People with holiday homes are accessing more deductions than they should and this is the reason why the ATO is concerned about those deductions and they have started asking a few questions to examine claims. In today’s blog, we’ll discuss all questions which will be asked by the ATO. Let’s get started:
What Common Questions Will be asked by the ATO about Holiday Home?
Take a look at the following section to know what type of questions the ATO will ask you:
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How long was it rented out for and did the rent match market value?
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Where do you post your rental ads and are there any limits for tenants?
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Have you used the property with your friends or family?
The issue is blanket claims for the holiday home irrespective of the time during which it was rented out or made available for rent. You need to allocate your expenses if:
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Your place is actually accessible for rent for only part of the year.
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Your property is used for personal purposes for part of the year.
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The only portion of your property is used to get rent.
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You charge less than market rent and give access to family or friends to use the property.
In addition to this, the ATO has also indicated that deductions might be restricted if a property is only available for rent outside peak holiday homes and the property’s location is unlikely to be rented out during that time.
The regulator might be suspicious if the owner claims that the property was actually accessible for rent during the peak holiday season but was not making any income during that time. It might indicate that the property was being used for personal use or that the advertised rental rate was not realistic.
Various factors are responsible for helping to show that property is available for rent, including the property is available during the peak holiday season, it must be kept in a condition that people would like to rent it, tenants are not turned away unreasonably, posting ads in a way that it broad exposure to tenants, and the condition is not restrictive that tenants are not likely to rent the property.
Conclusion
The time has changed and now, the ATO will be asking questions to examine claims for deductions people are making for holiday homes. To know more about it, reach Reliable Melbourne Accountants.