Depreciation Claims Schedule

The best way to keep track is to prepare depreciation schedule for each asset account that you depreciate. For instance, set up depreciation schedules for furniture, buildings, fixtures, equipment and more. A depreciation schedule is simply a document prepared by an appropriately qualified person which sometimes people refer to them as a “Quantity Surveyor” sets out how much depreciation you can claim on your property every year. Depreciation Schedule is also known as a “Tax Depreciation Schedule” or a “Capital Allowances Schedule”. When the quantity surveyor comes to your property, they will measure, document and photograph all qualifying items so you don’t miss any deductions. Moreover, they will probably find things you didn’t even know that are deductible. Preparing the document is the easy task but working out the construction cost of the building and putting prices on the assets are harder. That is why Quantity Surveyors are the most qualified people for this task in order to estimate the historical construction cost of a building. Accountants are not qualified to estimate construction costs. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) periodically asks people who claim depreciation how they arrived at the costs. If you say you hired a quantity surveyor, then everything would be okay unless it’s one of those dodgy ones. If your accountant had a stab at the construction cost, you can expect a few more questions. Your depreciation schedule Sydney should include all the information you need to determine annual depreciation, such as the original purchase date, original cost basis and recovery period. Also, you can add columns to track the actual depreciation expenses and calculate the current value of each asset.

What must a depreciation schedule include:

• Breakdowns of Plant, Building, Land and Ineligibles balanced to Total Capital Expenditure
• Detailed breakdown of Plant using both Prime Cost and Diminishing Value Methods
• Allocation of qualifying plant to Low Value Pool and Immediate Write Off
• Capital Allowances breakdown of qualifying Buildings and Alterations
• Summary of Entitlements
• Capital Expenditures
• Reconciliation of Expenditure

Older properties have often been renovated and any improvements completed by a previous owner can be included in a depreciation schedule. These renovations are not always obvious such as plumbing works, waterproofing, electrical wiring and many more. As long as work was completed within the qualifying dates enforced by the ATO, the owners will be entitled to a capital works deduction. Even though depreciation of Plant and Equipment cannot be claimed on pre-occupied properties, the owner can still claim capital allowance on the building and structural improvements. As this forms a majority of the claim, a depreciation report is very important. The cost of preparing your depreciation report will be depending on the type of property purchased, where it’s located, its size and other factors. The best time to get a depreciation schedule Sydney is in the summer when the surroundings are quiet. Quantity Surveyors are more flexible in the quiet season and can better fit in with tenants because in most cases they are going to have to visit the property. Naturally if the property is vacant at that time, then the quantity surveyor would do its job much better.