2000 to 2009
Depreciation on a property built in 2003
A residential building whose construction began in 2003 is deducted at 2.5% of its construction cost a year, for construction begun after 15 September 1987. Counting from 30 June 2003, its 40 years run from the 2003–04 income year to 2042–43, and from 2026–27 it has 17 income years left. Our national series puts new houses at $704 per m² of floor area in the year to 30 June 2003, 5% up on 2002's $671.
- Rate
- 2.5%
- Years left
- 17
- Last year
- 2042–43
What a house built in 2003 cost, state by state
A standard 200 m² single-storey brick veneer house at 2003 rates, less the builder's plant (5.3% of its cost that year), listed separately; the deduction is 2.5% of it a year.
| State | Rate per m² in 2003 | Construction cost | Deduction a year | Left to claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | $903 | $160,295 | $4,007 | $68,119 |
| Victoria | $923 | $163,755 | $4,094 | $69,598 |
| Queensland | $725 | $128,737 | $3,218 | $54,706 |
| Western Australia | $525 | $93,176 | $2,329 | $39,593 |
| South Australia | $634 | $112,513 | $2,813 | $47,821 |
| Tasmania | $816 | $144,813 | $3,620 | $61,540 |
| Australian Capital Territory | $909 | $161,326 | $4,033 | $68,561 |
| Northern Territory | $1,082 | $191,970 | $4,799 | $81,583 |
Indicative. "Left to claim" is the deduction a year times the 17 income years left; the first and last are usually part years.
The cost per m² around 2003
From 2002 to 2003 the standard house's rate per m² rose 5%, from $768 to $804: the 14th steepest of the 40 year-on-year changes since 1985. In 2004 it rose 6% again, to $853. At 2025's rates it costs $347,938 to build, 2.4 times its 2003 cost of $142,698, and the deduction is worked from the 2003 figure.
Building in 2003, nationally
The ABS measure: the value of new houses built (land excluded) over their floor area, so it follows the kind of house as well as prices, and its 2003 is the year to 30 June 2003.
The rate per m²
Our national series puts new houses in the year to 30 June 2003 at $704 per m² of floor area, 5% up on 2002's $671 and 45% up over the ten years from 1993's $484.
The average new house
We put the average new house of 2003 at 227.6 m² of floor area, the ABS's 2003 figure: at 2003's $704 per m², it cost about $160,000 to build.
How the figure was reached
How 2003's figure was arrived at: the published ABS average cost over the published average floor area. It rests on 2 sources and is graded A, from A (a published figure) to D (an assumed rate of growth).
2003 in Division 43's history
- Counting the calendar year each began in as its first, 2003 is the 19th year of capital works for homes (from 18 July 1985), the 17th year of the rate of 2.5% over 40 years (from 16 September 1987) and the 12th year of structural improvements' claims (from 27 February 1992).
- 2003 came 14 years before section 40-27 on second-hand plant (from 7.30 pm on 9 May 2017).
Where it stands in 2026–27
2026–27 is the 24th of its 40 income years at 2.5%. 17 income years, this one counted, carry 42.5% of its construction cost; the 57.5% of the 23 years before is spent, whoever owned it then. The first half of its years ended with 2022–23.
A kitchen replaced ten years on, in 2013, is new capital works with 40 years of its own, claimed until 2053: 10 years past 2003's own last income year, 2042–43. Every renovation since 2003 is the same, whatever the house's own date; its invoices and photos date it.
Renovating a rental built in 2003: the old plant and works Houses of 2000 to 2009 beside the other years Using a previous owner's scheduleA standard house's plant, fitted new in 2003
In 2003 the builder's plant was about 5.3% of a standard house's cost, listed apart from the building; plant prices stood at 79% of 2020's by our plant index, and the ABS house construction price index for Australia stood at 60% of its June quarter 2020 level in the June quarter 2003. Fitted in 2003, with each life counted from 30 June 2003 as the building's years are, all 6 below have passed their effective lives, the last in 2014–15; a replacement bought new for a let property starts its own.
| Item | Installed new, 2003 prices | Effective life | Life ends, income year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oven | $1,250 | 12 years | 2014–15 |
| Cooktop | $492 | 12 years | 2014–15 |
| Dishwasher | $833 | 8 years | 2010–11 |
| Electric hot water system | $1,132 | 12 years | 2014–15 |
| Carpet | $2,968 | 8 years | 2010–11 |
| Blinds | $1,132 | 10 years | 2012–13 |
Common questions
How much depreciation can I claim on a house built in 2003?
On a 2003 building, 2.5% of what it cost to construct, each year until 2042–43. For a standard 200 m² brick veneer house that is about $4,007 a year in New South Wales, $4,094 in Victoria and $3,218 in Queensland, with 17 income years left. Plant new to you adds to that, as does any renovation since 2003.
I bought a 2003 property second-hand. Does the deduction start again?
No: a 2003 building's 40 years run from its completion, not from your purchase, so a buyer claims the 17 income years left, 2026–27 to 2042–43, on the original construction cost rather than the price paid. Fitted new in 2003, 177 of the 181 kinds of plant our catalogue prices have passed their effective lives, and the other 4 end from 2027–28 to 2032–33. Section 40-27 reaches plant acquired from 7.30 pm on 9 May 2017, when a 2003 house was 14 years old or so: bought from an earlier owner since then, the plant that came with a 2003 house is generally not deductible (the 2017 rules set out who it reaches and the exceptions).
What was the rate for 2003?
2.5% a year over 40 years, for construction begun after 15 September 1987: counting from 30 June 2003, the 2003–04 to 2042–43 income years. Construction begun on any day of 2003 qualifies, the window having opened on 16 September 1987, and 23 of its 40 income years have passed.
What did it cost to build a house in 2003?
In the year to 30 June 2003, our national series puts new houses at $704 per m² of floor area, 45% up over the ten years from 1993's $484, and the average new house, about 228 m², cost about $160,000 to build. At 2003's rates, our standard 200 m² single-storey brick veneer house, less the plant listed separately, cost about $142,698 at the national rate, against $135,865 in 2002 and $152,165 in 2004. In 2003 it was cheapest in Western Australia, at $93,176, and dearest in the Northern Territory, at $191,970. Where the 2003 build's own cost is not documented, a schedule estimates it at 2003's rates, about $142,698 for that house nationally, by an appropriately qualified person, as Taxation Ruling TR 97/25 accepts.
General information only, not advice about your circumstances. Speak to a registered tax agent before relying on it.