What is the Difference between Capital Works and Plant & Equipment?

A Tax Depreciation Schedule summarises the total amount of building costs that qualify for depreciation. This is then broken up into two areas: Capital Works (Division 43) and Plant & Equipment (Division 40).

Plant & Equipment items/assets refer to removable items with a shorter useful life than the building. Because of this, they can be written off, or depreciated over a much shorter period than Capital Works. Plant & Equipment assets in residential property include items such as:

  • Carpet
  • Window Blinds
  • Appliances
  • Air-conditioning units
  • Solar Panels
  • Ceiling Fans
  • Hot Water Systems

The cost of each item is usually estimated by Quanto as qualified Quantity Surveyors unless the actual cost is known. Each item is given an effective life by the ATO that determines the rate at which it is depreciated per year.

The list of Plant & Equipment categories issued by the ATO changes every year and includes categories such as Residential Property, Agriculture, Health Care, Retail, Accommodation and Food Services just to name a few.

A full list of these categories can be found on the ATO website, or contact Quanto today and we can email you a PDF copy of the full list.