Text 12185, 83 rader
Skriven 2008-08-17 12:59:35 av Carol Shenkenberger (18507.cooks)
  Kommentar till text 11552 av Dale Shipp (1:261/1466.0)
Ärende: Re: Those repairs
=========================
    
 > Almost all of what you said is true.  However, capital improvements are
 > not deductable in the same way that repairs are, but must be
 > depreciated.  That means that they are deducted over the span of years

The sunroom has to be counted as 'improvement' or Energystar for example.  I
ran the numbers for our situation (used H&R Block too both software and over
the phone support).  Energystar worked out a little better.

 > of expected (read allowed) life of the improvement.  The explicit
 > example given in the tax manuals is replacement of a roof.   If you
 > spend $10,000 on a new roof then you cannot take that off in the year
 > you did it, but take off a part of it each year for the estimated life
 > of the roof (probably 15-20 years).  If the property remains as a rental
 > property, then you eventually get the full deduction.

Thats the kicker.  No longer a rental.

 > I got audited on exactly this issue when I had rented out my house.  The
 > deck needed to be replaced.  I deducted it as a rental repair expense.
 > The IRS audited me and disallowed the deduction, saying that I had to
 > depreciate the deck cost over 10 years.   Since the house was rental
 > property for only one more year, that meant I lost most of the
 > deduction.
 > 
 > In Carol's case, so long as what she is doing is *repairing* damage done
 > by tenants, it should be deductable, in my opinion.  But when she turns
 > the repair into an improvement, then that cost is added to the cost
 > basis of the house and not fully deductable in the year the work was
 > paid for.

 > There may well be additional complications arising because of the fact
 > that some of the repairs are made after the house stopped being a rental
 > property.

Thats the kicker.  All was done after we moved back in.  None of it is
legally 'rental repair' now.  What we missed years ago, was a roof job whe it
was a rental.  Just didnt know then we could deduct such.

 > Absolutely!  And there are many "tax advisors" who don't know enough
 > about anything even slightly non standard, and rental property falls
 > into that category.  My philosophy on taxes is that I'm pleased to pay
 > what ever I owe, not one penny more or less:-}}

I tend to be the same.  I filed an honest assessment and can show proof of
every deduction I took with ease.  Got burned once by a 'tax preparer' who
took a bit too free of a license with the law and had to come up with close
to 1100$ suddenly.

My security clearance can be subject to review and removal if i play too dumb
about taxes and let me tell you, no amount of 'tax savings' will recoup that
job loss.  I play the straight and narrow on this one.  What I did take was
straight and unabmibuous at all.  Since I got back almost everything I paid
this time, I'm happy.  Once you add in the stimulus check, I came out ahead
by several hundred.

I'll check closely on the tub replacement but lets face it, thats a wear and
tear issue. Not engerystar, not provable as pre-existing back here (happened
about 2 days later and carpet damage lack before it makes that pretty clear).

It's like claiming the wood fence.  Sorry but they are only good 15 years on
average here and the fence was that age.  So they didnt maintain it and a
storm seems to have caused aditional damage. My home insurance folks say to
just wait for the next hurricane and they plan to replace it.  They know the
situation here well and are willing to help (already did ona window job by
'making up' a scenario where 2 windows on opposite walls that were clearly
broken out from the *inside* was the result of a recent storm not many months
before we got back so still in fileable limits).  See, I wasnt here to file
claims and no one knew, so it's past any reasonable limits there.  Local
homeowners insurance went to bat for us and covered things they really are
not required to do.  They also dug out referrals for GOOD work for several
things for us since we'd been away a bit.

I'll add a plug for Allstate here.  They do try to help.  They really do.

Meantime, we are down to cosmetics.  I need new carpets in livingroom and
hall, and a new bit of tile or linoleum before the fireplace.  Might need to
redo both bathrrom floors too but one is due to work we left undone before we
left and may just carpet that one.  I want to have a kitchen redo, but it has
to wait for now.
            xxcarol
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