End-of-financial-year tax tips for property investors

For property investors, the work that determines your tax outcome is done before 30 June, not at the accountant's desk in October. A handful of straightforward moves can shift your return materially.

1. Pre-pay deductible interest

If you're on an interest-only investment loan, most lenders allow you to pre-pay up to 12 months of interest in advance. That entire prepayment is deductible in the financial year you pay it.

This is most valuable when:

• Your taxable income this year is higher than next year's expected income.
• You've had a one-off income event (bonus, share sale, redundancy payment).
• Interest rates are expected to drop in the following year.

Run the maths with your accountant before committing — the cashflow hit is real, even if the tax benefit is substantial.

2. Get a depreciation schedule done

If your property was built after 1987 or has been significantly renovated, you can claim depreciation on the building and on the fittings (carpets, blinds, appliances). On a property worth $700k, a depreciation schedule often unlocks $5k–$15k in additional deductions in the first year, with continuing benefits annually.

The schedule costs $400–$700 once, lasts the life of your ownership, and is itself deductible.

3. Bring forward maintenance and repairs

Genuine repairs (replacing a broken stove, repainting a damaged wall, fixing a leak) are immediately deductible. Improvements (replacing a kitchen, adding a deck) are capital and depreciated over years.

If a repair has been on your list, get it done before 30 June rather than after — the deduction lands this year, not next.

Be careful about the repair vs. improvement distinction. A like-for-like fix is a repair; an upgrade is a capital improvement. Document accordingly.

4. Capital gains timing

If you're selling an investment property, the contract date — not the settlement date — determines the financial year of the capital gain. A property contracted on 28 June settles in a different financial year than one contracted on 2 July, with potentially significant tax implications.

If you've held the property for more than 12 months, you're eligible for the 50% CGT discount. Confirm your purchase date in your records, not just from memory.

5. Property manager statement reconciliation

Don't trust the year-end statement at face value. Reconcile against your bank account and lease history. Common errors:

• Inspection or letting fees not itemised.
• Repairs invoiced but not paid (or vice versa).
• Land tax, council rates allocated to the wrong year.

A 30-minute reconciliation often surfaces deductions you'd otherwise miss.

The bigger move

If you're regularly leaving deductions on the table, the issue isn't tax knowledge — it's record keeping. A simple property income/expense tracker, updated monthly, gives your accountant something to work with rather than a shoebox in October.

Talk to your accountant in May, not September. The conversations that matter happen before 30 June.