I made a number of repairs and improvements to my house in 2009 in preparation for putting it on the market. The house was on the market from August 2009-February 2010, but didn’t sell. I moved out in November 2009, so the house was vacant the last six weeks of 2009. I subsequently decided to rent the house out and have tenants as of March 2010.
Can I deduct the costs of repairs and improvements made in 2009 in order to put the house on the market, and subsequently to rent it out, even though it neither sold nor was rented in 2009?
Asked by:DC Liz
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Nope It was not a rental in 2009
Since you didn’t put it up for rent or even intend to until 2010, the expenses aren’t legally deductible on schedule E as rental espenses for 2009.It wasn’t rental property yet.
Repairs on your personal home aren’t deductible, even in preparation for selling it. Improvements can be added to your basis, and might reduce your tax when you sell, if you owe any. They’d also increase your basis for when you converted the property to rental property.
Most improvements can be added to the basis of the property and depreciated (deducted) over their useful life. Repairs can be deducted if done after the house was available for rent.