claiming garden expenses

[Darren1968]

Hi all,

After driving through a few new estates in the north of Adelaide on the weekend I noticed that many of the homes are being landscaped without using any grass in the front yards.

Obviously with our water restrictions this is a good idea but it got me thinking about a few things.

Many of these houses used expanses of gravel, wood chips or mulch in place of lawn.

Now from my experience, woodchips and mulch tend to break down and diminish in quantity after a while. The wood chips also lose their colour and tend not to look as good as when fresh.

As I am considering this type of garden I was wondering how the replenishment of mulch or wood chips is taken in to consideration at tax time.

If I bought a trailer load of mulch or wood chips delivered every year to keep everything looking nice and to keep the weeds down, how do I claim this?

I am presuming it is an immediate cash deduction and can be claimed in total that year.

Is this correct.What about replacing garden plants (if required) Is that the same situation?

 

[mitta]

Hi all,




I am presuming it is an immediate cash deduction and can be claimed in total that year.

Is this correct.What about replacing garden plants (if required) Is that the same situation?

No, I believe it is added to the cost base of the property so no immediate cash deduction, unless it was something like a retaining wall. Also one of the best mulches to use is hoop pine, it looks good and takes forever to breakdown. Mark

 

[Simon]

I am pretty sure that "soft" garden supplies such as mulch, plants, dirt etc are immediately deductible as maintenance expenses.

"Hard" products such as concrete paths, retaining walls etc are generally depreciable unless you are actually repairing physical damage such as a collapsing retaining wall or fence.

Anyone else?

As far as the look of the mulch as it ages .... I wouldn't be too worried about detail like this in an IP, I doubt your tenants will.

Come sale time you can easily freshen it.

Of course if it needs replenishing to stop weeds then another load will be deductible.

 

[lindy0123]

We put the chip back in when the property is first let and our agent gets the tennant to top up during the lease. Every so often we send a gardener around for a general tidy up, tree trim and chip bark. We have always claimed this as expense for that year and the accountant has never told us differently - unlike some other things I think it is like most things how you do it and how you word it is everything. Learn the system and make it work for you.

 

[Darren1968]

gardening

Thanks for the replies.

I sort of presumed they could be claimed in full that year but wasn't sure.

Just running things through my head in advance. Thanks.

 

[mitta]

I think it is like most things how you do it and how you word it is everything. Learn the system and make it work for you.

Don't mean to harp on about this but mulch cannot be claimed as a deduction it is added to the costbase of the property, that's straight from the ATO.