Roof Replacement on Rental Property

[Jane Dang]

Hi,

My rental property's roof is 20+ years old.  Last year, a heavy rain and storm damaged it and I had to replace the entire roof which costed me $21K.  I understand that a roof repairs can be deducted as expense in the same year and a roof replacement needs to be depreciated over 27.5 years.  But how can we draw a line between repairs and replacement? Is it the repair is to fix the it and make it functioning, and replacement is to improve and add more value to it?  Will my case consider a repair or replacement? Appreciate if anyone have experience in this giving me your advice.

Thanks,

Jane

[Michael Plaks]

Quote from @Jason Malabute:

So, your roof replacement could indeed be a capital expenditure, but with the Section 179 deduction, you might be able to get a significant tax benefit right away.

@Jane Dang

The above was a pretty bad advice. Section 179 does not apply to real properties or improvements to real properties, such as roof replacement.