Please keep records of both income and expenses relating to your rental property for five years from the date you lodge your tax return.
For capital gains tax purposes you must start keeping records if you purchase or inherit property, receive property as part of a divorce settlement or as a gift, or make improvements to property. You must keep records relating to your ownership and all the costs of acquiring and disposing of property for five years from the date you dispose of it.
You must keep records which set out in English:
- the date you acquired the asset
- the date you disposed of the asset and anything received in exchange
- the parties involved
- any amount that would form part of the cost base of the asset. For more information about cost base, see the publication Guide to capital gains tax.
Do not send these records in with your tax return. Keep them in case the ATO asks to see them.