Project Carter
Tax Depreciation Calculator
Four quick answers and you'll see roughly what a property could deduct each year for the building and, where the rules allow, its fixtures and fittings. It shows a range rather than a false-precision figure, and it tells you plainly when a deduction doesn't apply. It is an estimate to help you think, not tax advice.
Report
Shown on the PDF and used to name the report if you save it to your account.
The property
A rough year is fine. The building deduction runs for 40 years from when construction finished.
Used to estimate the building's construction cost when you don't have the real figure.
Turns the deduction into a tax saving. Leave it as is if you're not sure.
Sharpen the estimate (optional)
Skip this and the estimate uses typical building costs. Add either figure and it gets tighter.
The internal floor area of the building (building area for commercial). Costs it at today's rates instead of as a share of the price.
From a builder's contract, a developer's disclosure or an earlier depreciation schedule. Beats any estimate.
Your choice for fixtures and fittings. The building itself is always a flat 2.5% a year, which the tax law doesn't let you front-load.
Owners from before that date can still claim second-hand fixtures and fittings in a home.
- Year 1 deduction
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- Realistic range (year 1)
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- First 5 years
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- First 10 years
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- Tax saved in year 1
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- Tax saved over 10 years
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Your depreciation estimate
Figures are part-hidden. Unlock the full numbers and one-page PDF below.
Enter your figures above first — there's nothing to download yet.
Project Carter is sent your figures for an assessment only if you request one.
Year by year
| Year | Building | Fittings | Total | Tax saved |
|---|
Get your summary
The page builds a one-page PDF of your depreciation estimate, year by year. A copy is sent to Project Carter so we can follow up if you'd like.
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How the numbers work
- Two kinds of deduction. Capital works (Division 43) is the building itself: 2.5% of its original construction cost a year for 40 years. Plant and equipment (Division 40) is the removable fixtures and fittings such as appliances, blinds, carpet and air conditioning, written off faster because they wear out sooner. Only the fixtures and fittings can be front-loaded: the building is a flat 2.5% a year by law.
- Construction cost. If you enter the original cost, that is used. Otherwise it is estimated: from the floor area at typical 2026 build rates before GST (about $2,400/m² for a house, $3,000 for a townhouse, $4,500 for an apartment, $3,800 for an office, $2,800 for retail and $1,250 for industrial, set against published QS guides such as BMT, Rawlinsons and Rider Levett Bucknall and ABS builder-reported costs), or, with no area, as a share of the purchase price (about 40% for a house, 55% for a townhouse, 75% for an apartment and 60% for commercial, the rest being land; a rough fallback, so the floor area is worth entering). For an established building that cost is wound back to the year it was built using the ABS price index for building a new dwelling (national, excluding land, from 1998; earlier years are extended at 3.5% a year), because the deduction is based on what it cost to build then, not what it would cost now. It is a national index, so it smooths over state and suburb differences.
- Building deduction rules. Residential construction that started on or before 15 September 1987 gets no capital works deduction on the original building, and the deduction stops 40 years after the building was finished. Later renovations by an earlier owner can add their own deductions, which this estimate can't see.
- Fixtures and fittings rules. For residential property bought on or after 9 May 2017, investors can only claim fixtures and fittings that are new: in a brand new home, or that they install themselves. Second-hand items in an established home are not claimable, so this calculator shows $0 there unless you say you bought before that date. Commercial property has no such limit, but items are worth less second-hand, so an established commercial estimate assumes half of the new value.
- Fixtures and fittings maths. Their starting value is a share of the construction cost (about 7% for a house, 8% for a townhouse, 10% for an apartment and 12% for commercial), written off over an average effective life of ten years. Diminishing value (the default) takes 20% of the remaining balance each year, so the biggest deductions come first. Prime cost takes an even 10% of the starting value each year. Both add up to the same total over the assets' lives; diminishing value just brings it forward. Most schedules use diminishing value, but confirm which method suits you with your accountant.
- The range. A quantity surveyor measures the real building, so a real schedule can land above or below a desk estimate. The range shows roughly 25% below to 30% above.
- Tax saved is the deduction multiplied by the marginal tax rate you enter. It assumes you have enough taxable income to use it. Capital works deductions you claim reduce the cost base of the property, so some of the benefit comes back as capital gains tax when you sell. The first year is shown as a full year; in practice it is pro-rated from settlement.
- Is a quantity surveyor's report worth it? A schedule from a quantity surveyor typically costs around $600 to $800 and is itself tax deductible. The report is what lets you claim with confidence, and it finds things a desk estimate can't. This page is a guide only and is not a substitute for one.