Things to know
To claim a deduction for interest income expenses, you must have incurred expenses in earning interest from any source in Australia. This includes accounts and term deposits held with financial institutions.
Expenses you may have incurred in earning interest income include:
- bank or other financial institution account-keeping fees for accounts held for investment purposes
- management fees and fees for investment advice relating to changes in the mix of your investments
- interest you paid on money you borrowed to purchase investments.
If you incurred expenses when borrowing money for both private use and to purchase investments to produce interest, you can claim only the portion of the expenses relating to the investments.
You can claim part of the decline in value of your computer based on the percentage of your total computer use that related to managing your investments. If you used your computer to manage both your investments to produce interest and investments in shares or similar securities, you can claim only part of the decline in value related to managing those investments once, in either Interest income deductions or Dividend deductions. Guide to depreciating assets provides more information about claiming a deduction for the decline in value of your computer.
Deductions for some expenses, such as interest and borrowing costs, may be affected by the thin capitalisation rules if they relate to either:
- certain overseas investments
- investments in Australia if you were a foreign resident.
These rules may apply if the total of your debt deductions and those of your associates are over $2 million for 2024–25. Thin capitalisation provides more information about how these rules apply.
Don’t show at this section
Don’t show the following types of interest related expenses at this section:
- Any expenses incurred in earning trust and partnership distributions, go to Partnerships or Trusts.
- Expenses incurred in earning foreign source interest, go to Other foreign income or Other deductions.
- Expenses you're charged for drawing up an investment plan unless you're carrying on an investment business, in which case you would claim any expenses at Business income or losses.
Completing this section
You'll need your bank or financial institution statements or passbooks.
We pre-fill your tax return with interest deductions information you uploaded from myDeductions. Check them and add any other interest income deductions that haven't pre-filled.
To personalise your tax return to show interest income deductions, at Personalise return, select:
- You had deductions you want to claim
- Gifts, donations, interest, dividends, and the cost of managing your tax affairs
To show your interest income deductions, at Prepare return select 'Add/Edit' at the Deductions banner.
At the Interest income deductions banner:
- For each interest income deduction, select Add and enter information into the corresponding fields.
Joint accounts
If you had joint accounts or other interest-earning investments, only show your share of the joint expenses. If you held the account or investment equally with one other person, this will be half. Keep a record of how you worked out your part if you didn’t share the expenses equally.
The Depreciation and capital allowances tool can help you work out any decline in value deduction. It can also work out any deductible balancing adjustment when you stop holding a depreciating asset. Access this tool in the Deductions section.
Fields from this tool can't be adjusted in myTax. To make any adjustments, or to add new assets to the tool, select the 'Use the depreciation and capital allowances tool' link. - Select Save.
- Select Save and continue when you have completed the Deductions section.