Can I Write Off New Carpet

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.

Can i write off new carpet.

You re likely already depreciating the value of your property. If you use a single line for business and personal calls you can itemize the business calls and claim those as a deduction. 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. You must capitalize any expense you pay to improve your rental property.

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. Merely replacing a single carpet that is beyond its useful life likely is a deductible repair. This applies however only to carpets that are tacked down. Repairs like painting your house or fixing sagging gutters don t count.

The improvements must still be evident when you sell. New wall to wall carpeting falls under this category. If the carpet is tacked down it is classified as personal property and is depreciated over five years. 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.

According to irs any expense that increases the capacity strength or quality of your property is an improvement. 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. Likewise if you are a partner in the ownership of the rental house you can only deduct a percentage of the costs. 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.

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.