With tax time fast approaching you’ll no doubt be starting to get things in order. It also creates a good opportunity for landlords to reflect on the previous year – how it began, what has changed, what has been challenging and what have been some positive outcomes.

For some, the past year may have been a prosperous one; for others, it may have thrown up many challenges. It may have been a year that saw growth in your property portfolio, calculated movements, or perhaps a year to simply remain steadfast.

Whatever the year brought you, setting aside time now to thoroughly review expenses will be vital to ensure you accurately record your investment details with the ATO.

With the end of the financial year pending, the tax office has forewarned that inflated claims for rental properties are a common error that will be targeted this year. It’s important that landlords are accurate in their claims for repairs and maintenance deductions, as mistakes may be made. Understanding what can be claimed and what cannot be claimed should be treated as black and white, as any grey areas are likely to be scrutinised.

It’s likely that you may have spent a bit of money on the upkeep of your property throughout the year. Understanding what you are entitled to claim, and not claiming outside of this is important. General repairs and maintenance on a property can be claimed as a deduction, but generally if they are capital in nature, such as improvements to the property (think new kitchen/bathroom), it’s likely you are unable to claim as an immediate deduction, rather as capital works, which are deductible over time.

Utilising the services of a registered tax agent and providing full and complete records will help ensure that, firstly, everything you should be claiming is claimed, and secondly, you are not claiming anything you’re not entitled to.