ACT · Houses
House depreciation schedules in the ACT
A house carries the most capital works of any dwelling: the whole structure is yours, and so are the driveway, fencing, paths, any shed, pergola, deck or pool. Its plant is the usual kitchen, laundry, floor and window coverings, hot water and air conditioning.
- Rate per m², ACT 2015
- $1,222
- House built 2015
- $221,610
- Deduction a year
- $5,540
What a house cost to build in the Australian Capital Territory
For a single-storey brick veneer house of 200 m², at ACT rates, excluding the plant listed separately. The capital works deduction is 2.5% of this cost a year for 40 years from completion, and a buyer claims what is left.
| Year built | Rate per m² | Construction cost | 2.5% a year | Years left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $529 | $90,527 | $2,263 | 4 |
| 1995 | $664 | $115,490 | $2,887 | 9 |
| 2000 | $700 | $123,066 | $3,077 | 14 |
| 2005 | $993 | $177,994 | $4,450 | 19 |
| 2010 | $1,185 | $213,901 | $5,348 | 24 |
| 2015 | $1,222 | $221,610 | $5,540 | 29 |
| 2020 | $1,330 | $241,799 | $6,045 | 34 |
| 2025 | $1,928 | $351,892 | $8,797 | 39 |
Indicative, from the Ezy Depreciation cost database ledger-catalogue-2026-11-02. Years left are full income years from the current one, taking completion as 30 June of the year built.
A house built in 2018, a year the table leaves out, cost about $237,245 at ACT rates ($1,307 per m²), so about $5,931 a year at 2.5% for the 32 years left of its 40: see depreciation on a property built in 2018 for a standard house that year in every state. The table ends with 2025, the latest year our national series rests on a published figure for, so a house built since, in 2026, is shown here at 2025's rates until its own year's are published: about $351,892 at ACT rates, so about $8,797 a year at 2.5% over its 40 years.
How the Australian Capital Territory compares
In our cost database, the Australian Capital Territory is the fifth dearest of Australia's states and territories to build a house in. Built in 2025, a single-storey brick veneer house of 200 m² cost about $351,892 at ACT rates ($1,928 per m²), $3,954 more than it would at the national benchmark rate of $1,907 per m², so its capital works deduction is about $99 a year higher.
The next dearer is Queensland at $1,965 per m², and the next cheaper Western Australia at $1,863 per m². The same house would have cost $77,385 more in the Northern Territory, the dearest, and $99,894 less in South Australia, the cheapest.
Between 2015 and 2025 the cost of building the same house in the Australian Capital Territory rose from $221,610 to $351,892, 59% more, so the deduction for one completed in 2025 is about $3,257 a year more than for one completed in 2015, with 10 more years of its 40 to run.
Capital works in a house
Division 43, at 2.5% a year for 40 years
- 1The building: slab, frame, roof, cladding, windows, doors, kitchen and bathroom joinery, tiling, plumbing and wiring
- 2Structural improvements outside it: driveway, paths, fencing, retaining walls, garage or carport, shed, pergola, deck, pool shell
- 3Renovations: a new kitchen, bathroom, roof or extension is capital works from the date it was finished, at 2.5% for 40 years if it was begun after 15 September 1987. What a renovation does to the plant and works it replaces
Plant typically found in a house
Division 40, each at its effective life; new at today's prices
- Carpet8 yrs$4,545
- Blinds10 yrs$1,734
- Oven12 yrs$1,914
- Cooktop12 yrs$753
- Rangehood12 yrs$730
- Dishwasher8 yrs$1,276
- Exhaust fan10 yrs$128
- Smoke alarm6 yrs$122
- Electric hot water system12 yrs$1,734
- Split-system air conditioner10 yrs$2,751
- Ceiling fan5 yrs$309
- Garage door motor10 yrs$643
- Solar power system20 yrs$4,899
- Together$21,538
Deductible if bought new for the property while it is let; if it came with a second-hand property acquired since 9 May 2017, or was used while the property was the owner's home, generally not for an individual, though still valued for the capital gain. In a holiday house its owner also stays in, even plant bought new since 9 May 2017 is generally not deductible once that private use is not occasional, from the income year it begins (section 40-27).
The garage, the alfresco and the works outside a house in the Australian Capital Territory
A house on its own title shares nothing by entitlement: every structure on its lot is its owner's, and so is the whole deduction for each, where the owner of a townhouse in the Australian Capital Territory or a unit in the Australian Capital Territory claims a share of the scheme's common property. What sets a house's capital works apart is what stands on its own land: the garage and outdoor living areas under its roof, and the works around it.
Our pricing model prices the rooms of a standard brick veneer house built in 2025 at ACT rates at $1,928 per m², an attached garage at 0.636 of that ($1,226 per m²), and an alfresco area, verandah or porch under the main roof at 0.545 of it ($1,051 per m²). So a single-storey brick veneer house of 200 m² with a 36 m² double garage under its roof as well and a 20 m² alfresco area cost about $411,355 rather than $351,892 once the plant the builder installs, priced as plant, is taken out, before any work outside it: about $10,284 a year at 2.5% for 40 years. The garage and alfresco are part of the building, on the building's start date.
The works outside it are structural improvements, capital works at 2.5% a year for 40 years from each one's completion if it was begun after 26 February 1992; one begun earlier has no deduction. A typical driveway, paths, fencing and a carport add about $21,536 built in 2025, about $538 a year. Each has its own start date, so a fence replaced or a deck added later starts its own 40 years.
A pool's shell, coping and fence are capital works; its pool pump, pool filter and pool chlorinator are plant, each its own asset, all three over 10 years. So is a plastic rainwater tank (15 years, about $3,169 installed with its pump, which has a row of its own in the Commissioner's table), where a concrete tank set into the ground is capital works, and a solar hot water system on the roof (15 years). The land itself is never depreciated.
| Work | Cost | A year | Of the ACT house |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driveway, 50 m² | $5,677 | $142 | 1.6% |
| Paths and paving, 25 m² | $2,661 | $67 | 0.8% |
| Fencing, 60 m | $6,812 | $170 | 1.9% |
| Retaining wall, 10 m, 0.8 m high | $1,575 | $39 | 0.4% |
| Carport | $6,386 | $160 | 1.8% |
| Garden shed (fixed) | $3,122 | $78 | 0.9% |
| Pergola | $9,934 | $248 | 2.8% |
| Deck, 20 m² | $5,932 | $148 | 1.7% |
| In-ground pool shell | $62,293 | $1,557 | 17.7% |
Indicative, from our cost database's rates for each work at a typical quantity, brought to 2025 by whichever of the ABS house construction price index for the Australian Capital Territory and Australia's rose less, as the rates are national figures; a larger or dearer work costs more. A year is 2.5% of the cost; the last column sets the cost against the $351,892 the 200 m² house cost at ACT rates.
Common questions
What does a house built in 2015 in the Australian Capital Territory claim in capital works?
For a single-storey brick veneer house of 200 m², about $221,610 of construction cost at ACT rates ($1,222 per m²), so about $5,540 a year at 2.5% for the 29 years left of its 40. A two-storey or better-finished house costs more: the guide to build quality and storeys sets each tier's cost side by side, state by state.
Does the land count?
No. Land does not wear out and is never depreciated. The schedule covers the building, the structural improvements on the land and the plant, never the site itself.
What about a granny flat or a shed?
Both are capital works at 2.5% a year for 40 years from the date each was completed, as long as they are used to earn rent: a granny flat begun after 15 September 1987, and a shed, which counts among the structural improvements, begun after 26 February 1992. One begun earlier has run out or was never deductible. A freestanding shed built after the house has its own start date and its own 40 years.
Is the rate different for houses in ACT?
The rate is federal: 2.5% a year for residential construction begun after 15 September 1987, everywhere in Australia. What differs is the cost it applies to. Construction in ACT runs about 1% above the national benchmark, and a house of two or more storeys costs 1.03× a single-storey one per square metre.
Houses elsewhere
General information only, not advice about your circumstances. Speak to a registered tax agent before relying on it.