\nBrad Beer, <\/b>from <\/b>BMT Tax Depreciation, tells us how you can make money from removing asbestos from a property and what is the most tax effective way to improve a property.
\n <\/p>\nTranscript:<\/h4>\n
Kevin<\/b>:\u00a0 My guest once again is Brad Beer from BMT Tax Depreciation<\/a>. Brad Beer, from BMT Tax Depreciation, tells us how you can make money from removing asbestos from a property and what is the most tax effective way to improve a property. Transcript: Kevin:\u00a0 My guest once again is Brad Beer from BMT Tax…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176692471,"featured_media":3861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,25],"tags":[64,101],"class_list":["post-3859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kevin-turner-sponsored-channels","category-sponsored-channels","tag-depreciation","tag-podcast"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nBrad, I want to focus this time a little bit more on some of those renovation issues that we\u2019ve already touched on. But I want to go a little bit deeper into them, particularly the area of hazardous materials.
\nWe\u2019re seeing a lot of asbestos now needing to be removed from some of these renovations. Can I claim that?
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 Yes. It\u2019s not actually a depreciation claim necessarily. It\u2019s an instant claim a lot of the time for the removal of these materials. I guess it\u2019s probably the tax office saying, \u201cWe really want these things gone, and so therefore, we\u2019ll allow you to make a deduction for the removal of these things,\u201d because you\u2019re more likely to get rid of them that way.
\nKevin<\/b>:\u00a0 Would you do that for me, or do I need to get my own quotes and give that to you?
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 Because it\u2019s not actually a depreciation claim \u2013 usually, it\u2019s a direct cost \u2013we\u2019ll work with the accountant to make sure that\u2019s one of the things that you claim.
\nKevin<\/b>:\u00a0 One of the questions I\u2019m asked quite often is about the age of the building. Does it depend on the age of the building as to its availability for depreciation?
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 Once again, it\u2019s one of the most common questions. People seem to think it\u2019s only on new properties or fairly new properties. I want to take age out of our minds in relation to this. Yes, the age does impact on how much you can claim, but older properties still get depreciation. It\u2019s often just a bit less.
\nWe\u2019ll always talk to a client about their property, about what it is, and we\u2019ll make sure that it\u2019s going to be enough deductions there for them before we go ahead and do anything. It\u2019s free to get an idea of what sort of deductions may be there.
\nKevin<\/b>:\u00a0 When I\u2019m renovating, can I actually claim my own labor?
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 Yes, that\u2019s another regular question. Because you actually don\u2019t pay for your labor, it\u2019s much cheaper than what you would pay someone else because you put your blood, sweat, and tears into it instead. Effectively your own labor, unless you pay yourself for the work, it\u2019s not a claimable part of the cost for depreciation.
\nKevin<\/b>:\u00a0 You must see a lot of renovations, and obviously, you\u2019re doing the bulk of the tax depreciation schedules. What are you seeing is the most tax effective way to improve a property?
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 Firstly, making sure it\u2019s an investment property when you do improvements, so you have some deductibility.
\nSometimes the things you put in there will make a bit of difference as to what you can claim. Carpet has a quicker claim than tiles, for example, and so do floating timber boards. You get to claim them as plant and equipment as opposed to being part of the structure.
\nYour decision on a lot of these things isn\u2019t just going to be about the depreciation; it\u2019s going to be about your property and what\u2019s the best for the best valuations and the best rental returns etc. But we can always talk to you about some of the things that you can do \u2013 like the carpet instead because you will get to claim it a little bit quicker.
\nKevin<\/b>:\u00a0 I suppose that\u2019s all about doing the research. You\u2019ll come out and give me an assessment on the property?
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 We\u2019ll have a look at the plans and have a discussion. We can tell you what you\u2019re doing and what we think you could change to help maximize your depreciation, definitely.
\nKevin<\/b>:\u00a0 Going past that assessment stage, what does it cost to get a depreciation schedule done?
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 When we identify that it is worth it for you and we\u2019re going to get some deductions for you, we charge a fee of $650 plus GST, which is $715, which includes us coming to site, doing the inspection, and doing a full depreciation schedule that\u2019ll tell your accountant what to claim for the next 40 years of owning that property.
\nWe also offer a guarantee that says unless we can find twice that in deductions in the first full financial year or even additional deductions to what you\u2019re doing, we\u2019ll give you the money back.
\nWe talk to you about your property first, we make sure it\u2019s worth it, and if we\u2019re wrong, we\u2019ll back it and give you your money back.
\nKevin<\/b>:\u00a0 Excellent. What about the timeframe? How long does it take to do one of these?
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 We need to get access to the property, so we have to work around your tenants and keep them as happy as we can. Normally, within a week or so, they\u2019ll let us in. After that, seven working days, you\u2019ll have your report, providing we\u2019ve got the information we need to do it.
\nKevin<\/b>:\u00a0 The final question I want to ask you is about my accountant. I\u2019m working with an accountant. How closely do you work with them, or are they separate?
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 We provide only one number for them each year in a tax return or a couple of numbers. We talk to them about the property sometimes. They\u2019re our friends. Most of the time, people are calling us up because their accountant said to call us and get one of those depreciation schedules. We\u2019re the specialists just in this area of depreciation, and they\u2019re our friends; we work alongside them.
\nKevin<\/b>:\u00a0 Yes, wonderful. Brad Beer from BMT Tax Depreciation Quantity Surveyors. The website is BMTQS.com.au<\/a>.
\nBrad, once again, thank you very much for joining us.
\nBrad<\/b>:\u00a0 Thanks, Kevin.
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