Hey all.
I was wondering about using older assets for my new business starting the year 22/23. I have a laptop and phone that I use a lot for my business as a sole trader. They are 3 years old or more.
Question 1.
Can I claim them?
Question 2.
Of yes, do claim depreciation, How do I go about it?
Question 3.
Do I need receipts?
Thank you!
Hi @mjdeli
These are depreciating assets. You can claim a deduction for depreciation as long as they can still be depreciated. What I mean by this is if you bought them 3 years ago and they have an effective life of 2 years, you'll have no depreciation to claim.
What you'll need to do first is work out how much your laptop and phone have depreciated from - when you first bought them and used them for personal reasons up to when you started using them in your business.
From here you'll then be able to claim depreciation for the remainder of their effective life to the extent you use them for your business.
As a sole trader you need to fill out the business section in your tax return. There is a depreciation label where you can tell us how much you can claim.
This can be a bit tricky so you may want to use our depreciation tool to help work out your deduction. You can also read about depreciating asset used for a non-taxable purpose on our website.
You should have records of all your business transactions.
Hi @mjdeli
These are depreciating assets. You can claim a deduction for depreciation as long as they can still be depreciated. What I mean by this is if you bought them 3 years ago and they have an effective life of 2 years, you'll have no depreciation to claim.
What you'll need to do first is work out how much your laptop and phone have depreciated from - when you first bought them and used them for personal reasons up to when you started using them in your business.
From here you'll then be able to claim depreciation for the remainder of their effective life to the extent you use them for your business.
As a sole trader you need to fill out the business section in your tax return. There is a depreciation label where you can tell us how much you can claim.
This can be a bit tricky so you may want to use our depreciation tool to help work out your deduction. You can also read about depreciating asset used for a non-taxable purpose on our website.
You should have records of all your business transactions.
6 Feb 2026 · 4 min read time
21 Aug 2026 · 2 min read time
24 June 2026 · 2 min read time
1,594 views
1 replies