Every year review a detailed copy of your depreciation schedule. Ask yourself;

  • Do you still own the assets?
  • Are the assets reasonably valued?

I recently worked with a client and we identified a number of assets were on the depreciation schedule, that were no longer in the business. Some were fittings related to a previous premise they had rented, some had been disposed of, and some were not being depreciated at the same rate as similar assets. The depreciation schedule was corrected, and resulted in the recognition of an additional depreciation expense of $30K; this in turn reduces their company tax.

This is a perfectly legitimate way to reduce your company tax. The assets had been paid for; the business simply had not recognised the expense of purchasing the assets yet.

Proactively work with your tax accountant to review your own depreciation schedule, and assess if you can find possible further taxation savings.