You can claim a deduction for certain expenses you incur for the period your property is rented or is available for rent. However, you cannot claim expenses of a capital nature or private nature (although you may be able to claim decline in value deductions or capital works deductions for certain capital expenditure or include certain capital costs in the cost base of the property for CGT purposes).
In the 2017 budget, the government announced its intention to:
- disallow the deduction of travel expenses for residential rental property, and
- limit plant and equipment depreciation deductions to outlays actually incurred by you.
These proposed changes would come into effect on 1 July 2017 for your 2017–18 tax return. For more information on the progress of these changes, see New legislation.