Negative gearing is in the headlines again. But what is it all about, and could it affect you? We explain how negative gearing works, why it's so popular among investors, and why it's attracting fresh attention.
Australians love property. So much so that more than one-in-ten adults (2,268,161 Australians) own an investment property.
So why is property such a popular investment?
Well, landlords can earn regular, consistent rental income. That's extra cash to pay off the investment loan.
Additionally, over the past 100 years, national property prices have risen 10.9% per year on average, according to AMP insights.
This kind of return can provide a decent capital gain when the owner sells - which may also be eligible for a 50% capital gains tax (CGT) discount.
But there's a third factor that can make property such an attractive investment, and that's the potential tax savings of negative gearing.
How negative gearing works
'Gearing' simply means borrowing to invest.
'Negative gearing' is where the costs of owning the property, such as loan interest, council rates, insurance and so on, exceed the rental income the property generates.
The investor then claims a loss on the property via their tax return (this loss can be claimed even though the property's value, aka capital gains, might have increased during that period).
The advantage of negative gearing is that this loss can be offset against other income, including your regular wage or salary.
The end result is the potential to save on your tax bill.
The tax savings can stack up
A simple example here will help.
Let's say Deb's annual salary is $125,000. At 2024-2025 tax rates, she pays tax plus Medicare levy totalling $28,288.
Deb recently bought an investment property. It generates $25,000 in annual rent, and the ongoing costs (including, but not limited to, strata levies, landlord insurance and loan interest) add up to $35,000 each year.
This leaves her with a loss of $10,000.
Deb now claims that loss on her tax return.
This will push her taxable income down to $115,000 ($125,000 salary less $10,000 property loss).
At this point, Deb's tax (plus Medicare levy) is cut to $25,288, giving Deb an annual tax saving of $3,000.
This tax saving is more just than a sweetener.
It's extra cash that can go towards repaying the investment home loan.
One of the controversies surrounding negative gearing is that many investors are unlikely to really be making a loss on their investment property because the value of their property usually increases each year.
The counter-argument to that however is that those capital gains are already subject to capital gains tax (albeit, usually discounted at 50%).
Why is negative gearing back in the news?
The latest kerfuffle around negative gearing arose because Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers let slip that he had asked the Treasury for modelling around negative gearing and its impact on housing supply.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had stated "We have no plans to touch or change negative gearing."
But of course, nothing is set in stone when it comes to politics.
That said, it would take a brave government to scrap negative gearing.
After all, those 2.2 million property investors are also voters - about half of whom negatively gear their properties.
Keen to buy an investment property?
It always makes sense to talk to a tax professional to know whether you could benefit from negative gearing.
As mentioned above, about half of property investors employ the strategy - it's not the right fit for everyone.
Either way, if you're keen to become a property investor and want to explore finance options that could help make that a reality, get in touch with us today.
We can help you assess your borrowing capacity and give some insights into how you could leverage the equity in your current property to make it happen.
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