Book Review > Rental Property and Taxation - An Investor's Guide

The preface sums up the purpose of this book: "the majority of investors do not understand the tax implications of their property investment … it is important that taxpayers attempt to obtain some understanding of the tax laws as they apply to them". That sounds a bit dry, but this is a concise and easy to read book. It succeeds in telling you want you need to know rather than reciting the tax law.
Topics covered include who should own the property, taxes, deductions and depreciation, repairs versus improvements, interest and borrowing strategies. There is good treatment of the tax impact of various decisions. For me, the clarification of what is deductible and what is not was particularly valuable. (In fact I delayed writing this review while I chased up some deductions that I had been missing out on.) Like other Wrightbooks the style is fairly informal, and there are plenty of examples. The author often uses realistic scenarios to explain a point.
A small criticism is that I felt the author occasionally strays into "in 19-oh-dot the Tax Commissioner ruled that …" even though he says he avoids it, but it's a minor issue. Overall, strongly recommended for anyone who owns, or is planning to buy, an investment property.