Tax office to double audits of ‘dodgy’ rental deductions

Rental property owners are being warned to ensure their claims are correct this tax time, as the ATO has announced it will double the number of audits scrutinising rental deductions, with a specific focus on:

• over-claimed interest;
• capital works claimed as repairs;
• incorrect apportionment of expenses for holiday homes let out to others; and
• omitted income from accommodation sharing.

Assistant Commissioner Gavin Siebert said:

“A random sample of returns with rental deductions found that nine out of 10 contained an error.  We are concerned about the extent of non-compliance in this area and will be looking very closely at claims this year.”

“We use a range of third party information including data from financial institutions, property transactions and rental bonds from all states and territories, and online accommodation booking platforms, in combination with sophisticated analytics to scrutinise every tax return,” Mr Siebert said.

“Once our auditors begin, they may search through even more data including utilities, tolls, social media and other online content to determine whether the taxpayer was entitled to claims they’ve made”.

The number one cause of the ATO disallowing a claim is taxpayers being unable to produce receipts or other documents to support a claim.

Furnishing fraudulent or doctored records will attract higher penalties and may also result in prosecution.

The ATO has also reminded taxpayers that, since 1 July 2017, they can no longer claim travel expenses related to inspecting, maintaining or collecting rent for a residential rental property, unless they are an “excluded entity”.