How is Depreciation Applied Following Natural Disasters?

Natural disasters are one of the leading causes of damage to properties. Situations involving such disasters often necessitate owners to substitute various assets. At times, depending on the degree of damage, they may also feel the need to rebuild their properties.

Though it can be a challenging task for both owners and tenants alike to deal with such a situation, there are ways to mend it. As it can be expensive, owners consider linking it to tax depreciation schedules. If you do not know much about depreciation, here are the things you need to know to maintain depreciation deductions for damaged properties:

Assessment and Depreciation of Disaster-Stricken Properties:

According to Australian tax rules, it is important on the part of an owner to submit a report on a damaged property to claim the expenses. Regardless of whether you repair, replace or improve an asset, you need to submit the property report to the concerned authorities.

Furthermore, the consequences may differ slightly, based on whether the property in question is an insured property or an uninsured one. Depending on whether or not the inspection of a property has been done, there can be two set of possibilities for an owner which are as follows:

A Quantity Surveyor Has Inspected the Property:

In this scenario, the owner can make adjustments to the original report and apply it without spending a huge amount of money. This also saves a lot of time and hassle.

A Quantity Surveyor Has Not Inspected the Property:

This can be a little tricky to handle. In this case, a property owner needs to contact a quantity surveyor for a thorough inspection of the property as soon as possible. The rationale behind it is to prepare a property report in a timely manner. When one fails to complete this quickly, it can land one into various complicated circumstances.

If you repair an asset, you can claim the deduction of the expense for it, irrespective of whether you have insured your property. The capital allowance values and the individual depreciable asset will need adjustments for the replacement of insured properties. For uninsured properties, the residual value of the replaced asset will cease to exist and forecasting of depreciation of new asset will follow.

What Should An Owner Do to Get the Right Depreciation Rate for Their Property?

The extent of ATO depreciation rates varies from case to case, depending on the kind of damage from a natural disaster.
In order to understand the ATO guidelines, it is important to gain an in-depth knowledge of various aspects related to filing the Australian tax return. You need to reach out to an expert for information about the scope of maximizing the future, present of previous depreciation claims.

Conclusion:

The preparation of the property report according to the ATO guidelines is your best bet to claim the depreciation expenses in your tax return with success. Unless you are an expert in this field, you should avoid taking it on your own. It makes a lot of sense to assign the task to a qualified professional with years of experience in this connection. This will help you to be on the safe side and prevent the possibility of getting into any legal issue.