Getting Started Guide: Australian Property Investment Spreadsheet

Important: please read before use

This spreadsheet provides general information only. It is not personal financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. The calculations use publicly available 2025-26 ATO rates and formulas and may not account for every individual circumstance — including HELP/HECS-HELP repayments, Medicare Levy Surcharge, foreign income, trust distributions, or specific state concessions.

We recommend consulting a registered tax agent or qualified financial adviser for advice specific to your situation. We are not affiliated with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or any state or territory revenue office.

If you believe a calculation is incorrect, please let us know. For full details, see our disclaimer and terms of service.

Welcome

Welcome to your property investment spreadsheet. This tool calculates your after-tax holding cost, negative gearing benefit, depreciation, land tax, and CGT using current ATO rates. Use it to understand your own numbers, on your own schedule.

This guide walks you through everything: making your copy, entering your first property, reading the results, and getting the most out of the spreadsheet. It takes about 10 minutes.

Step 1: Make your copy

You should have received a Property Tax Tools email with your secure access link shortly after purchase. Payhip may also send a receipt, but the spreadsheet access button is in the Property Tax Tools email.

1. Open the secure delivery link in your browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge all work)
2. On the delivery page, click Open Google Sheets copy link
3. The spreadsheet opens in read-only mode — this is the current validated template
4. Go to File > Make a copy
5. Choose where to save it in your Google Drive (the default is fine)
6. Click Make a copy

You now have your own editable version. The original template stays unchanged, so you can always make a fresh copy if needed.

Tip: Bookmark both your own copy and the fresh access link email so you can return to the latest validated template later.

Step 2: Understand the layout

The spreadsheet has several tabs along the bottom. Here’s what each one does:

Cell colour guide

• Blue cells = inputs (edit these)
• Grey cells = calculated (don’t type in these — they contain formulas)
• Green cells = key results (your bottom-line numbers)

If you accidentally overwrite a formula, use Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo. If you badly break your copy, request a fresh access link and make a new clean copy from the validated template.

Step 3: Enter your first property

Go to the Your Details tab and work down column C for your first property. In the Pro and Complete tiers, extra properties use columns D-G.

Investor details

• Annual taxable income (excluding rental income): Your salary or other income. This helps determine your marginal tax rate and the size of any negative gearing benefit.
• Tax profile fields: Complete the investor details section before reviewing the tax outputs so the summary tabs use the right assumptions.

Property details

• Purchase price: What you paid (or expect to pay) for the property.
• Current market value: Your estimate of what the property is worth now. Used for CGT projections.
• Land value: The unimproved land value (found on your council rates notice or state valuation). Used for land tax calculations.
• Property state: The state where the property is located (land tax rates vary by state).
• Year built: Used for depreciation calculations (Division 43 capital works).

Loan details

• Loan amount: Your mortgage balance.
• Interest rate: Your current rate (e.g. 6.25%).
• Loan type: Interest-only or principal and interest.

Rental income

• Weekly rent: What the property currently earns (or what you expect it to earn).
• Vacancy rate: A percentage to account for periods without tenants. 2–4% is typical for metro areas.

Expenses

Fill in your annual expenses. Common ones include:

• Council rates
• Water rates
• Strata/body corporate fees
• Property management fees (typically 7–10% of rent)
• Insurance (landlord + building)
• Maintenance and repairs
• Land tax (auto-calculated from the land value and state you entered)

Leave any expense at $0 if it doesn’t apply to your property.

Depreciation (Pro and Complete tiers)

• Building cost: The original construction cost of the building (for Division 43 capital works deduction at 2.5% per year) (ATO — Capital works deductions (Div 43)).
• Plant and equipment value: The depreciable value of fixtures and fittings (for Division 40 deductions) (ATO — Depreciating assets in rental properties). If you have a quantity surveyor’s depreciation schedule, use those numbers.

Step 4: Read your results

Once you’ve entered your details, the key result tabs update automatically:

Key numbers to look at

• Dashboard: Your high-level summary across properties, including portfolio totals.
• Tax Summary: Net rental income, negative gearing benefit, and after-tax position.
• Cash Flow: Forward-year projections based on your tier’s horizon.
• Land Tax: State-specific land tax estimate based on the land value and state you entered.
• Capital Gains Tax: Hold vs sell and estimated after-tax sale outcomes.

Pro and Complete tier results

• Compare Properties: See how multiple properties stack up side by side.
• Rent vs Buy: Compare ownership cash flow against renting.
• Rate Scenarios (Complete): Test how different interest-rate assumptions change the result.

Step 5: Run scenarios

The real power of the spreadsheet is in comparing scenarios. Try changing:

• Interest rate: What happens if rates go up by 0.5% or 1%? How does your weekly cost change?
• Weekly rent: What if rent increases by $20/week? How does that affect your yield and cash flow?
• Purchase price: Comparing two properties? Enter them in separate property columns and compare on the Dashboard or Compare Properties tab.
• Holding period: Use the hold vs sell analysis to see how long you need to hold before selling makes sense.
• Rate assumptions: In the Complete tier, use the Rate Scenarios tab to test custom inputs without rewriting the base reference sheet.

Tip: Before changing inputs for a scenario, note down your current results so you can compare.

Step 6: Use it with your accountant

The spreadsheet is not a replacement for professional tax advice — but it makes your accountant meetings much more productive.

Before your appointment:

1. Print or share the property summary from the Dashboard tab
2. Note any questions that came up while entering your numbers (e.g. “Should I get a depreciation schedule?”)
3. Check your expenses are complete — your accountant can spot missing deductions

Your accountant can verify the numbers and advise on items specific to your situation that a calculator can’t handle (e.g. private rulings, CGT main residence exemptions, trust structures).

Tips for getting the most out of the spreadsheet

1. Update it regularly. Enter actual expenses and rent when you receive them (not just estimates). This gives you an accurate running total for tax time.
2. Compare properties before buying. Enter prospective properties in separate property columns and compare them side by side on the Dashboard or Compare Properties tab.
3. Check the Reference Rates tab at the start of each financial year. If tax rules change or you want the latest validated template, go back to your secure access link and make a fresh copy.
4. Use realistic vacancy rates. 0% vacancy is unrealistic. Even in strong markets, allow 2–4% for turnover between tenants.
5. Include all expenses. Many investors underestimate costs. Don’t forget: pest control, smoke alarm compliance, landlord insurance excess, end-of-lease cleaning, and advertising costs between tenants.

Quick reference: free calculators

For a quick one-off calculation, use our free web-based tools:

• Negative Gearing Calculator — estimate tax savings from negative gearing
• Capital Gains Tax Calculator — estimate CGT when selling an investment property
• Land Tax Calculator — compare land tax across Australian states
• Rental Yield Calculator — calculate gross and net rental yield
• Investment Property Calculator — all-in-one investment property analysis

We’d love to hear from you

If this spreadsheet has helped you understand your investment property numbers, make a decision, or save money at tax time, we’d genuinely appreciate hearing about it.

You can leave a review on the Property Investment Spreadsheet product page or send us a message. Your feedback helps other investors find a tool that can help them too.

If you’ve spotted a calculation that doesn’t look right, please let us know. We test everything against official ATO sources, but we want to get it right.

Disclaimer

This spreadsheet and guide provide general information only. They are not personal financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. The calculations use publicly available 2025-26 ATO rates and formulas and may not account for every individual circumstance — including HELP/HECS-HELP repayments, Medicare Levy Surcharge, private health insurance rebate adjustments, foreign income, trust distributions, or specific state concessions.

Tax rules and rates change. The spreadsheet uses rates for the 2025-26 financial year. You should verify outputs against official sources (such as the ATO or your state revenue office) and seek advice from a registered tax agent or licensed financial adviser for advice specific to your situation.

We are not affiliated with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or any state or territory revenue office. Using this spreadsheet does not create a professional-client relationship.

If you spot a calculation that doesn’t look right, please report it. If the spreadsheet has a major defect (broken formulas or incorrect calculations), you are entitled to a refund under Australian Consumer Law. See our full disclaimer and terms of service.