Low Value Pooling: How to Maximise Depreciation on Small Assets

What Is the Low Value Pool?

The Low Value Pool (LVP) is an ATO mechanism that allows you to group low-value plant and equipment assets together and depreciate them at an accelerated rate:

• Year of acquisition: 18.75% of cost (half the annual rate, reflecting a "half-year" rule)
• Subsequent years: 37.5% of the pool's written-down value (diminishing value)

This is significantly faster than depreciating many of these assets individually at their ATO effective life rates.

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Which Assets Can Go Into the Pool?

Two categories of assets can be added to the Low Value Pool:

1. Low-Cost Assets

Assets with an original cost of $1,000 or less (excluding assets used partly for private purposes).

2. Low-Value Assets

Assets that had an original cost of more than $1,000 but whose written-down value has fallen below $1,000 in a later income year (using the diminishing value method).

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Why This Matters in Practice

Consider a property with a range of smaller Division 40 assets:

Asset

Cost

Standard Eff. Life

Standard Year 1 (DV)

Smoke detectors (×4)

$200

6 years

$25

Exhaust fans (×3)

$450

10 years

$56

Clothesline

$300

10 years

$38

Garden hose/fittings

$120

5 years

$15

Doorbell

$80

10 years

$10

Total	$1,150	$144

Using the Low Value Pool instead:
• Year 1 deduction: 18.75% × $1,150 = $216
• Year 2 deduction: 37.5% × ($1,150 − $216) = $350

The pool accelerates your deductions significantly for small items.

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The Interaction with the 2017 Budget Rules

For residential investors who purchased an existing property after 1 July 2017, the 2017 budget rules restricting Division 40 claims also apply to Low Value Pool assets. If an asset was in the property when you purchased it, you cannot pool it.

However, any assets you purchase and install yourself after settlement are fully poolable regardless of property age.

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Immediate Write-Off for Very Small Assets

Under current ATO rules, assets costing $300 or less can be immediately deducted in full in the year of purchase, rather than depreciated. This is separate from and applies before the Low Value Pool.

So a $250 doorbell or a $180 smoke detector can potentially be deducted in full in Year 1.

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How Koste Handles Low Value Pooling

When Koste prepares your depreciation schedule, our qualified quantity surveyors:

1. Identify all low-cost and low-value assets in your property 2. Correctly apply the immediate write-off for assets under $300 3. Group eligible assets into the Low Value Pool 4. Apply the correct pool rates in the year-by-year schedule 5. Carry forward the pool balance into subsequent years

This ensures you're maximising your deductions from every asset in the property — not just the big-ticket items.

The difference between a well-prepared schedule and a basic one is often $500–$1,500 in additional first-year deductions, just from correctly handling the low value pool.

[Order your depreciation schedule →](https://koste.ai/order) or try the free [Tax Depreciation Calculator](https://koste.ai/calculators/tax-depreciation-calculator) to estimate your property's total deductions.