The date and purpose of each trip, the bills for repairs and agent fees, and a note of whether the owner is a person, a company or a trust.

Can you claim travel to inspect a rental property?

Q: Who can still claim?

Someone in the business of letting rental properties, and a company, a super fund that is not self-managed, a public unit trust or a managed investment trust. The ATO says owning one or several rentals is generally not a business.

Q: What does it look like in dollars?

An owner who spends $95 on fuel and $25 on parking to fix a tenant's broken gate cannot claim the $120 of travel. The $300 trade bill for the gate is a repair, so it still can be.

Published 19 Oct 2026

No, not as an individual. Since 1 July 2017 an individual cannot deduct travel to inspect or maintain a residential rental, or to collect its rent. This is the law as read on 19 October 2026.

What is the rule?

A loss or outgoing for travel to a residential rental is not deductible to an individual. It is in section 26-31 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, for costs from 1 July 2017. The ATO sets it out in Rental properties and travel expenses.

What counts as travel?

Car costs, airfares, taxis, hire cars, public transport, accommodation and meals. The ATO lists the trips as ones to inspect, maintain or collect rent for the rental, and ones to a place linked to earning its rent, such as a visit to the managing agent.

Who can still claim?

The ATO names someone in the business of letting rental properties, and a company, a super fund that is not self-managed, a public unit trust or a managed investment trust. Owning one or several rentals is generally not a business. Travel to a shop or an office rental can be claimed.

What does it look like in dollars?

Take an owner who spends $95 on fuel and $25 on parking to drive to a unit and fix a tenant's broken gate. The $120 of travel cannot be claimed. The $300 trade bill for the gate is a repair, so it still can be.

A company that owns the same unit can claim the $120. The ATO gives that case for a company that inspected a tenanted residential property.

Can I claim travel before I buy?

No. The ATO says the cost of travel to inspect a property before buying it cannot be claimed, in Australia or overseas. The same goes for a seminar about finding a rental to buy.

What should I keep?

The date and purpose of each trip, so the repair bill can be told from the travel.
The bills for repairs and agent's fees, which are claimed.
A note of whether the owner is a person, a company or a trust.

On PropRetire the rental property tax calculator works the tax a rental adds or saves from its rent and deductions, and how tax on a rental is worked out each year follows each line.