Your Tax Questions Answered
Deducting the Roof Over Your Head
Kiplinger editorial director Kevin McCormally and fellow tax experts Peter Blank and Mary Beth Franklin tackle your most pressing tax challenges.
By Kevin McCormally, Editorial Director, Kiplinger.com
February 2, 2010
QUESTION: We had a new roof put on our house due to hail damage. Is the cost of the roof tax-deductible?
KEVIN ANSWERS
No, you can’t deduct the cost of the new roof…but you can deduct the casualty loss…and it may amount to the same thing. Destruction of your roof would qualify as a casualty loss. The rules set the size of the loss as the difference in the value of your home before the storm and the value afterwards. But in reality, it’s often the cost of repair that’s used to determine that difference…that is, what it cost to bring your home back to its value before the storm. Here’s a pertinent part of IRS Publication 547:
Cost of cleaning up or making repairs. The cost of repairing damaged property is not part of a casualty loss. Neither is the cost of cleaning up after a casualty. But you can use the cost of cleaning up or of making repairs after a casualty as a measure of the decrease in FMV if you meet all the following conditions.
-- The repairs are actually made.
-- The repairs are necessary to bring the property back to its condition before the casualty.
-- The amount spent for repairs is not excessive.
-- The repairs take care of the damage only.
-- The value of the property after the repairs is not, due to the repairs, more than the value of the property before the casualty.
Usually, you have to itemize to claim a casualty loss, but for 2009 losses in presidentially declared disaster areas, you can add the casualty loss to your standard deduction by using Schedule L.
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Reader Comments (3)
Posted by: Ken Snavely at 02/04/2010 10:49:59 PM
I am fixing and flipping a home in downtown Denver and the windows I installed are energy efficient, purchased to take advantage of the Tax Credits. This is not my primary home. I thought I could still apply for an energy credit, but wonder if I can since it is not my primary home. Second, are any Energy Tax Credits available to me if the home is not my primary home? Lastly is my small business (LLC) eligible for Energy Tax Credits on this fix up home? Thank you, Ken Snavely
Posted by: Ceil at 02/17/2010 05:33:55 PM
How does Congress justify the comparative unfair tax benefit which the 2008 First Time Home Buyers have received and what is being done to correct it? The Federal Trade Commission or the Better Business Bureau should be advocating for the unhappy, trusting 2008 First Time Home Buyers who claim unfair treatment.
Posted by: Anna D. at 03/22/2010 08:59:56 AM
WE ARE A MARRIED COUPLE AND ONLY EARN 24,000..00 YEARLY. WE ARE NOT REQUIRED TO FILE INCOME TAX ACCORDING TO OUR LOW INCOME.. BUT, WE PAY PROPERTY TAX EVERY YEAR IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,500.00 CAN WE DO ANYTHING TO CLAIM THIS LARGE CHUNK OF OUR MONEY??? thanks. we live in Fl