Its not the product it is the use. If the loan is being used to purchase property now then there is no duty. If the loan is being used to set up for some future property then there will be duty payable – but banks assess this and collect the duty and sometimes they miss it. If you are charged duty for a LOC you can later fill in a form and ask…[Read more]

Your super is probably in a retail fund now making 8% return too. They would want to charge you a fortune to set up a SMSF, take out your money, cut your earnings in half, invest you in a property that decreases in value and recommend their own inhouse accountants charging double normal rates.

Your super would probably make better returns…[Read more]

Have you reported this to ASIC?

Mortgage duty only applies to individuals borrowing for non property purchases (e.g. a LOC) and company loans. It would be on the date of the loan acceptance.

An individual buying property won’t be charged duty on the loan they take out to buy this property.

I bet they happen to be selling the property too and/or earning a decent (indecent) commission. It is not a good idea. I suggest you report them to ASIC.

Thats a pity as it would rule out some strategies.

Was the original ‘gift’ really a gift or was it a loan? If it was a loan that loan could be refinanced with a commercial lender.

You probably can redraw to buy a car but you shouldn’t as it will create a mixed purpose loan. As Corey says split the loan if you need to borrow to buy a depreciatiing asset such as a car.

The interest on the car loan may or may not be deductible depending on if it is business related.

I disagree with that comment – actually it is a correct comment, but only half the story because it doesn’t mention whether interest while constructing is deductible.

Steele never rented her land out at all (except for agistment)

Here is an ATO statement in TR 2000/17

Income tax: deductions for interest following the Steele decision:

12. It…

[Read more]

Easier to look directly at the relevant law:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/itaa1997240/s110.25.html

This lists out the things you can claim.

Is it a partnership at law, or a tax partnership or just joint owners?

Change of title will result in stamp duty possibly, but CGT may not be triggered if you are just shuffling ownership percentages around before selling to a 3rd party.

This is complicated stuff and you may need to see a lawyer in addition to the tax agent. Perhaps a deed of…[Read more]

hi Richard – Steele held her land for about 10 years from memory, and never developed it, but intended to and had undertaken activities such as applying for DAs, getting plans done etc. I think the only income she received was from agisting horses on it.

There are more cases, another one where someone claimed expenses on an off the plan property…[Read more]

Generally until death, but only in the final tax return. If your estate sells a property the loss won’t offset the gain.

There are also various rules about carrying forward losses, especially in trusts.

e.g. Buy for $300,000
Sell for $300,000

Cost base is $300,000 plus all costs not claimed such as stamp duty, lawyer fees, estate agent commission etc.

This could be say $40,000 So you would suffer a capital loss of $40k in this example. This cannot offset income but can offset future capital gains.

Losses are applied before the 50% discount…[Read more]

This is not the case Jac – steele’s case shows expenses can be claimed well before any income earning activity. It depends on the circumstances. If a person is borrowing to build an investment property – ie.e one they intend to rent out then the interest and other costs are generally deductible – even though income from rent may be not expected…[Read more]

Nope cannot claim this as it is a capital cost.

As you suspect – Just a bizarre story with no basis of fact – unless the parents are gifting upon death.

In this case you need personal advice from someone qualified to advise on land tax – a registered tax agent or a solicitor. There are no books on the topic but there are some good articles around – technical stuff for lawyers and accountants mainly.

But all you have to do is to look at the land tax act cited above.

In this case you need personal advice from someone qualified to advise on land tax – a registered tax agent or a solicitor. There are no books on the topic but there are some good articles around – technical stuff for lawyers and accountants mainly.

Yes, it is possible the CGT exemption won’t apply. But it will depend on the situation. If you are a builder then the ATO would be looking more closely at this.