I'm renting a property and the tenant left in March to move overseas.
The property was missing a whole bunch of light bulbs amonst other things.
So went with dad to bunnings to buy a whole bunch of light bulbs (over $200 worth).
Dad ended up using his debit card since i only had cash. I paid dad the cash.
Can i still claim this in my tax deduction, considering the receipt shows it was paid by card that isn't mine (inc bank thats not mine)?
Get your Dad to write a note and sign it saying you reimbursed him for the credit card payment and staple this with the receipt and file it away in case you get audited.
Arguably no different to if you had of called an electrician to do the job. He would have billed you (the owner) for the cost of goods and labour.
How many Ozbargainers does it take to change a light bulb?
$200 worth of light bulbs - they would have to be pretty fancy light bulbs. Generally you can get these for $5 each (not on special) - otherwise hand in your OzB membership.
That’s 40 light bulbs.
That said, if the Tenant left with that amount of value missing, you would, like the ATO, expect some retention of the bond. So make sure you have that documented as well.
Christmas lights?
Hahaha no they were lights throughout the house. Each light fitting uses betweeen 3 and 7 globes - alot i know! In a 3 bedrm house that adds up. And the previous tenant just had one or two working globes working per fitting.
Makes sense, guess they realised they were paying the electricity bill
Thanks everyone, I'll get this signed off.
Hold on, are you renting out this property, as in you are the owner/landlord? Or are you the new tenant? If you are the new tenant then no you cannot claim this on tax.
Dad ended up using his debit card since i only had cash. I paid dad the cash.
Why didn't you just pay cash for the globes???
Minimising contact maybe?
But they have already left the house, wandered around the shops selecting $200 in lights etc, been to cashier to pay, and at $200, you would have to enter your pin to pay, so yeah not really 'limiting' much by skipping paying with cash.
Oh and then they expose their dad by giving them their dirty cash.
True :)
but if the cashier smiles at you and says we prefer payment by card, or if there is a sign asking you nicely to do so - chances are the customer will oblige without thinking of all the exposure they'd already been through
If light bulbs cost $200, I'd be more concerned with how much the rest of the damage would cost….
If my rental property needs repairs my agent pays for it to be done and then seeks reimbursement from me. But that's not my agents expense - it's mine and claimed on my tax return.
You paid for the items. Of course you can add the cost as an expense on the tax return.