According to figures from data group AirDNA there are approximately 100,000 Airbnb properties listed across Australia, and many of these short-term holiday rental owners are unaware of how they can properly leverage their property to reduce their taxable income.
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) allows property investors to claim depreciation as a deduction on their taxable income each financial year for any income producing property, so this means that regardless of whether it’s an apartment, cabin or entire home, Airbnb property owners can use their Airbnb property to reduce their tax liabilities.
A properly prepared tax depreciation schedule can help to breakdown the depreciation deductions claimable by you within the property to make sure you maximise what’s available to you.
What can I claim on my Airbnb?
Because your Airbnb is an income producing asset, much like a regular investment property, you can leverage it to help minimise your tax obligations. Depreciation entitlements can be broken down into capital structure and plant & equipment.
Items that you can claim on under ‘capital structure’ can include things such as:
- Bricks and mortar
- Structural building components
- Tiles
- Concrete
Items that fall under ‘plant & equipment’ is anything that you have bought brand new for the property, including (but not limited to):
- Air conditioners
- Bathroom accessories like vanity units or mixer taps
- BBQs or outdoor grills
- Blinds
- Curtains
- Décor like rugs, artwork
- Door closers
- Exhaust fans
- Floor coverings like carpet, timber floating floors or vinyl
- Furniture like couches, coffee tables, outdoor settings
- Hot water systems
- Ovens
- Roller doors
- Soft furnishings like towels, sheets, quilt covers, pillows, blankets
- And more!
If you’re not sure what you can or can’t claim, we can assist with creating a tax depreciation schedule for you.
Renting out part of your home?
If you choose to rent out a room or just part of your home on Airbnb, you’re creating an income producing component of your property, and this is still something that you can claim depreciation on.
As you’d expect, you can’t claim for the whole home, but we can help you to claim for part of it on a pro-rata basis.
The calculation involves looking at the floor area of the home that’s on Airbnb, versus the rest. Anything purchased new specifically for the Airbnb is something that you can claim on, for example furniture, bedding, towels, hair drier, separate split system for the room, a rug, artwork, and more.
Any plant and equipment in shared areas can also be partially deductible, and we can help to work this figure out for you.
Staying in your own Airbnb
It’s quite common practice for Aussies to book their own Airbnb out for particular periods throughout the year – why not make the most of your beachfront property during the warmer months??
If you happen to stay in your own Airbnb property at any point, keep track of the exact dates as any tax depreciation deductions can only be applied to the time that the property was used for income-producing purposes.
Get a tax depreciation schedule
Key Property can help to prepare a comprehensive report for your Airbnb property. This tax depreciation schedule is a once-off cost that will give you a year-on-year figure that you can claim, saving you money for years and years to come.
To get started, drop us a line at hello@keypro.com.au, and we’ll send you a list of everything that we’ll need from you to create the tax depreciation schedule.
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