Can I Write Off New Carpet

Merely replacing a single carpet that is beyond its useful life likely is a deductible repair.

Can i write off new carpet.

For example if you live in your house for six months out of the year and rent it out for six months you can deduct 50 percent of the cost for new carpet when it is necessary to maintain the value of the place. According to irs any expense that increases the capacity strength or quality of your property is an improvement. You must capitalize any expense you pay to improve your rental property. New wall to wall carpeting falls under this category.

Likewise if you are a partner in the ownership of the rental house you can only deduct a percentage of the costs. So if you put in wall to wall carpeting 10 years ago and then replaced it with hardwood floors five years ago you can t count the carpeting as a capital improvement. Like appliance depreciation carpets are normally depreciated over 5 years. Say thanks by clicking the thumb icon in a post.

But if the carpet in a residential rental property is glued down it is considered to be part of the building structure and must be depreciated over a whopping 27 5 years. The improvements must still be evident when you sell. A business phone line or business related calls although you may not take a tax deduction for maintaining a primary phone line you may claim a separate business line. If your new carpet is an improvement rather than a repair you must treat the expense as a capital expense and depreciate it over time.

An expense is for an improvement if it results in a betterment to your property restores your property or adapts your property to a new or different use. Repairs and improvements to your workspace are tax deductible though some larger expenses such as new carpet may be subject to an asset depreciation schedule. Repairs like painting your house or fixing sagging gutters don t count. If you use a single line for business and personal calls you can itemize the business calls and claim those as a deduction.

If the carpet is glued down perhaps in a basement then it becomes attached to the property and must be depreciated over 27 5 years.