract a higher depreciation rate. A $1,200 television attracts a 20% deduction while a $950 TV deducts at 37.5% per annum.

Work out how much you save using our free property depreciation calculator or make it happen and get a free quote for a depreciation schedule now.

About Tyron Hyde

Tyron Hyde is the CEO of Washington Brown Quantity Surveyors. He is regarded as one of the industry's leading experts in property tax depreciation, is regularly quoted in the media & asked to speak at conferences.

Learn why more Property Investors Choose Washington Brown to prepare their depreciation reports.