Owning and renting a property or holiday home
If you invest in (buy) a rental property or holiday home, you will need to keep records. You will need the date of purchase and costs of buying the property. The date you enter into the contract is the purchase date (not the settlement date) for capital gains tax purposes.
Co-owning rental property
If you co-own the property you will need to know your ownership interest, to make sure you:
keep the right records
report the correct share of the rental income
claim the correct amount for expenses you incur.
For more information, go to the rental properties guide – Co-ownership of a rental property.
Buying a home
If you buy a home (your main residence), you should also keep records. You will need these records to make sure you don’t pay more tax than you need to, if you later decide to:
make your residential property available for rent
rent out all or part of your home through the sharing economy
For more information, see IT 2167 – Income tax: rental properties – non-economic rental, holiday home, share of residence, etc. cases, family trust cases.
Investment or business
Most rental activities are in the form of an investment. See, rental property as investment or business, to work out if your activities amount to:
carrying on a business
a domestic arrangement
sharing part of your home
normal commercial practices.
If you are investing in property you intend to rent out as affordable housing, there are registration requirements and criteria you need to meet. See, investing in affordable rental housing.
Foreign resident investors
If you are a foreign resident or a temporary resident and you plan to invest in residential rental property, you will first need to:
check the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) guidance notes
submit a Residential real estate application and pay an application fee
keep the right records
report the correct share of the rental income.
For more information about rental investment properties, see:
Australian Taxation Office
(ATO)