Owner occupied duplex tax deductions

[Justin Pumpr]

hi all,

I'm on the cusp of buying my first ever property and it will be an owner occupied duplex. I'm trying to navigate the maze of tax deductions and was hoping to get clarification/confirmation on a few things:

• I can deduct 50% of the mortgage interest and property taxes
• I can deduct 50% of the homeowners insurance
• I can depreciate 50% of the structure value over 27.5 years
• I can deduct 100% of all repairs maintenance for the rented unit
• I can depreciate 100% of improvements for the rented unit 
• I can depreciate 50% of improvements that affect both units e.g. a new roof

Some other questions:

Are all of those statements true?

Is there anything else I've missed, or any secret deductions I should know about?

How is depreciation affected when my home value increases? Do I need to get an appraisal to confirm the new value and then change my basis based off of that?

As always, thanks!

[Justin Pumpr]

Sweet. Glad I have some sense of all the terminology.

In terms of insurance, I think I'm covered.They're aware that it's half rented and I have loss of use and liability on there.

In terms of depreciation, how does that work with property that may not last the full 27.5 years? Say I buy a dishwasher and it breaks after 10 years, or I have to replace a roof again after 20 years? What happens to those lost years of depreciation?