You can claim a deduction for certain expenses you incur for the period your property is rented or is genuinely available for rent. However, you cannot claim expenses of a capital nature or private nature (although you may be able to claim decline in value deductions or capital works deductions for certain capital expenditure or include certain capital costs in the cost base of the property for CGT purposes).
Types of rental expenses
There are three categories of rental expenses, those for which you:
- cannot claim deductions
- can claim an immediate deduction in the income year you incur the expense
- can claim deductions over a number of income years