What Else Is Considered Home Improvements?

[legomom922]

We have done these things. Please tell me if any of them are NOT considered home improvements:

Added a deck to the front of the house
put in new windows & doors
remodeled a bathroom
had the house insulated,
new gutters
had soffits put in
installed a water faucet to the back of the house
Moved a water faucet from the garage to the outside of the garage to make it more easily acessable
added a new hose holder & new house to front & back of house
replaced light fixures on ceilings in dining room & living room
added drop ceiling to a room downstairs
installed a ceiling light to a bedroom and front hallway
replaced mailbox & post out front
replaced all closet doors in the house and to had to make & install new closet frames because the new closet stadard heights were shorter than the orignial height of the old closet openings
repainted every single room in house
painted the brick on the front of our house(had never been painted before and I hated the look of the red brick)
painted the shutters
added flower boxes to underneath the windows
added underground drainage pipes from gutters, so now the water that comes from the gutters does not just land on teh ground anymore, now it goes through underground pipes to take the water away from the house
added a laundry line with poles
added landscape timbers around the new landscaping
installed new tress & shurbs(close to house)
replaced old old toilet seats
replaced molding arpound doors and at the bottom of the walls
replaced water damaged dry wall in family roon
added water proofing paint to basement walls
installed a central humidifier

ok let me have it! Can I claim all of this as depreciation???

[TomCopeland]

home improvements

If something costs less than $100 you can claim it in one year.
Everything is a home improvement except -
light fixture - 7 year depreciation
repainting rooms - one year
paint bricks - one year
flower boxes - one year
laundry line - one year
landscape timbers - zero
toilet seat - one year
moulding - one year
paint basement walls - one year

[legomom922]

If something costs less than $100 you can claim it in one year.
Everything is a home improvement except -
light fixture - 7 year depreciation
repainting rooms - one year
paint bricks - one year
flower boxes - one year
laundry line - one year
landscape timbers - zero
toilet seat - one year
moulding - one year
paint basement walls - one year

Tom, I'm confused and maybe you can help me understand this part..

If I remodeled a bathroom before I went into business, I can add it to the value of my house...but if I remodel the bathroom after I go into business, I can only deduct/claim it if I use it for business. So aren't I losing out then ?


Also, I thought that things that are attached to the home, or part of the home such as the molding, would become part of the home and then gets depreciated? I'm glad I can claim the molding in one yr, but I'm just trying to understand the rules. Everytime I think I understand something, I'm wrong. LOL
Correct me where I am getting confused. I thought things that were purchased before I went into business, that cost under $100, still got depreciated, weather they were a part of the home or something that added beauty or use to the home. And things that cost over $100 after I went into business, gets depreciated but things bought after I went into business that cost under $100, got written off as t/s%.

help me where i'm lost..

[TomCopeland]

home improvements

If put in a home improvement before you went into business that was not later used in your business, don't add the cost of the improvement to the home.
If molding was part of a larger home improvement you would treat it as a home improvement. If it was done alone, I'd treat it as a repair/maintenance. There's not always a clear distinction.

If you bought something costing less than $100 before you went into business that wasn't purchased with the business in mind, you would depreciate after you went into business (assuming you used it in your business). This could be silverware, pots and pans, CDs, etc.

[legomom922]

If put in a home improvement before you went into business that was not later used in your business, don't add the cost of the improvement to the home.
If molding was part of a larger home improvement you would treat it as a home improvement. If it was done alone, I'd treat it as a repair/maintenance. There's not always a clear distinction.

If you bought something costing less than $100 before you went into business that wasn't purchased with the business in mind, you would depreciate after you went into business (assuming you used it in your business). This could be silverware, pots and pans, CDs, etc.

Oh I am burned out..I thought all home improvements that were done before the business began were included because it added value to the home. But I would imagine that most home improvements would be included because indirectly or directly, most would be somehow used in DC. I mean even though our new gutters are a home improvement, they are not really used in my buisness directly, but they are indirectly because it helps the water go to the right spot so it doesn't flood my house, correct? And the drainage pipes we had put underground, that would count so I don't get a wet basement where alot of DC stuff is stored, and kids play. Correct? Is my thinkinging correct?

[TomCopeland]

home improvements

Gutters and drainage pipes are used in your business since they help maintain your home.

If you remodeled your master bathroom before your business began, but it was not used by the children once your business began you would not add this to the price of the home for purposes of house depreciation. When you sold you home you would, however, use the cost of the bathroom to increase the basis of your home and thus potentially reduce any tax on the profit on the sale of your home.