tax deductions...

Hi,

I have vacant block ofl and on which i have been claiming tax deductions for the expenses like council rates, water etc...

I know these are allowed if we have an intention to build in near future and this has been my real intention till now....

However now i dont think its feasible for me to build on it anymore (not atleast next couple of years) and so accordingly i am not claiming any deductions for tax purposes in last years tax return....

I will like to know if i need to go back and modify my previous years tax (in which i claimed tax deductions for this block) return to reflect my new decision...and pay more tax for those years???

Any advice will be greatly appreciated....

Thanks-
 
No need to Amend

In the ATO's Rental property booklet they give an example of a taxpayer getting half way through building a rental property and then deciding to live in it. They say from that point onwards the interest etc is no longer deductible. There is no mention of having to go back and amend previous returns.

Julia
www.bantacs.com.au
 
Have a look at Ormiston's (2005) case he never rented the property out, spent 4 years renovating it and sold it unfinished but as he had always intended to use it as a rental property he got all the interest rates insurance etc as a tax deduction during those 4 years.

Julia
www.bantacs.com.au
 
Thanks for all the replies so far....

So this would mean that i should NOT claim deduction for any expenses going forward...

Anything that i have already claimed should be ok as i had genuine intentions to build on it and i have proof as well to back it up...
 
HI everyone,

What about the other way around.

I have a block of land and I have decided to build a rental property.

I did not claim it last year as I was not sure.
Now that I have decided to can I amend last years tax return.

thanks
marina
 
HI everyone,

What about the other way around.

I have a block of land and I have decided to build a rental property.

I did not claim it last year as I was not sure.
Now that I have decided to can I amend last years tax return.

thanks
marina

I believe that you can amend tax returns for up to four years.
 
Back
Top