Ever wondered what all could you claim to reduce your interest income for tax purposes?
As a general rule, all the expenses you have incurred to earn the interest income may be claimed. For example, account keeping fees for investment account held with a bank and management fees or investment advice related to investments may be claimed against the interest income you earn from such investments. If you used a computer to monitor your investments on a regular basis, then you may be able to claim a portion of the decline in value of that computer.
Additionally, if the interest is earned by a joint account, the tax office mandates that the interest must be split between the joint accounts and allocated accordingly for tax purposes. However, it is strictly mentioned that no account keeping fees can be claimed against a first home saver account.
Moreover, certain expenses related to overseas investments or foreign residents are subject to complex legislation. It must be noted that a registered tax agent can be extremely handy to receive specialist advice on such matters.