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WA415(Initiate)Initiate
23 Feb 2025

Hi,


I currently live in a property in NSW which I purchased in 2019 (with my wife as joint tenants) and have resided in as owner-occupiers ever since. I am considering buying a new home to live in and converting my current home into an investment property. There is an existing mortgage on my current home, which I would likely seek to increase in order to buy the new home. There would also likely be a smaller mortgage on the new home. If I do this, will 100% of what is owing on my current property (i.e. what will become the investment property) be for investment purposes (i.e. the interest on the loan and other expenses associated with the property be tax deductible)?


To be clear, I don’t currently have any investment property.


Alternative scenario: If the answer to the above is that it will not be 100% tax deductible, then say we waited until we pay off the existing mortgage before doing this, then borrow against the current house to buy a new one (again, with the current home becoming an investment property). Is the answer the same (I.e. that none of it will attract deductions)?


Thank you.

1,729 views
6 replies
1,729 views
6 replies

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YellowPotato(Taxicorn)Taxicorn
24 Feb 2025

If your goal is to use the new loans to buy a new home, then there's no way for the new loans to be deductible against your current house.

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YellowPotato(Taxicorn)Taxicorn
24 Feb 2025

No. The deductibility of a loan is connected with its purpose so where the money went after you borrowed the money, not the security. If you redraw or increase the loan on your current home, the new amounts would be considered a new loan. In your case, used the new loan to purchase your new home.


If you have done any redraws, I suggest you see an accountant and they can sort out the potential deductible/non-deductible amounts of the loan. When the amounts have been calculate you can split the loan into the those amounts.


Paragraph 18 for splitting a mixed loan into deductible and non-deductible amounts- https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/document?docid=TXR/TR20002/NAT/ATO/00001

WA415(Initiate)Initiate
24 Feb 2025

Thank you. Does this mean that there is no way for me to borrow the maximum possible against my current house and for that loan become 100% tax deductible (interest, related expenses, etc)?

Most helpful reply

YellowPotato(Taxicorn)Taxicorn
24 Feb 2025

If your goal is to use the new loans to buy a new home, then there's no way for the new loans to be deductible against your current house.

WA415(Initiate)Initiate
24 Feb 2025

@YellowPotato

Thank you. Just to check my understanding, it wouldn’t matter if I refinanced the entire loan on the current property as an investment loan (with an increased principal amount)? The answer is the same, right?

YellowPotato(Taxicorn)Taxicorn
24 Feb 2025

@WA415

Type of loan also does not matter. If the new loans amounts are used to purchase a new property, it would not be related to your current property. The remainder of the original loan used to purchase the current property would be the potential deductible loan.

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Converting my Owner-Occupied Home into an Investment Property? | ATO Community