It’s almost the end of the financial year (EOFY), which means tax time is fast approaching. If you’re a property investor, it’s the perfect opportunity to assess your property’s financial performance in the past 12 months and to give your finances a health check.
Here’s a quick EOFY financial health checklist: Is your home loan still working for you?
Maximise your tax deductions
The Australian Taxation Office’s 2025 Tax Time toolkit for investors has a wealth of information about what tax deductions you can and can’t claim for your property investment.
Examples include:
- Interest on loans. You can claim interest paid on the amount borrowed, or a portion of it, that relates to earning assessable income.
- Borrowing expenses. These can include loan establishment fees, lender’s mortgage insurance, title search fees, costs for preparing and filing mortgage documents, and mortgage broker fees, among others.
- Repairs and maintenance. If you’ve replaced a worn-out fence or re-oiled the deck this financial year, you will most likely be able to claim it. Improvements and renovations are treated differently by the ATO.
- Body corporate fees and charges. You may be able to claim a deduction for body corporate fees and charges. Administration fees are usually deductable straight away, but capital works levies must be depreciated over several years once completed.
- Property management costs. Fees paid to a property manager for overseeing your investment can be claimed as deductions.
Document your rental income and expenses
Your tax accountant will need details about your rental income and expenses to process your tax, so make sure you have these ready by the end of the financial year.
Hopefully you’ve moved away from a shoebox of faded receipts to an online platform that allows you to store and manage your records effectively. There are all sorts of record-keeping tools out there that make it easier for property investors to keep records safe in one place.
Consider pre-paying expenses
If you’re expecting to be in a higher tax bracket this year compared to next, it might be worth pre-paying your investment property expenses like insurance or loan interest before June 30. That way, the tax deductions will fall in the current financial year.
You can find the 2024-25 tax brackets on the ATO website.
Ditch bad debts
If your tenants haven’t paid their rent, you may be able to write it off as a bad debt. This can reduce your taxable income, so it’s worth speaking to your accountant about it.
Plan for Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Sold an investment property this financial year? You’ll need to plan for the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) liability.
Keep in mind that if you’ve held the asset for longer than 12 months, you may be entitled to the 50% CGT discount.
Don’t forget depreciation deductions
You can claim a deduction in value of depreciating assets, for example a dishwasher in your rental property.
If you haven’t already done so, get a quantity surveyor to prepare a depreciation schedule report for your investment property. This will outline the available deductions for the depreciation of the building and its fixtures and fittings. It’s another great way to save on tax.
Review your property’s performance and plan ahead
How did your property perform over the past 12 months? What was the rental income compared to previous years? What were the occupancy rates and maintenance costs comparatively?
If you have multiple investment properties, this may help you weed out the high-performing investments and draw your attention to those that need restructuring or further review.
Next, consider what your goals are moving forward? Maybe you want to get a second investment property, or renovate your current one to boost its rental return? If so, talk to us about your finance options.
Get an investment loan health check
With two cash rate cuts so far this year and a lot of interest rate movement, it’s a good time to get an investment loan health check.
We can review your loan structure and ensure it still aligns with your investment strategy. If there’s an alternative that might work better for you, we’ll run you through why it may be beneficial refinancing.
For a comprehensive investment loan health check, get in touch today.
For advice about your financial needs, or any other questions? Explore our homepage.
