Depreciation on a new build investment property comes up in nearly every conversation about buying a rental in Australia. Much of what is written about it jumps straight to a number — and tax settings change between income years and depend on individual circumstances.
This article covers the property side: what a depreciation schedule is as a document, who prepares it, why a new build and an established home differ in their records, and what to ask the builder for at handover.
It deliberately carries no rates, no thresholds and no worked example. Every rule it states is attributed to the Australian Taxation Office or Tax Practitioners Board page it came from, with that page’s date. Nextstar Realty is a licensed real estate agency in Queensland, not a tax practice, and we do not provide tax advice.
In short: a tax depreciation schedule is a technical document, usually prepared by a quantity surveyor. The ATO’s page on working out your capital works deductions (QC 21620, updated 22 June 2026) says evidence of the construction costs must be either precise documents that show those costs, such as receipts, or a report written by an appropriately qualified person. The difference between a new build and an established home here is a difference in records, not a promise about tax. How any of it applies to you should be discussed with a registered tax agent, within the scope of their registration.
What a depreciation schedule is, and who prepares it
People hear depreciation and picture a sum of money. The first thing involved is a document.
A tax depreciation schedule is a technical record of a building and the items in it, with their costs. It is usually prepared by a quantity surveyor, a profession built around construction cost.
The ATO’s page on working out your capital works deductions states that you must provide evidence of the construction costs by either of the following: precise documents that show the construction costs such as receipts, or a report written by an appropriately qualified person. It adds that the purchase price of the building and land, the insured cost and the replacement cost cannot be used as the construction cost. Where you do not hold those records, it names a quantity surveyor, a clerk of works, a supervising architect and a builder experienced in estimating construction costs of similar projects (ATO, QC 21620, updated 22 June 2026).
The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors describes the profession as determining, analysing and managing construction costs and contracts from feasibility, through construction, to occupancy or use and end of life. Its description includes a Tax Practitioner role, which at the completion of a construction project produces tax depreciation schedules.
This is measurement and costing of a building, not the lodgement of a tax return.
AIQS publishes a member search and a firm directory on its website.
Why a new build and an established home differ — in the RECORDS, not in the tax
The ATO separates capital expenses on a residential rental property into two groups. Its page on capital expenses (QC 103909, updated 21 May 2026) states that capital expenses include capital works and depreciating assets, claimed over several years rather than deducted in the year incurred, and describes capital works as structural improvements such as building costs, extensions and renovations. Its page on depreciating assets in rental properties (QC 103906, updated 21 May 2026) describes depreciating assets as items that can be described as plant and that do not form part of the building structure — carpets, curtains, appliances, air conditioners, stoves and furniture. Two groups, two sets of paperwork.
A change dating from 2017 sits on top of the paperwork question. The ATO’s page on second-hand depreciating assets (QC 103908, updated 22 June 2026) states that in most cases you can’t claim a deduction for second-hand depreciating assets after 1 July 2017. It defines them as depreciating assets already installed ready for use or used by another entity (except as trading stock), in your private residence, or for a non-taxable purpose unless that use was occasional.
The conditions are worth reading in full. The page states you can’t claim a deduction for certain second-hand depreciating assets unless you are either using the property in carrying on a business (including a business of letting rental properties), or one of the following: a corporate tax entity; a superannuation plan that is not a self-managed super fund; a public unit trust; a managed investment trust; or a unit trust or partnership where all of the members are entities of a type listed above. Otherwise, it states, you can only claim deductions for second-hand or used depreciating assets in residential rental properties if both of the following apply: you purchased the asset before 7:30 pm on 9 May 2017, and you installed it into your rental property before 1 July 2017.
Its exceptions repeat those two timing tests, add that they are also met where you purchased the residential rental property itself before 7:30 pm (AEST) on 9 May 2017, and add three more: where the rental property is not used to provide residential accommodation, for example let for commercial purposes such as a doctor’s surgery; where the entity that owns it is an excluded entity; and where the income generating activities at the property are unrelated to providing residential accommodation, its example being solar panels generating income from electricity sales. On a home turned into a rental, it states that if you do so on or after 1 July 2017 you can’t claim a deduction for the decline in value for depreciating assets that were in your home, and that you can claim for new depreciating assets you buy for it.
Whether any of it reaches a particular property, asset and owner should be discussed with a registered tax agent, within the scope of their registration. In property terms, it explains why the records question differs between a home just built and one already lived in.
A buyer of a just-completed house usually has fuller construction and completion records than the buyer of a house that has passed through several owners:
| Record | New build | Established home |
|---|---|---|
| Contract construction cost | Yes, in writing | Often no longer available |
| Drawings and specification | Yes, part of the build contract | May be lost, or altered across successive owners |
| Paperwork for installed appliances | Yes, from the builder and suppliers | Rarely retained |
| Completion date | Precisely identified | Often known by approximate year |
| Renovation and repair history | Not yet | Possibly several rounds, without records |
The practical consequence: with a new build the preparer has original figures to work from. With an established home they inspect and estimate — work the ATO page above contemplates where actual costs cannot be determined, but a different job, leaning more on professional judgement.
A new build and a complete document set both occur at handover — that is the connection between this subject and new builds, not a hidden concession attached to new houses.
A new build in Queensland also comes with a required set of technical documents
Beyond the contract file, a newly built Queensland home has to meet the building and energy efficiency requirements that apply to it, with certificates and documents that vary by type:
- Energy efficiency standards: the Queensland Government’s page on residential energy efficiency standards (updated 14 August 2026) states that these standards for new dwellings under NCC 2022 commenced in Queensland on 1 May 2024. It states a thermal performance requirement of 7 stars for most houses and townhouses, with 5 stars for eligible small homes and 6 stars for eligible houses with raised floor construction; units must collectively achieve an average of 7 stars for the whole building, with no individual unit less than 6 stars. It also states a whole-of-home energy usage budget with a minimum score of 60 out of 100 for houses and townhouses (class 1 buildings) and 50 out of 100 for new units. That assessment is itself a document with figures in it.
- Livable housing design standard: the Queensland Government’s page on the Livable Housing Design Standard (updated 14 August 2026) states that the Modern Homes Livable Housing Design Standards have applied to new homes in Queensland since 1 October 2023, covering new houses and units.
- The code edition in force: Queensland’s Building and Plumbing Newsflash 638 (1 May 2026) states that commencement of the National Construction Code (NCC) 2025 has been delayed until 1 May 2027, and that NCC 2022 will remain in effect for building and plumbing work.
A new home in Queensland therefore carries more technical documentation than one built decades earlier. The comparison is in a new build versus an established home, and the stages behind those documents are in building a house in Queensland.
Who is allowed to answer the tax part for you
This is where the article stops, and the stop is deliberate.
In Australia, providing tax agent services for a fee or reward is regulated through registration with the Tax Practitioners Board. The TPB’s page on finding and using a tax practitioner (updated 25 March 2025) states that if you want someone to prepare or lodge your tax returns, notices or statements, or provide you with tax advice, you should ensure they are registered with the TPB, and that you can check the TPB Register.
The TPB’s Code of Professional Conduct page (updated 6 August 2024) sets out obligations registered practitioners carry:
- Accounting to the client for money or other property held on trust for them
- Ensuring that a tax agent service they provide is provided competently
- Maintaining knowledge and skills relevant to the tax agent services they provide
- Maintaining the professional indemnity insurance the Board requires them to maintain
The TPB’s page on the risks of using unregistered preparers (updated 22 March 2023) states that you are taking big risks if you use an unregistered preparer to prepare and lodge your returns and statements, give you tax advice, or represent you with the Australian Taxation Office, and that sharing your myGov account details puts your personal and financial affairs at risk.
Why Nextstar stops here. We are a licensed real estate agency in Queensland and we do not provide tax advice. If we put a tax figure on a blog, a reader could decide to buy on a figure that had since changed — a real risk, not a formality.
Seven documents to ask for when you buy a new build
This part sits in property rather than tax. Ask for these at handover, while they are still easy to obtain:
- The build contract with its detailed price schedule
- As-built drawings and the materials specification
- A list of the appliances and equipment installed, with brands and model numbers
- Receipts or warranty documents for the major appliances
- The energy assessment for the dwelling
- The relevant certificates and completion documents, with the handover date
- The builder’s QBCC licence number — QBCC’s page on who must hold a QBCC licence (updated 16 April 2026) advises asking to see your contractor’s licence before you sign a contract or hand over money, either the physical card or the digital licence on their phone, and states that a digital QBCC licence has the same legal standing as a physical card
The method is in checking a builder’s QBCC licence, and where handover sits among the build stages is in the new build construction process.
With that set in hand, see a quantity surveyor about the schedule, then a registered tax agent about the rest, within the scope of their registration.
Frequently asked questions about depreciation on a new build investment property
Who prepares a depreciation schedule?
Usually a quantity surveyor. AIQS’s description of the profession includes a Tax Practitioner role that produces tax depreciation schedules at the completion of a construction project. The ATO’s capital works deductions page states that where it is not possible to determine the actual construction costs you can obtain an estimate from a quantity surveyor or other independent qualified person (QC 21620, updated 22 June 2026).
That work is measurement and costing, separate from lodging a return. Lodgement and tax advice should be discussed with a tax agent registered with the TPB, within the scope of their registration.
Why is a new build usually discussed alongside this topic?
Records. A new build has a build contract with a detailed price schedule, drawings, a specification, appliance paperwork and a precise completion date. An established home has often lost those.
A schedule can still be prepared for one, on the estimate the same ATO page contemplates, but it rests on inspection rather than original figures.
Why does this article carry no rates or calculations?
Because Nextstar Realty is a licensed real estate agency in Queensland, not a tax practice, and we do not provide tax advice. Tax settings change between income years, and the outcome depends on an individual’s income, ownership structure and residency status.
Each rule above is attributed to its ATO or TPB page, with that page’s date. Your own situation should be discussed with a registered tax agent, within the scope of their registration.
How do I tell whether a tax accountant is registered?
The Tax Practitioners Board maintains a public register. Its page on finding and using a tax practitioner (updated 25 March 2025) states that you should ensure anyone who prepares or lodges your returns, notices or statements, or gives you tax advice, is registered with the TPB, and that you can check the TPB Register.
Its Code of Professional Conduct page sets out their obligations: trust accounting, competent service, relevant knowledge and skills, and the professional indemnity insurance the Board requires.
What should I ask the builder for?
The seven groups above, and which of them exist varies with the type of home and the project’s records: the build contract and its price schedule; as-built drawings and specification; the appliance list; warranty documents; the energy assessment; the relevant certificates and completion documents; and the builder’s QBCC licence details.
Ask at handover, while the file is easy to obtain. QBCC advises asking to see the contractor’s licence, as a physical card or a digital licence.
Next steps
The order that works: keep the records at handover, see a quantity surveyor about the schedule, then a registered tax agent about the tax. Do not reverse it, and do not take tax figures from a real estate blog — this one included.
Nextstar Realty works with new builds and house and land packages in Queensland. If you are weighing up the two, a new build versus an established home compares them on construction standards. Current stock is at Brisbane property projects.
Sources
- Work out your capital works deductions — ATO, QC 21620 (updated 22 June 2026)
- Capital expenses — ATO, QC 103909 (updated 21 May 2026)
- Depreciating assets in rental properties — ATO, QC 103906 (updated 21 May 2026)
- Second-hand depreciating assets — ATO, QC 103908 (updated 22 June 2026)
- The profession — Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
- Finding and using a tax practitioner — TPB (updated 25 March 2025)
- Code of Professional Conduct — TPB (updated 6 August 2024)
- Risks of using unregistered preparers — TPB (updated 22 March 2023)
- Residential energy efficiency standards — Queensland Government (updated 14 August 2026)
- Livable Housing Design Standard — Queensland Government (updated 14 August 2026)
- Building and Plumbing Newsflash 638 — Queensland Government (1 May 2026)
- Who must hold a QBCC licence — QBCC (updated 16 April 2026)
- Tax Practitioners Board — Public register
Note on scope and timing: this article describes documents, professional roles and building standards, and attributes every tax rule to its ATO or TPB page. Those pages were checked on 8 September 2026. Tax rules, building standards and licensing requirements change — check the official source at the time you buy or build.
This article is general information at the time of writing and is not tax, legal or financial advice. Nextstar Realty is a licensed real estate agency in Queensland and does not provide tax advice. How a depreciation schedule, a capital works deduction or a depreciating asset applies to your circumstances should be discussed with a registered tax agent, within the scope of their registration; contracts and legal exposure belong with a solicitor.
This article is general information only and does not take into account your personal circumstances, financial situation or objectives. It is not legal, financial or taxation advice. You should obtain independent professional advice before making any property decision.
