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About this guide

Last updated 9 August 2023

Find out who should use the Guide to depreciating assets 2023 and how to download or print a copy.

About depreciating assets

As a general rule, you can claim deductions for expenses you incurred in gaining or producing your income (for example, in carrying on a business) but some expenditure, such as the cost of acquiring capital assets, is generally not deductible. However, you may be able to claim a deduction for the decline in value of the cost of capital assets used in gaining assessable income.

Guide to depreciating assets 2023 explains:

  • how to work out the decline in value of your depreciating assets
  • what happens when you dispose of or stop using a depreciating asset, and
  • the deductions you may be able to claim under uniform capital allowances (UCA) for capital expenditure other than on depreciating assets.

In this guide, the words ‘ignoring any GST impact’ mean that if you are not entitled to claim an input tax credit for GST for a depreciating asset that you hold, then the cost of the depreciating asset includes any GST.

Who should use this guide?

Use this guide if you bought capital assets to use in gaining or producing your assessable income and you would like to claim a deduction for the assets’ decline in value. Also use this guide if you incurred other capital expenditure and want to know whether you can claim a deduction for the expenditure.

Small business entities

Small business entities may choose to use simplified depreciation rules. For more information, see Small business entity concessions.

Get this publication

You can download this guide in portable document format (PDF) or have a copy sent to you in the post.

Go to Guide to depreciating assets 2023This link opens in a new window on our Publications Ordering Service (POS) at iorder.com.au to get a copy.

When we refer to publications and services or webpages in this guide, we will provide a link to where you access and read it online.

Unfamiliar terms

Unfamiliar terms are shown in bold when first used in this guide. For an explanation of these unfamiliar terms, see Definitions.

Continue to: Deductions for the cost of depreciating assets

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