Last month you would have started gathering your receipts and expenses to prepare for lodging your tax return. Now it’s time to get everything ready for your accountant, or to ensure you’re in good shape to lodge the tax return yourself. We all know that the key to a smooth tax return is organisation.  

Being organised will help to reduce any anxiety and reduce your workload. It will also improve the accuracy of your tax return so you don’t forget to claim everything you’re entitled to, and often results in a faster refund.  

It’s always a good idea to get your financial records straight yourself, if possible and practical. It gives you insight into your income and expenses across the year. And besides, no one wants to pay an accountant to fossick through a shoebox to get your receipts and bank records in order.  

To help you along, we’ve listed the core claims you can make for a rented property.  

• Interest on your loan - This does not include your overall repayments to reduce the principal – just the interest component. Do not claim the interest on any property where you are the owner/occupier.
• Insurance - You’ll likely have multiple policies, such as landlord insurance, public liability, building and contents if you’re renting out a fully-furnished property.
• Maintenance – Every property has wear and tear. If you’ve asked us to make carry out maintenance for your property, we’ll have a full record of the costs. And it will be included in our Income and expenditure report.
• Improvements – Otherwise known as capital works, you can claim any improvement that you’ve made to enhance the property. If you have done this, make sure your depreciation schedule has been updated.
• Depreciation – You should have a depreciation schedule that will allow you to make claims on the falling value of items such as a cooker, oven, carpets and curtains. If you don’t yet, learn more.
• Management fees – Our fees as your property manager should also be claimed.

As a landlord you have specific responsibilities in regard to smoke alarms and a duty of care to your tenants. You need to meet the legislative requirements and building codes applicable in each state or territory. You can read the exact requirements here (Section 11B)
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Unfortunately, you can’t just set and forget with smoke alarms. You need to ensure they are in good working order continually. We recommended getting your smoke alarms tested by a professional annually. If you don’t keep on top of it and something went wrong, your insurance claim may be impacted. Or worse, you could be responsible for related tenant health issues and be liable for costs associated with them.

Professional smoke alarm companies typically offer annual maintenance programs that not only cover an annual smoke alarm check but also ensure that the alarms are maintained as per manufacturers’ instructions and relevant legislation and they’ll issue a statement of compliance. If you want to get this set up for your property, let your property manager know and we’ll get it sorted for you. Otherwise, check out www.sats.com.au to sort it out directly yourself.