2010 to 2016
Depreciation on a property built in 2011
A residential building whose construction began in 2011 is deducted at 2.5% of its construction cost a year, for construction begun after 15 September 1987. Counting from 30 June 2011, its 40 years run from the 2011–12 income year to 2050–51, and from 2026–27 it has 25 income years left. Our national series puts new houses at $1,101 per m² of floor area in the year to 30 June 2011, 3% up on 2010's $1,073.
- Rate
- 2.5%
- Years left
- 25
- Last year
- 2050–51
What a house built in 2011 cost, state by state
A standard 200 m² single-storey brick veneer house at 2011 rates, less the builder's plant (3.6% of its cost that year), listed separately; the deduction is 2.5% of it a year.
| State | Rate per m² in 2011 | Construction cost | Deduction a year | Left to claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | $1,177 | $212,771 | $5,319 | $132,975 |
| Victoria | $1,163 | $210,216 | $5,255 | $131,375 |
| Queensland | $1,076 | $194,421 | $4,861 | $121,525 |
| Western Australia | $907 | $164,006 | $4,100 | $102,500 |
| South Australia | $841 | $152,039 | $3,801 | $95,025 |
| Tasmania | $1,205 | $217,899 | $5,447 | $136,175 |
| Australian Capital Territory | $1,214 | $219,478 | $5,487 | $137,175 |
| Northern Territory | $1,839 | $332,447 | $8,311 | $207,775 |
Indicative. "Left to claim" is the deduction a year times the 25 income years left; the first and last are usually part years.
The cost per m² around 2011
From 2010 to 2011 the standard house's rate per m² rose 3%, from $1,076 to $1,106: the 26th steepest of the 40 year-on-year changes since 1985. In 2012 it rose 0.3% again, to $1,109. At 2025's rates it costs $347,938 to build, 1.7 times its 2011 cost of $199,886, and the deduction is worked from the 2011 figure.
Building in 2011, 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 2011 is the year to 30 June 2011.
The rate per m²
Our national series puts new houses in the year to 30 June 2011 at $1,101 per m² of floor area, 3% up on 2010's $1,073 and 74% up over the ten years from 2001's $633.
The average new house
We put the average new house of 2011 at 242.1 m² of floor area, the ABS's 2011 figure: at 2011's $1,101 per m², it cost about $267,000 to build.
How the figure was reached
How 2011's figure was arrived at: the published ABS average cost over the published average floor area. It rests on 4 sources and is graded A, from A (a published figure) to D (an assumed rate of growth).
2011 in Division 43's history
- Counting the calendar year each began in as its first, 2011 is the 27th year of capital works for homes (from 18 July 1985), the 25th year of the rate of 2.5% over 40 years (from 16 September 1987) and the 20th year of structural improvements' claims (from 27 February 1992).
- 2011 came 6 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 16th of its 40 income years at 2.5%. 25 income years, this one counted, carry 62.5% of its construction cost; the 37.5% of the 15 years before is spent, whoever owned it then. The first half of its years ends with 2030–31.
A kitchen replaced ten years on, in 2021, is new capital works with 40 years of its own, claimed until 2061: 10 years past 2011's own last income year, 2050–51. Every renovation since 2011 is the same, whatever the house's own date; its invoices and photos date it.
Renovating a rental built in 2011: the old plant and works Houses of 2010 to 2016 beside the other years Using a previous owner's scheduleA standard house's plant, fitted new in 2011
In 2011 the builder's plant was about 3.6% of a standard house's cost, listed apart from the building; plant prices stood at 89% of 2020's by our plant index, and the ABS house construction price index for Australia stood at 83% of its June quarter 2020 level in the June quarter 2011. Fitted in 2011, with each life counted from 30 June 2011 as the building's years are, all 6 below have passed their effective lives, the last in 2022–23; a replacement bought new for a let property starts its own.
| Item | Installed new, 2011 prices | Effective life | Life ends, income year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oven | $1,437 | 12 years | 2022–23 |
| Cooktop | $565 | 12 years | 2022–23 |
| Dishwasher | $958 | 8 years | 2018–19 |
| Electric hot water system | $1,302 | 12 years | 2022–23 |
| Carpet | $3,412 | 8 years | 2018–19 |
| Blinds | $1,302 | 10 years | 2020–21 |
Common questions
How much depreciation can I claim on a house built in 2011?
On a 2011 building, 2.5% of what it cost to construct, each year until 2050–51. For a standard 200 m² brick veneer house that is about $5,319 a year in New South Wales, $5,255 in Victoria and $4,861 in Queensland, with 25 income years left. Plant new to you adds to that, as does any renovation since 2011.
I bought a 2011 property second-hand. Does the deduction start again?
No: a 2011 building's 40 years run from its completion, not from your purchase, so a buyer claims the 25 income years left, 2026–27 to 2050–51, on the original construction cost rather than the price paid. Fitted new in 2011, 166 of the 181 kinds of plant our catalogue prices have passed their effective lives, and the other 15 end from 2027–28 to 2040–41. Section 40-27 reaches plant acquired from 7.30 pm on 9 May 2017, when a 2011 house was 6 years old or so: bought from an earlier owner since then, the plant that came with a 2011 house is generally not deductible (the 2017 rules set out who it reaches and the exceptions).
What was the rate for 2011?
2.5% a year over 40 years, for construction begun after 15 September 1987: counting from 30 June 2011, the 2011–12 to 2050–51 income years. Construction begun on any day of 2011 qualifies, the window having opened on 16 September 1987, and 15 of its 40 income years have passed.
What did it cost to build a house in 2011?
In the year to 30 June 2011, our national series puts new houses at $1,101 per m² of floor area, 74% up over the ten years from 2001's $633, and the average new house, about 242 m², cost about $267,000 to build. At 2011's rates, our standard 200 m² single-storey brick veneer house, less the plant listed separately, cost about $199,886 at the national rate, against $194,387 in 2010 and $200,830 in 2012. In 2011 it was cheapest in South Australia, at $152,039, and dearest in the Northern Territory, at $332,447. Where the 2011 build's own cost is not documented, a schedule estimates it at 2011's rates, about $199,886 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.