50pc of investors lose thousands of dollars every year

With the end of the 2011/2012 financial year fast looming, Mr Raine explained that many fail to make these claims, to the detriment of their portfolio’s performance overall.

“The problem is that many landlords either aren’t aware of the benefits associated with depreciation, or don’t have an up-to-date depreciation schedule, which enables them to claim against the reduction in value of items such as carpets, curtains, stove cook tops, some light fixtures, shower heads and so on,” he said.

The depreciation schedule needs to be done by June 30 to escape the cut off.

Depreciable items can return from 10 to 20 per cent, while the building cost of the investment property can often return 2.5 per cent on a yearly basis.

BMT Tax Depreciation Quantity Surveyors’ Brad Beer said that the claims for new homes makes this an investment choice worth considering.

“One important benefit that new homes offer investors is considerable capital depreciation, with up to 60 per cent of the purchase price potentially tax-deductible over the life of the property,” Mr Beer said.

“As a rule, the newer the property, the more an investor can claim, making purchasing a near-new house or apartment potentially more worthwhile, in a taxation sense, than an established home, at least for the first five or so years of ownership,” he said.

It is also possible to back-date missed depreciation claims by up to two years.

“Moreover the costs associated with a depreciation schedule, which can be between $650 and $700 per report, are also tax deductible,” Mr Raine said.