- What's the best way to track an investment property portfolio in Australia?
- BrickTrack is an Australian property-investment portfolio tracker built for self-managing investors. Add each property, upload your transactions (CSV or Excel), and see portfolio value, cash flow, equity and loans in one place, then generate accountant-ready reports at tax time. It works across properties held personally or in a trust, company or SMSF.
- Is BrickTrack like Sharesight, but for property?
- Similar idea, different asset. Sharesight tracks a share portfolio; BrickTrack tracks a property portfolio (performance, equity, loans, cash flow and tax position across every property you own), built around Australian property investing and ATO rules rather than listed investments.
- Do I still need BrickTrack if I use Xero or MYOB?
- Xero and MYOB are general accounting ledgers; BrickTrack is built around the property-investor workflow: per-property performance, equity and loan tracking, depreciation and tax-position views, and reports your accountant can use directly. Many investors keep their accountant on Xero or MYOB and use BrickTrack to organise the property side first.
- Can BrickTrack track properties held in a trust, company or SMSF?
- Yes. BrickTrack supports properties owned personally or through family trusts, unit trusts, companies and self-managed super funds, keeping each structure's portfolio, documents and reports separate, so mixed-ownership portfolios stay clear at tax time.
- How do I get my rental property records ready for my accountant?
- Upload your transactions, review the suggested ATO categories for each property, and export a clean summary pack. BrickTrack organises income, expenses, loan interest and depreciation by property and financial year so your accountant (or you, via myTax) can work from it directly. You make the final tax calls.
- How does BrickTrack help with capital gains tax when I sell?
- BrickTrack keeps a running record of each property's cost base (purchase price plus capital improvements) so at sale you have the figures ready. From 1 July 2027 the 50% CGT discount is being replaced with cost base indexation for most existing residential investment properties, and the detail still depends on rules the Government hasn't finished writing. Your accountant confirms the final CGT position, especially for anything sold after that date.
- Is the 50% CGT discount being scrapped?
- Not for a sale before 1 July 2027. The existing 50% discount still applies if you've held the property more than 12 months. From that date, most residential investment properties move to a different system: instead of a flat discount, your cost base gets indexed for inflation from 1 July 2027 onward, and the part of the gain that built up before then keeps the old discount treatment when you eventually sell. The Act keeps the 50% discount as the default for new residential dwellings, but it leaves that term to be defined by the Minister and no definition has been made, so which dwellings qualify can't be answered yet. None of this needs action from you today: the choice about how your 30 June 2027 value gets worked out isn't due until the year you actually sell, which could be well after 2027. This is a change to capital gains tax generally, not a property-only rule; we cover what it means for your investment property.
- Is negative gearing being abolished?
- No, and whether it changes for you depends entirely on when you signed the contract to buy. Exchange contracts before 7:30pm (Australian Capital Territory legal time) on 12 May 2026 and negative gearing works exactly as it does today: a rental loss still offsets your other taxable income. For a residential property acquired on or after that time, a loss from 1 July 2027 is quarantined. It can't offset your salary or other income, but it carries forward to reduce future rental income or capital gains from residential property instead. The Act does carve out new residential dwellings, but it leaves that term to a legislative instrument the Minister hasn't made, so the carve-out can't be relied on yet. Anyone telling you a particular new build is exempt is guessing.
- Does the reform bring in a tax on unrealised gains for my rental property?
- No, and nothing like it has been proposed. This gets confused with Division 296, a real but separate measure that taxes earnings attributable to large superannuation balances. Whatever it does, it applies inside super and doesn't touch property you hold outside it. Check the ATO's Division 296 guidance for the thresholds and rates that apply to you.
- Is the new minimum tax a flat 30% on my capital gain?
- No, and this is the misconception we see most. The 30% minimum tax only tops up your bill if what you'd otherwise pay falls short of 30% of the gain; it isn't a flat rate charged on top of everything else. Your cost base is also indexed for inflation from 1 July 2027, so the taxable gain is smaller than the raw sale-price difference to start with.
- Does the new standard deduction cover my rental property expenses?
- No. The standard deduction covers work-related expenses, the kind you'd otherwise claim against your salary. It has nothing to do with rental property costs. Keep claiming and substantiating your rental deductions the way you always have; this doesn't replace or simplify any of that. One thing to know about our numbers: BrickTrack doesn't apply this deduction in the tax figures it shows you, so if you're eligible, your real position is better than what we display. Your accountant or your return will pick it up.
- Can I import my bank transactions as a CSV or Excel file?
- Yes. Export a CSV or Excel file from your bank and upload it: BrickTrack reads the rows, suggests ATO categories, and lets you split and assign them to each property. Automatic bank feeds are coming soon; today the upload flow is how transactions get in.
- Is it safe to connect my bank?
- Automatic bank feeds are coming soon. When they launch they'll use Australia's Consumer Data Right (open banking): a read-only connection you approve on your own bank's screen, and BrickTrack never sees or stores your banking login. For now, you bring transactions in by CSV or Excel upload.
- Does BrickTrack give tax advice?
- No. BrickTrack organises your data into ATO categories and produces reports. You and your accountant make the tax decisions.
- What does BrickTrack cost?
- Investor keeps one property free for as long as you want it, and we don't ask for a card to begin. Super Investor is $10 a month and covers two properties, with each additional property $2.50 a month. Every new account also gets its first 30 days on the full plan, including the consultant tools with up to 3 clients, so you can see the paid features against your own numbers before deciding. Consultants, for accountants and brokers running a book of clients, starts at $30 a month and includes 3 clients and 20 properties.
- What happens if I stop paying?
- Nothing is deleted. One property stays editable and the rest become read-only, so your records and reports are still there whenever you come back.
- What happens if BrickTrack shuts down?
- If we ever stop operating, every account holder gets at least 90 days written notice by email. The export tool stays open for the whole notice period, so you can take a ZIP of your records whenever you like, and no charges apply after the shutdown date.
- Does BrickTrack know the rental laws for my state?
- BrickTrack tracks your compliance dates and documents, but tenancy law (notice periods, rent increase rules, entry limits) is set by your state or territory, not by BrickTrack. See our state-by-state rental law guide for what applies where your property is.
- Can I track properties held through a trust, company or SMSF separately from my personal ones?
- Yes. Set each structure up as its own entity and its properties, members or beneficiaries, and reports stay separate from your personally-held properties, so nothing blurs together at tax time.
- What's the difference between land tax and council rates?
- Council rates fund local services and are charged by your local council. Land tax is a state government tax on the unimproved value of land you own above a threshold, and the threshold differs by state; a portfolio spread across states can mean more than one land tax assessment.
- Can I claim full depreciation on an older rental property I just bought?
- It depends what you're depreciating. The building itself (Division 43) is generally still claimable if built after 15 September 1987. Plant and equipment (Division 40), such as ovens or carpet, is more restricted on a second-hand residential property under rules that have applied since 2017; new assets and new builds aren't affected.
- Where do I manage leases and rent for my tenants?
- Leases holds each tenancy's dates and agreed rent, and the rent roll view rolls every active lease up into one place if you're managing more than one.