But first up, why do they ask us questions instead of you?

Probably because we’re easier to get hold of – especially at this time of year.

And because we know a lot about depreciation – no surprise given we’ve been doing this for over 20 years and it’s all we have ever done.

There might even be some questions you have for us. You can email us at affiliates@depreciator.com.au. And if you want to make an enquiry on behalf of a client, use your booking link. 

The most common question your clients have been asking us lately? How quickly can you do a Depreciation Schedule for me? It’s good that they want to have all their ducks in a row before they see you.

There are always clients who want to know if there is depreciation in their property. Again, it’s good they find that out before they see you. Often clients are surprised at the depreciation we find in older properties.

We’ve had a run of people lately asking also about depreciation on renovations done by previous owners. A lot of them have also had a pleasant surprise.

And there are the clients who call up and say, ‘Hey, you’ve done some residential Depreciation Schedules for me. I don’t suppose you do commercial ones too?

Key Points:

1. 1. So how quick can Depreciator turnaround a Depreciation Schedule? Just 5 working days where we don’t need to inspect, 10 working days where we do. And if you have an urgent job, let us know, and we’ll get it done. 
2. 2. Do older properties have any depreciation in them? Often they do. Any residential property built after September 1987 still has some depreciation left in the building.
3. 3. How do we tackle renovations? We’ll use the client’s actual costs where available, and where it’s not, our Quantity Surveyors will estimate the date and cost of the renovations.
4. 4. Have we always done commercial properties? Sure have. Everything from fish shops to farms. Our skill with them is what makes us so popular with accountants.
5. 5. Do you send out a newsletter to your clients? Or publish blogs or podcasts? We have created content we think would be of interest to your clients at tax time.

So how quick is Depreciator?

Quicker than any other provider.

So how can that be?

Some of it comes down to us having good systems and clever people. We can work out in an initial phone call whether a property needs to be inspected or not. Did you know that despite what some people think, not all properties need to be inspected for a Depreciation Schedule?

Brand new properties where the build cost is known? Nah. The legislation even says if the actual costs are known they must be used. Then it just comes down to valuing the Div 40 items from the available information.

Where the build cost is known, we turn these around in just a few days – overnight if you need us to.

Then there are the properties we inspect. We’re a bit different there, too. With Depreciator, the person who inspects the property is the one who costs the eligible Capital Works and values the Assets.

Other providers are slower because they use data collectors who then need to pass that information onto others or that regrettably common employee, Excel.

We turn around inspection jobs 10 days after the inspection. But again, if you need something quicker we’ll do our best.

Do older properties have any depreciation in them?

Often they do.

When those changes to depreciation came through in 2017, everyone (well, not us) threw their hands up and assumed it was all over for used property.

Not so. 

Any residential property built after September 1987 still has some depreciation left in the building. Sure, the second hand Assets can’t be depreciated, but the building still can.

Let’s say your client has bought a mid 90s project home. It might have cost $120K to build – yes, much cheaper back then. Your client will be able to claim a deduction of around $3,000 per year on the building. And they can claim that every year for the next 10 years.

And if it’s a simple property with plenty of information available, we might be able to put together a Depreciation Schedule without having to inspect the property, so our fee will be less. 

We explain all this to your clients in our initial chat with them. 

How do we tackle renovations?

Gee, there can be a lot of depreciation in renovations. Anyone who has renovated a property can attest to the cost of them.

It’s not hard to spend over $200K doing even a modest renovation these days, and that’s going to throw off $5,000 per year as a Capital Works deduction. 

If a client did the renovations themselves, they might have all the costs (hopefully not in a shoe box) so you might not need us.

But what if they have ‘lost’ those costs? What if a previous owner did the renovations? That’s when you will need us.

Our Quantity Surveyors are particularly good at identifying renovations. We recently had a client with an early 90s house that had a second storey added perhaps 15 years ago. They had no idea – to be fair, it had been added to look as original as possible.

It’s something our Quantity Surveyor identified on site.

Goodness knows how providers who use data collectors would tackle that one – probably would not have even spotted the addition. That client is claiming $7,249 per year, largely on a renovation they did not even know was there. 

Have we always done commercial properties?

Sure have.

Everything from fish shops to farms. We even did a fish farm once.

Commercial properties can be tricky, so we understand why some providers avoid them. Or do them reluctantly, and as a consequence badly. They are definitely properties that only experienced people should tackle. 

The building types vary so widely and the list of possible Assets is huge – far broader than the Assets in residential properties.

Remember, the 2017 changes to depreciation did not affect commercial properties at all and the Instant Asset Write-Off has remained generous and even applies to second hand Assets.

That’s partly why they are so popular.

And our skill with them is what makes us so popular with accountants.

Free content for your next newsletter

Do you send out a newsletter to your clients? Or publish blogs or podcasts? We have created content we think would be of interest to your clients at tax time and we’d love for you to include it in your next publication.

If you’re interested, please email affiliates@depreciator.com.au and let us know what you’re after.

Enquire now for a property-specific assessment

Has this article reminded you about a client’s investment property? Residential properties, commercial properties, even farms, we do them all.

If you want us to talk to a client about a Depreciation Schedule, make a no-obligation enquiry and rely on our 20-plus years of experience in estimating depreciation returns.