Brighter Landlording

Tax office to hunt landlord bank records – is your bank on the hit list?

by Kate Watt, Marketing Manager 20 April 2023

Aussie landlords have been put on notice as the Australian Tax Office (ATO) prepares to search bank records for 1.7 million investment property owners in a tax evasion crackdown.

The ATO will have access to residential investment property data from 17 banks, reports Australian Property Investor magazine.

It is on the hunt for landlords failing to declare rental income or capital gains or incorrectly claiming deductions or investment loan interest.

It’s a potentially lucrative hunt with ATO audits pointing to a $9 billion gap in taxes paid in the 2020 financial year.

“A common reason driving the incorrect reporting of rental expenses is individuals incorrectly apportioning loan interest costs where the loan was refinanced or redrawn for private purposes,” says the ATO website.

So what should landlords do to ensure they don’t fall fowl of the tax office? Get a good accountant if you don’t have one already, and, pay your taxes. The ATO provides a Tax time toolkit for investors.

Australian Property Investor reports the ATO will obtain data from the following banks.

  • Adelaide Bank
  • ANZ
  • Bank of Queensland
  • Bendigo Bank
  • Commonwealth Bank
  • Bankwest
  • ING
  • Macquarie Bank
  • National Australia Bank
  • Suncorp
  • Westpac
  • RAMS
  • Ubank
  • St George
  • Bank of South Australia
  • Bank of Melbourne
  • ME Bank.

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