Key takeaways
- Year-round tracking tools (propkt, TaxTank) and lodgement tools (myTax, Etax, H&R Block) serve different purposes, and the best approach uses one of each.
- The cheapest complete solution is propkt (free) paired with myTax (free), giving you depreciation tracking and ATO lodgement at zero cost.
- propkt is the only year-round tracking tool with a free tier that includes depreciation schedule management and tax package export.
- TaxTank is the strongest option for landlords who also invest in shares or crypto, thanks to bank feed integration and multi-asset support.
- The ATO's free myTax portal works for lodgement but provides minimal guidance on which rental property deductions to claim.
Rental property tax in Australia is not simple. You need to report rental income, claim eligible deductions, calculate depreciation on assets, understand negative gearing implications, and get it all right on your tax return. Do it well and you minimise your tax liability legally. Do it poorly and you either overpay or risk an ATO audit.
The question most landlords face is not whether to use software, but which software. Some tools help you prepare your data throughout the year so tax time is straightforward. Others help you lodge the return itself. The best approach usually involves both: a tracking tool for the year and a lodgement tool (or accountant) for the return.
This guide reviews six options that Australian landlords use for rental property tax, from year-round tracking tools to tax return preparation software. If you need broader accounting software beyond just tax, we cover that separately.
1. propkt
Best for: Year-round tracking of rental property finances and depreciation, with EOFY-ready reports for your accountant
Pricing: Free for one property. Pro plan from $12/month for unlimited properties.
propkt is not tax return preparation software. It does not help you lodge your return with the ATO. What it does is ensure that everything your accountant needs is tracked, calculated, and packaged throughout the year so that tax time is a handoff rather than a scramble.
The core tax features include expense tracking with per-transaction tax-deductible flagging, income recording, depreciation schedule management with ATO-compliant rates for both Division 40 and Division 43 assets, and a tax summary that shows your net rental income, total deductions, and depreciation at a glance.
At EOFY, the tax package export bundles your income statement, expense report, depreciation schedule, and attached receipts into a single download for your accountant. Learn how to prepare your rental property tax return so you know exactly what your accountant needs. Accountants who receive clean, structured data work faster and charge less.
Pros:
- Built-in depreciation tracking with ATO rates and methods
- One-click tax package export for accountant handoff
- Per-transaction tax-deductible flagging
- Free tier for one property
- Year-round tracking, not just EOFY
Cons:
- Does not lodge tax returns
- No bank feed integration
- Manual transaction entry
- Requires an accountant or separate tool for lodgement
Best if you want clean, ATO-ready financial records throughout the year and you use an accountant for lodgement. The depreciation tracking alone makes propkt worth using even alongside other tools.
2. TaxTank
Best for: Multi-asset investors who want automated tax tracking with bank feeds across property, shares, and crypto
Pricing: From approximately $20 to $40/month depending on plan and asset types.
TaxTank is a tax platform designed by Australian accountants. For rental property, its key features are bank feed integration (automatic transaction import), depreciation tracking, capital gains tax calculations, and forecasting. If you also invest in shares or crypto, TaxTank tracks tax obligations across all asset classes.
The bank feed integration is TaxTank's standout advantage for busy landlords. Connect your bank account, set up categorisation rules, and most transactions are imported and classified automatically. This dramatically reduces the manual effort of tracking income and expenses throughout the year.
TaxTank also forecasts your tax position, which is useful for understanding whether your property is negatively geared or positively geared and planning accordingly.
Pros:
- Automatic bank feed integration
- Multi-asset class support
- Tax forecasting and capital gains calculations
- Built by Australian accountants for ATO compliance
Cons:
- No property management features (no tenants, leases, maintenance)
- No free tier
- Higher price point for multi-asset plans
- Does not lodge tax returns directly
Best if you have a diversified investment portfolio and want automated, bank-fed tax tracking across all your investments.
3. H&R Block (Online Tax Return)
Best for: Landlords who want professional tax return preparation with rental property expertise
Pricing: Varies. Online returns from approximately $99 to $200+ depending on complexity. In-office appointments available.
H&R Block is one of Australia's largest tax preparation companies. They offer both online and in-office tax return preparation with specific expertise in rental property returns. Their tax professionals understand rental income, deductions, depreciation, and negative gearing.
For landlords, the advantage of H&R Block is professional expertise applied to your specific situation. A tax professional reviews your rental property income and deductions, ensures you claim everything you are entitled to, and lodges the return with the ATO on your behalf. They can also handle complex scenarios like partial-year rentals, renovations, and property sales.
The online return option is cheaper than an in-office appointment and walks you through rental property questions step by step. If your situation is straightforward, the online tool may be sufficient. For complex scenarios, an in-person consultation is worth the extra cost.
Pros:
- Professional tax expertise applied to your return
- Understands rental property tax scenarios
- Both online and in-office options
- Lodges return directly with the ATO
- Can handle complex situations (CGT, renovations, partial use)
Cons:
- Does not track your finances throughout the year (lodgement only)
- Higher cost than DIY options
- Online tool may not handle every complex scenario
- You still need to provide organised records
Best if you want professional tax return preparation and are comfortable paying for expertise. Works best when combined with a year-round tracking tool like propkt or TaxTank.
4. Etax
Best for: Landlords who want to self-lodge a comprehensive online tax return with rental property support
Pricing: From approximately $79 to $159 per return. Check their website for current pricing.
Etax is an Australian online tax return service that guides you through the return process with a questionnaire-style interface. The rental property section asks specific questions about your investment property income, deductions, and depreciation, and translates your answers into the correct fields on the tax return.
Etax includes a review by a qualified accountant before lodgement, which provides an extra layer of quality assurance. This is useful for landlords who want to self-prepare their return but appreciate having a professional check it before it goes to the ATO.
The platform also retains your information from previous years, which speeds up subsequent returns. If your rental property situation is similar year to year, returning to Etax becomes faster over time.
Pros:
- Guided questionnaire-style interface for rental property returns
- Accountant review before lodgement
- Retains previous year data for faster subsequent returns
- More affordable than in-person tax preparation
- Lodges directly with the ATO
Cons:
- Does not track finances throughout the year
- May not handle very complex property tax scenarios
- You need to have your records organised before starting
- Per-return pricing (annual cost)
Best if you want to self-prepare your return online with the safety net of an accountant review before lodgement.
5. TurboTax AU (Intuit)
Best for: Landlords who want a well-known online tax return tool with a step-by-step process
Pricing: Varies by plan. Check their website for current Australian pricing.
TurboTax brings its well-known guided tax return process to the Australian market. The platform walks you through your tax return step by step, with specific sections for rental property income and deductions. The interface is clean and designed for people who are not tax professionals.
TurboTax includes help content and tooltips throughout the process, explaining what each deduction means and whether it applies to your situation. For landlords who are unsure about what they can claim, this educational approach can be helpful.
The Australian version of TurboTax is relatively newer compared to its US counterpart. Feature depth and Australian-specific guidance continue to improve, but it may not yet match the detail of tools that have been built specifically for the Australian market from the start.
Pros:
- Well-designed step-by-step interface
- Educational tooltips explaining deductions
- Rental property section with relevant questions
- Known brand with strong product design
Cons:
- Does not track finances throughout the year
- Australian version may be less mature than US version
- Pricing and feature availability may change
- May not handle complex scenarios as well as specialist preparers
Best if you want a guided, educational approach to preparing your own tax return with rental property income.
6. myTax (ATO)
Best for: Confident landlords who want to self-lodge directly with the ATO at no cost
Pricing: Free.
myTax is the ATO's free online tax return tool, accessible through myGov. It includes sections for rental property income and deductions, and pre-fills some information from your employer, bank, and health fund. For landlords, you manually enter your rental income, deductions, and depreciation in the rental property section.
The advantage is cost: myTax is completely free. The disadvantage is that it provides minimal guidance. You need to know which deductions you can claim, how to calculate depreciation, and how to categorise your expenses. There are no prompts asking "did you remember to claim interest on your investment loan?" or "have you included your capital works deductions?"
myTax also pre-fills information from the previous year, which speeds up subsequent returns. But for rental property, most of the data needs to be entered manually because the ATO does not receive rental income or expense data from third parties.
Pros:
- Completely free
- Direct lodgement with the ATO
- Pre-fills some data from employers and financial institutions
- Accessible through myGov
- Retains previous year data
Cons:
- Minimal guidance for rental property deductions
- No help with depreciation calculations
- No error checking for missed deductions
- Assumes you already know what to claim
- No accountant review
Best if you are confident in your knowledge of rental property tax deductions and want to self-lodge at no cost. Best paired with a year-round tracking tool that tells you exactly what to enter.
Year-Round Tracking vs. Lodgement: You Need Both
The tools in this guide fall into two categories:
Year-round tracking tools (propkt, TaxTank) help you record income, track expenses, calculate depreciation, and prepare your data throughout the year. They do not lodge your return.
Lodgement tools (H&R Block, Etax, TurboTax AU, myTax) help you prepare and lodge your tax return with the ATO. They do not track your finances throughout the year.
The best approach is to use one from each category:
| Approach | Year-Round Tool | Lodgement Tool | Total Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | propkt (free tier) | myTax (free) | $0 |
| Mid-range | propkt (free or Pro) | Etax or TurboTax | $79-159/year |
| Premium | TaxTank + propkt | Accountant or H&R Block | $500+/year |
The budget approach (propkt free + myTax) gives you depreciation tracking, tax package export, and direct ATO lodgement at zero cost. For a landlord with one property, this is a complete solution.
Common Rental Property Tax Deductions
Whatever tools you use, make sure you are claiming everything you are entitled to:
- Loan interest on your investment property mortgage
- Council rates and water charges
- Insurance premiums (landlord insurance, building insurance)
- Depreciation on fixtures, fittings, and the building structure
- Repairs and maintenance (but not capital improvements)
- Property management fees (if you use a manager)
- Strata levies and body corporate fees
- Land tax
- Pest control and gardening for the rental property
- Travel to the property for inspection and maintenance (subject to ATO rules)
- Tax-related expenses including accountant fees and tax software costs
For a deeper understanding of what you can claim, see our glossary entries on tax-deductible expenses and negative gearing.
How We Chose These Tools
We evaluated rental property tax tools on criteria relevant to Australian landlords:
- ATO compliance: Does the tool correctly handle Australian tax rules for rental property?
- Depreciation support: Can it track or help you claim Division 40 and Division 43 deductions?
- Ease of use: Can a non-accountant use it effectively?
- Value for money: Does the cost justify the deductions it helps you claim?
- Accuracy: Does it reduce the risk of errors on your return?
Final Thoughts
The biggest mistake Australian landlords make at tax time is not under-claiming in one specific area. It is not having organised records in the first place. When you sit down to do your return and cannot remember how much you spent on repairs, cannot find the receipt for that plumber, and have no idea what your depreciation deductions should be, you end up guessing or leaving money on the table.
The solution is year-round tracking. Use our EOFY landlord checklist to make sure nothing is missed, and a tool like propkt to record everything as it happens. Flag expenses as tax-deductible when you pay them. Keep your depreciation schedule current. Attach receipts to transactions. Then at EOFY, export your tax package, hand it to your accountant or enter it into your lodgement tool, and be done.
The tools exist. The deductions are there. The only variable is whether you track them properly throughout the year or scramble every June.