Reported in Domain 14th Mar 2019, almost nine in 10 property investors who claim tax deductions on their rentals are making errors, new research shows. Investors are in the crosshairs of the Australian Taxation Office, which is turning its focus to the incorrect property claims made at tax time.

Tax commissioner Chris Jordan said that the ATO had been making random inquiries about tax returns. “Our auditors have now completed over 300 audits on rental property claims and found errors in almost nine out of 10 returns reviewed,” he said. “We’re seeing incorrect interest claims for the entire investment loan where it has been refinanced for private purposes, incorrect classification of capital works as repairs and maintenance, and taxpayers not apportioning deductions for holiday homes when they are not genuinely available for rent.”

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The Federal Government has introduced a new tiered system of private hospital insurance which will begin rolling out from 1 April, 2019. Under this new system health funds will have to classify hospital policies into four tiers – Gold, Silver, Bronze and Basic, by 1 April, 2020. Private health insurance is an important issue to many Australians, with 55 per cent of the
population covered by some form of private health insurance. We’ve seen our policy premiums rise sharply over the years with more exclusions and gaps introduced. Many policies have become ‘junk’ status and not even worth having. It’s important that we review what policy cover we currently have and how this change may affects us.

The new tiers should, in theory, make choosing a policy simpler, however Choice  says that insurers could label their products as ‘Plus’, creating more categories; literally billions of versions of potential policies. The reforms may not reduce product confusion.

The federal government has created a factsheet to explain what treatments are included in Gold, Silver, Bronze and Basic policies. It’s good to examine your policy changes with your insurer and shop around.