Edited version of your written advice

Authorisation Number: 1051181974206

Date of advice: 23 January 2017

Ruling

Subject: Rental property expenses

Question

Are you entitled to a deduction for the work carried out on your rental property?

Answer

Yes.

This ruling applies for the following period

Year ending 30 June 2016

The scheme commenced on

1 July 2015

Relevant facts

You have a rental property which is managed by a real estate agent.

Significant water damage to the bathroom and surrounding areas was discovered when the property was abandoned by a previous tenant.

The water damage was due to a faulty wet seal in the bathroom.

Following inspection you were advised that the building could be unsafe and was unlikely to be tenanted in its current condition.

Due to the extent of the damage all of the flooring and walling in the bathroom was required to be replaced and repaired to current building standards.

Repairs to the property were completed and the property was tenanted shortly after. All work was carried out to original specifications in line with current building standards.

All repairs conducted on the building were to return it to original condition to make safe and suitable to rent in future. Repairs were not conducted to improve the property.

Various works have been carried out on the property.

Relevant legislative provisions

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 25-10

Reasons for decision

Section 25-10 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) allows a deduction for the cost of repairs to premises used for income producing purposes, to the extent that the expenditure is not capital in nature.

Taxation Ruling TR 97/23 explains the circumstances in which deductions for repairs are allowable. TR 97/23 states that what is a repair for the purposes of section 25-10 of the ITAA 1997 is a question of fact and degree in each case having regard to the appearance, form, state and condition of the particular property at the time the expenditure is incurred and to the nature and extent of the work done to the property. The ruling further states that repairs mean the remedying or making good of defects in, damage to, or deterioration of, property. A repair merely replaces a part of something or corrects something that is already there and has become worn out or dilapidated.

TR 97/23 indicates that expenditure for repairs to property is of a capital nature where:

● the extent of the work carried out represents a renewal or reconstruction of the entirety, or

● the works result in a greater efficiency of function in the property, therefore representing an 'improvement' rather than 'repair', or

● the work is an initial repair. 

Repair costs are deductible where they are incurred during the period the property is held for income producing purposes and are attributable either to damage that occurs during your income producing use of the property or to defects that emerge suddenly during that time.

TR 97/23 states that with a repair, the work restores the efficiency of function of the property without changing its character. An improvement, on the other hand, provides a greater efficiency of function in the property. It involves bringing a thing or structure into a more valuable or desirable state or condition than a mere repair would do.

It is acknowledged in TR 97/23 that to repair property improves to some extent the condition it was in immediately before repair. A minor and incidental degree of improvement, addition or alteration may be done to property and still be a repair. However, if the work amounts to a substantial improvement, addition or alteration, it is not a repair and is not deductible under section 25-10 of the ITAA 1997.

Capital works

Division 43 of the ITAA 1997 provides a deduction for capital works. Capital works includes buildings and structural improvements, and also extensions, alterations or improvements to buildings and structural improvements where a residential property is used for income producing purposes.

Subsection 43-25(1) of the ITAA 1997 provides that the rate of deduction for capital works which began after 26 February 1992 for a residential rental property is 2.5%. However, a deduction cannot be made prior to the completion of the capital works (section 43-30 of the ITAA 1997).

Application to your circumstances

The works you carried out to your rental property are considered to be deductible repairs. That is, this work is not regarded as capital in nature and is regarded as normal maintenance expenditure. Therefore a deduction is allowable under section 25-10 of the ITAA 1997.