Housing design to maximise tax depreciation

This paper argues that in designing a building which will be retained by a client to produce rental income over a considerable period of time, a designer is required to incorporate the consideration of tax depreciation into consideration when selecting finishing materials and service components, as these materials and components are eligible for tax deduction under different rates. This paper firstly examines current Australian tax legislation governing tax depreciation of building items, then the tax implications in building design are summarised into the form of guidelines. Benefits yielded from using these guidelines in building design are illustrated through a case study.