Depreciation schedule

A depreciation schedule is a one-off report prepared by a qualified quantity surveyor (not your accountant - the ATO only accepts QS reports for construction cost estimates) listing every Division 40 plant-and-equipment asset and the Division 43 capital works deductions available for your property. It's typically 30-50 pages, covers the full 40-year deduction life of the building, and costs $600-800 plus GST. The cost itself is deductible. It is also the record the ATO expects behind a depreciation claim: without one there is nothing substantiating the construction-cost estimate. The deduction itself follows your property's own construction cost and asset list - Div 43 runs at 2.5% a year, so a $300,000 build is $7,500 a year - which is why a schedule is worth more on a newer property than an older one.