Money Australia — May 2017

THIS MONTH

NEWS

&

VIEWS

SNAPSHOT

Source: HSBC’s Beyond the Bricks report

Millennials who currently own home Millennial home owners whose parents helped them to buy

Average

China

Mexico

France

Malaysia

USA

Canada

UK

Australia

UAE

Average

China

Mexico

France

Malaysia

USA

Canada

UK

Australia

UAE

Gen Y’s housing quest

40%

70%

41

35%

35%

34%

31%

28%

26%

36%

40%

41%

26%

29%

32%

37%

35%

30%

50%

466 %

%%

of Aussie millennials

intending to buy have not yet

saved a deposit while

say they need a

higher salary

75%

61%

A

re you a serial

deal finder? Do

youhavemultiple

memberships to

discount sites such as Grou-

pon, Scoopon and Cudo? Good

news–there’sanewappthat

consolidates all your favourite

deal-finder sites in one place.

Beepit is like a marketplace for

different types of deals. It sorts

them into several categories so

you can only see the ones that

appeal to you. They cover res-

taurants, beauty and wellness,

travel and leisure activities,

and products. To sort through

them, you can swipe left to

reject or right to save.

What really sets this app

apart is its algorithm to cus-

tomise your deals. As you

swipe, Beepit takes note of

what you like and dislike, and

uses this information to show

only the offers that are likely

to interest you. The result is a

more efficient, easily customis-

able experience. When you’ve

created a list of potential deals,

you can sort them by their

expiry date so you know which

ones will go first.STEPH NASH

d

TAX TIP

Exception to the

repairs rule

A

s a general rule, if you own a rental

property and undertake repairs or

maintenance you can claim a tax deduc-

tion for the costs incurred. That rule may

not apply, however, where you have only

recently purchased the property and have

undertaken repairs shortly afterwards.

Such work is often referred to as “initial

repairs” and treated for tax purposes as

capital expenditure, meaning that instead

of being tax deductible straight away

these expenses are added to the cost base

of the property, hence reducing the capital

gain when the property is ultimately sold.

The tax office considers an initial repair

to be work to remedy defects, damage

or deterioration existing at acquisition

and applies a short cut to highlight such

expenses by generally disallowing any

repairs undertaken in the first 12 months.

That can be fair enough where the

repair really does relate to work to fix exist-

ing defects but not all repairs undertaken

in the first 12 months fit that criterion, so

it’s important to stand your ground if the

work was a genuine repair, such as fixing

a fence that blew over in a storm.

So if you can prove that the work wasn’t

to rectify an existing defect and arose as a

result of post-purchase events, you should

make your claim. Keep good records, how-

ever, because there’s every chance that

the ATO will query it.

MARK CHAPMAN IS DIRECTOR OF TAX COMMUNICATIONS

WITH H&R BLOCK. [email protected].

A

round 80% of retirees receive a part

or full age pension but at the start

of the year 330,000 people lost some

or all of their entitlement due to the new

assets test. The changes have given older

Australians a lot to think about: what does

it mean for their retirement, and how can

they minimise the impact of a partially

reduced, or no, pension? Age Pension

Made Simple sets out what you need to

know about the new rules, including what

income you’re entitled to and how the

assets and income tests work. STEPH NASH

Ten readers can win a copy

In 25 words or less, tell us how you make

your money go further each week. Send

entries to Book of the Month, Money,

GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001 or

email [email protected]. Don’t

forget to include your name and postal

address. Entries close on June 7, 2017.

BOOK OF THE

MONTH

APP OF THE

MONTH

BEEPIT

COST: FREE

OS: IOS,

ANDROID

AGE PENSION MADE SIMPLE

Trish Power

Wilkinson Publishing

RRP: $24.